How to Form an LLC in West Virginia: Steps and Fees
West Virginia agent for service of process service at a flat $99 per year. Physical address, scanned legal mail, compliance alerts. Renewals stay the same price.
Putting a West Virginia LLC on the books comes down to one document: the Articles of Organization, Form LLD-1, delivered to the Secretary of State with $100. Veterans get that fee waived entirely, which almost no state offers. Below: the fee, the form, the steps in order, and the upkeep that follows.
Open Your West Virginia LLC — $199
We do the paperwork and file it with the West Virginia Secretary of State for $199. When the state sends back the approved Articles, they land in your portal.
The West Virginia LLC, Briefly Explained
An LLC wraps your business in limited liability, meaning the company's debts and lawsuits generally stop at the company instead of reaching your house and savings. Compared with a corporation, it does that with far less ceremony: no board, no stock ledger, no required annual meeting minutes. That trade is why most new West Virginia businesses pick it.
What It Costs in West Virginia
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Our LLC formation service | $199 one-time |
| State filing fee (West Virginia Secretary of State) | $100 one-time |
| Registered agent (required for every West Virginia LLC) | $99/year |
| State annual report fee | $25/year |
$199 pays for our filing service. The $100 goes straight to the West Virginia Secretary of State, and the agent plan is its own $99 yearly charge.
Two West Virginia-specific notes worth real money. First, the veteran waiver: under W. Va. Code § 59-1-2(j), a veteran-owned business pays no formation fee, and the state also waives its $25 annual report fee for the first four years. Second, the annual report calendar: file between January 1 and June 30 each year, because a $50 late fee lands after July 1 and brings the report to $75.
The West Virginia LLC Filing Fee: $100
The official West Virginia filing fee for Articles of Organization is $100, flat, set by the fee schedule in W. Va. Code § 59-1-2. The figure is printed on Form LLD-1 itself, right next to the note that the fee is waived for veteran-owned organizations. An LLC formed elsewhere that wants to operate in West Virginia registers for $150 instead, the fee for a certificate of authority.
The Articles of Organization: West Virginia Form LLD-1
West Virginia's formation document is the Articles of Organization of Limited Liability Company, Form LLD-1. The authority behind it is W. Va. Code § 31B-2-202: one or more persons organize an LLC "by delivering articles of organization to the office of the Secretary of State for filing," with the fee coming from chapter 59. What the articles must contain is set by § 31B-2-203: company name, the designated office address, agent information, whether members or managers run the company, and the organizers.
A filing-logistics note: the Secretary of State now distributes its form PDFs as direct downloads, so grab Form LLD-1 straight from sos.wv.gov. Or skip paper entirely and file through the One Stop Business Portal, where online filings pick up West Virginia's $1.00 online processing fee. Mailed paperwork works too; it just spends extra days in transit and in the queue.
Forming a West Virginia LLC, Step by Step
- Pick a name the state will accept. You need an LLC designator on the end and a name distinguishable from every entity already on record, so run a search of the Secretary of State's records before you get attached. Names implying you're a bank, an insurer, or a government office need licensing you probably don't have.
- Line up your registered agent. The agent's name and West Virginia address go on the Articles and into the public record. Use our $99 per year service and it's our address that goes public, not yours.
- File the Articles of Organization, Form LLD-1, with the $100 fee. Online through One Stop or on paper by mail. This is the step that legally creates the company.
- Adopt an operating agreement. West Virginia never asks you to file one, but banks ask to see it and courts care about it. It sets ownership shares, money splits, decision rules, and exits. Without one, the statute's default rules decide, and they weren't written with your company in mind.
- Get the EIN from the IRS. Free at IRS.gov, roughly ten minutes online. Banks and payroll need it. Never pay a third party for this.
- Keep the company current. File the $25 annual report between January 1 and June 30 every year, keep an agent on file, keep business money separate from personal money, and stay on top of taxes. Slip far enough and the Secretary of State can administratively dissolve the company, taking the liability shield with it.
Done with paperwork? Pay $199 and our team handles the West Virginia formation filing.
Why the Registered Agent Rule Matters
Here's a West Virginia oddity: the LLC statute, § 31B-1-108, says a company "may" maintain an in-state agent, not "shall." Before you read that as optional, check the fallback. With no agent on file, the Secretary of State becomes your company's attorney-in-fact for service of process, meaning a lawsuit can be served on a state office and reach you on the state's schedule. That's how companies discover lawsuits late.
So every LLC we form lists an agent, and what the agent must actually do is simple: be at a real West Virginia address during business hours, take in lawsuits and state mail, and get it all to you fast enough that no deadline dies in the meantime.
List yourself and your address sits in the public database for anyone to pull up. Our office does the job for $99 a year, with our address taking the public exposure instead of yours.
Questions People Ask
How much does it cost to form an LLC in West Virginia?
The state charges $100 for the Articles of Organization, and veteran-owned businesses pay nothing. From then on, the annual report is $25 a year.
How long does it take to form an LLC in West Virginia?
The state doesn't promise a turnaround. Online filings through One Stop generally move faster than mail, and we watch the filing until approval arrives.
Does West Virginia require an annual report?
Yes. It's $25, filed online between January 1 and June 30, with a $50 late fee after July 1. Veteran-owned businesses get four years of the fee waived.
Do I need a registered agent for my West Virginia LLC?
Keep one on file, always. The statute's fallback sends service of process to the Secretary of State when no agent is maintained, which is a terrible way to learn you've been sued.
Can I form an LLC in West Virginia if I live in another state?
Yes, residency isn't required. The in-state piece is the agent address, and our $99 per year service covers exactly that.
File Your West Virginia LLC With Our Help
You can absolutely file on your own through One Stop with $100 to the state. If you'd rather not, $199 has our team prepare and file the Articles, and the agent plan at $99 per year keeps our address on the public record, gets documents scanned the day they arrive, and puts a reminder in your inbox before every deadline.
Looking only for the agent? Our standalone agent product carries a $99/year price.
More questions about forming an LLC in West Virginia or how the agent role works? Browse our FAQ or use the contact form.
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