How to start an LLC in Virginia

The filings, fees and deadlines for a new Virginia LLC, each linked to the official page it comes from.

The state filings of a Virginia LLC: once to form it, then on a schedule.
  1. To form it Articles of Organization, $100
  2. Every year Annual Registration Fee, $50, due by the last day of the month in which the LLC was formed

To start an LLC in Virginia, you file the Articles of Organization with the Virginia State Corporation Commission and pay $100. After that, budget $50 a year in state fees.

File with the Virginia State Corporation Commission

Before you file in Virginia

Virginia LLCs register with the State Corporation Commission and pay a flat $50 annual registration fee, with no annual report to file.

Forming the LLC, step by step

  1. Check that the name is free

    Start from our Virginia business lookup or go straight to the official Virginia search. Use the Name Availability search in the SCC's Clerk's Information System (CIS). A new name must be distinguishable from the core name of every active entity and every reserved or registered name, ignoring words such as LLC, Inc. and the.

    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 $10 and holds the name for 120 days, renewable. 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 Virginia. 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 (Form LLC1011) with the Virginia State Corporation Commission. The state fee is $100. 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 Fee: $50, every year, due by the last day of the month in which the LLC was formed. Source, checked 2026-10-26

    Keep the registered agent and the addresses on file up to date too: a state can dissolve an LLC that misses its filings or loses its agent.

What a Virginia LLC costs

To form $100
  • Articles of Organization Source, checked 2026-10-26 $100
Every year to keep it $50 a year
  • Annual Registration Fee Source, checked 2026-10-26 $50 a year

Annual Registration Fee: due by the last day of the month in which the LLC was formed.

State fees only, as each state publishes them, checked on the date beside each line. Not legal or tax advice.

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 Virginia 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