Forming an LLC in Virginia costs more than the $100 state filing fee that gets most of the attention. A local business license, the $50 annual registration, and whatever a commercial registered agent charges all land on top of it. Knowing what each line item costs before you file keeps the first-year budget from drifting.
Most first-year Virginia LLC owners land somewhere between $100 and $1,000 in total costs, depending mainly on whether they hire a registered agent or an attorney. The breakdown below separates what the state requires from what's optional and from what recurs every year.
Required Virginia LLC formation costs
Virginia requires a single state payment to form an LLC: the $100 Articles of Organization fee set by Va. Code § 13.1-1005(1)(a), charged at the same amount online or on paper. A registered agent is legally required; the state does not require an operating agreement, though skipping one leaves multi-member LLCs without a written record of ownership splits and decision-making authority if a dispute comes up later.
Required cost | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
State filing fee | $100 | Required for every LLC |
Registered agent | $0 as your own agent; commercial agents price their own service | Must be a Virginia resident with a physical Virginia address, or an entity authorized to do business in Virginia |
Operating agreement | $0 (DIY) or roughly $490 to $760 | Platform averages: $760 to draft, $490 to review |
Optional formation costs
Virginia keeps mandatory costs low, but several optional services can speed up setup and cut ongoing compliance work. Whether they are worth paying for depends on your business complexity, your available time, and how comfortable you are handling filings yourself. Professional help tends to pay for itself once you add outside investors, multiple members, or a structure more complex than a single-member LLC.
Professional services
Attorney help is billed hourly. Clio's Legal Trends Report puts the average Virginia lawyer at $351 per hour and business-focused work at $346 per hour, and the ContractsCounsel averages above cover the operating agreement itself. A straightforward single-member LLC with no outside investors can usually be filed without an attorney; the complexity, not the entity type, is what drives the decision.
Multi-member LLCs need a CPA too. A National Society of Accountants survey put Form 1065 preparation at an average of $518, though that figure is dated and current CPA quotes often run higher. More recently, Ignition's 2024 pricing survey of 345 firm owners, reported by CPA Practice Advisor, found 70% of accounting firms planned to raise tax planning and advisory fees.
Formation service fees vary by provider; a business formation service for LLCs bundles the paperwork with the Virginia LLC state filing fee. If you would rather not serve as your own agent, Discern's registered agent service covers all 51 jurisdictions.
Additional filings and services
Several optional filings carry their own fees, and knowing them upfront avoids surprise costs once you're already mid-filing.
Name reservation costs $10 and holds a name for 120 days under Va. Code § 13.1-1013
Expedited processing costs $50 or $100 for next-business-day approval and $200 for same-day, online filings only, per the SCC's fee schedule. Filings with attachments or a name review add five business days, per the SCC's LLC FAQs
DBA or fictitious name registration costs $10 under Va. Code § 59.1-70(C)
Certified copies cost $6 each online, with no per-page charge, per the Virginia Administrative Code
The IRS's EIN application lists no fee when you apply directly
Local business license (BPOL) fees are usually flat for small businesses: Richmond charges $30 for businesses with gross receipts between $5,000 and $500,000, effective January 1, 2026, per the city's announcement
Ongoing annual costs
After formation, recurring costs fall into two categories: the state's fixed annual registration fee, and the variable costs you control, like your registered agent and local licensing.
Virginia annual registration fee: $50, due by the last day of your organization month each year after formation, per Va. Code § 13.1-1062. Late payment adds a $25 penalty under Va. Code § 13.1-1064, and the SCC automatically cancels the LLC if the fee stays unpaid past the last day of the third month after the due date, per Va. Code § 13.1-1050.2
Virginia LLC franchise tax: none. Virginia Tax treats LLCs as pass-through entities that file Form 502, with single-member LLCs generally reporting on the owner's return instead, and no entity-level income tax applies unless the LLC elects it
Virginia registered agent fees: vendor-set pricing, not a state fee; the registered office address appears in the SCC's public record
Local business licenses: annual BPOL renewals vary by locality. Under Va. Code § 58.1-3706(A), localities with more than 50,000 residents cannot tax gross receipts below $100,000
Professional services: accounting and legal support as needed, with advisory fees varying by firm
Virginia's flat annual fee keeps state-level compliance predictable, which stands out next to other business-friendly states founders consider. Delaware charges LLCs, LPs, and GPs a $400 annual tax due June 1, raised from $300 starting with the 2026 tax year; LLCs, LPs, and GPs there file no separate annual report alongside it.
Nevada requires a $200 business license renewal plus a $150 annual list, $350 combined. California charges an $800 annual tax even on idle LLCs. Compared to those states, Virginia's combination of a low one-time filing fee and a flat $50 annual registration makes long-term budgeting simpler.
Simplify Virginia LLC compliance with Discern
Between the $100 filing fee, the $50 annual registration, and whichever optional services you choose, budgeting for a Virginia LLC means tracking several separate deadlines and vendors across the life of the entity. Discern acts as your Virginia registered agent, tracks the annual registration against your organization month, and files it before the $25 late penalty and cancellation clock start; change of agent filings are free when you switch.
If you register entities in more than one state, Discern's platform shows good standing, upcoming due dates, and filing status for every entity from a single dashboard, so a missed deadline in one state doesn't slip through because no one system was tracking all of them. Customers with 200+ registrations spend 5 to 10 minutes annually on compliance.
Schedule a demo with Discern to see how the platform handles Virginia compliance.
FAQs about LLC formation costs in Virginia
These answers cover the cost questions Virginia founders ask most often before and after they file.
Are there any hidden fees when forming an LLC in Virginia?
The surprises come from local licensing and late payments rather than the SCC. Cities and counties impose BPOL license fees, and a late annual registration adds the $25 penalty. Other SCC filings carry their own charges: amendments cost $25, while a change of registered agent carries no fee.
Is the $100 filing fee refundable if my filing is rejected?
Virginia has no published policy guaranteeing refunds for rejected filings, so ask the Clerk's Office before counting on the $100 coming back. Expedite fees are nonrefundable, and a resubmitted filing is not automatically expedited. Va. Code § 13.1-1065 governs Commission fees and refunds generally.
Can I avoid registered agent fees legally?
Yes. Under Va. Code § 13.1-1015(a)(i), a Virginia resident who is a member or manager can act as the agent. The SCC's registered agent guidance requires a physical Virginia address (no P.O. boxes), staffed during normal business hours and listed in the public record.
Are there ongoing tax obligations specific to Virginia LLCs?
Members report their share of profit at Virginia's graduated individual rates, topping out at 5.75% over $17,000, and those with $400 or more in net self-employment earnings owe federal self-employment tax. An LLC can instead elect Virginia's pass-through entity tax at 5.75%, a permanent election (not a temporary program) that shifts the state liability to the entity.
Updated on
2026-09-10
