How Much Does an LLC Cost in Missouri?
By Edmond Hui · Fees verified July 29, 2026 against the Missouri Secretary of State fee schedule
What you actually pay in Missouri
Missouri is one of the cheapest states to maintain an LLC in. There is no annual report and no franchise tax, so after formation the state charges nothing recurring. But the formation fee more than doubles if you file on paper: $50 online versus $105 by mail, a $55 gap the Secretary of State itself advertises. Only domestic online filings get the $50 rate; the fee schedule prices paper filings at $105 for domestic and foreign alike. Ancillary fees are low: $25 to reserve a name, $10 for a certificate of good standing, $10 for an online certified copy (or $10 certification plus 50 cents per page on paper). Two quirks from the fee schedule worth knowing: electronic payments carry an added convenience fee not retained by the state, and under Startup for Soldiers, active-duty military in Missouri including the National Guard may create new businesses without paying a filing fee.
Missouri LLC fee breakdown
| Cost | Amount | How often | Charged by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization (LLC-1) | $50 | One time | Missouri Secretary of State |
| Same filing, submitted on paper | $105 | One time | Missouri Secretary of State |
| Required state cost, first year | $50 | N/A | N/A |
| Registered agent service (optional) | $50, $300 | Every year | Commercial provider |
| Name reservation (optional) | $25 | One time | Missouri Secretary of State |
| Certificate of good standing (optional) | $10 | Per copy | Missouri Secretary of State |
The Secretary of State's fee schedule lists "Certificates of Limited Liability Company (domestic/foreign)(paper) $105.00" and "Certificates of Limited Liability Company (domestic)(online) $50.00"; the SOS FAQ puts it plainly, "The savings for filing articles of organization for a limited liability company online is $55.00 ($50.00 online versus $105.00 by paper)." The paper LLC-1 form is printed "Submit with filing fee of $105.00."
No newspaper publication requirement for LLC formation under Chapter 347 RSMo.
Registered agent is listed separately because it is a commercial service, not a state charge. Commercial registered-agent services, not a state charge. Range and $125 midpoint match the assumption used by /tools/llc-true-cost. Most states let you serve as your own registered agent at no cost if you have a physical in-state address. Run your own numbers in the true-cost calculator. For what formation services charge on top of these state fees, see the best LLC services in Missouri.
Missouri LLC cost over five years
State charges only in the first column; the second adds a registered-agent service at the $125/yr market midpoint.
| Period | State cost only | With registered agent |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (formation + first filing) | $50 | $175 |
| Each year after | $0 | $125 |
| Five-year total | $50 | $675 |
Is Missouri expensive compared with other states?
Missouri ranks 3rd cheapest of 50 states on first-year cost , $182.03 below the $232.03 national average. On ongoing annual cost it ranks 5th.
| Cheaper state | First-year cost | You would save |
|---|---|---|
| Montana | $35 | $15 |
A cheaper filing fee elsewhere rarely saves money if you live and operate in Missouri. Doing business here with an out-of-state LLC generally means registering it as a foreign LLC in Missouri anyway. Paying both states. See foreign qualification in Missouri before forming elsewhere to save on fees.
Cost traps specific to Missouri
Paper filing costs more than double
Missouri charges $50 for Articles of Organization filed online but $105 on paper, the Secretary of State's own FAQ frames it as a $55 saving for filing online. Mailing the LLC-1 form is the single most common way to overpay for a Missouri LLC.
Foreign LLCs get no online discount
The fee schedule's $50 rate is explicitly "(domestic)(online)" only. A foreign LLC registering in Missouri pays the $105 paper rate, so an out-of-state LLC should not budget $50.
Card payments add a convenience fee
The fee schedule states that electronic payments, credit cards and echecks, incur an additional convenience fee that is not collected or retained by the State of Missouri, so the $50 online filing costs slightly more than $50 at checkout.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where these numbers come from
Every fee above was checked against Missouri's own published sources on July 29, 2026 , the Missouri Secretary of State fee schedule, the governing statute, and where a state-level tax applies, the state tax authority. Commercial formation-service pages were not used.
The first-year total is the Articles of Organization fee plus the first year of any recurring state charge. Where a state's first report is not due until the following year, that is noted above. The five-year total is the filing fee plus five years of recurring charges, which avoids the timing question entirely. Registered-agent service is excluded from all state figures.
Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC
Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.