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How to start an LLC in Georgia

What the Georgia Secretary of State asks for, what each filing costs, and when the Annual Registration is due.

An LLC in Georgia starts with one filing: the Articles of Organization, sent to the Georgia Secretary of State with a $110 fee. After that, budget $60 a year in state fees.

File with the Georgia Secretary of State

Good to know about Georgia

Georgia's yearly filing is called the annual registration, and it is also how you change the LLC's registered agent or address. The name of a dissolved Georgia LLC stays reserved for five years.

Forming the LLC, step by step

  1. Check that the name is free

    Start from our Georgia business lookup or go straight to the official Georgia search. Search Georgia eCorp by business name or control number. A name reservation is optional, lasts 30 days, and the name of an administratively dissolved corporation or LLC stays reserved for five years after dissolution.

    Add an ending such as "LLC" or "Limited Liability Company". What counts as too close to an existing name is in the name availability guide.

  2. Reserve the name, if you want to hold it

    Optional. If you are not ready to file, a reservation costs $35 and holds the name for 30 days. Source, checked 2026-10-26

  3. Appoint a registered agent

    The agent receives lawsuits and state mail for the LLC at a street address in Georgia. You may serve yourself if you have one there; a commercial agent keeps your own address off the record. See what a registered agent does.

  4. File the Articles of Organization

    File the Articles of Organization (LLC) with the Georgia Secretary of State. The state fee is $110. $100 filing fee plus the $10 service charge. Source, checked 2026-10-26

  5. Get an EIN from the IRS, free

    With the approval in hand, get the LLC's federal tax number, the EIN, from the IRS online application. It costs nothing and gives the number at once. Banks ask for it before they open a business account.

  6. Write an operating agreement

    It can be short: who owns what, how profit is shared, who decides and how a member leaves, signed by every member, or by you alone for a one-person LLC. It stays with the company's records rather than being filed (what to put in it).

  7. Keep it in good standing

    Annual Registration: $60, every year, due January 1 to April 1, starting the year after formation. Source, checked 2026-10-26

    An LLC that falls behind on these, or is left without a registered agent, can be dissolved by the state.

What a Georgia LLC costs

To file $110
  • Articles of Organization: $110 Source, checked 2026-10-26
Every year to keep it $60 a year
  • Annual Registration: $60 a year Source, checked 2026-10-26

These are the state's fees. A commercial agent and local licenses, if you need them, are extra.

After filing, the LLC shows up in the Georgia business lookup with its status and agent. The bank account and local licenses come next; how to start an LLC covers them.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Facts checked 2026-10-26 against the official sources linked above; confirm with the state or the IRS before you file. How we check our facts · Report an error