How much does it cost to start an LLC in Rhode Island?

The Rhode Island Department of State charges $150 to file the Articles of Organization (Form 400), and filings are processed within two business days. Budget for the recurring costs too: a $50 annual report every year and a $400 annual charge to the Division of Taxation, which is owed even for the partial formation year.

How much is the Rhode Island LLC annual report?

$50, filed on Form 632 during the February 1 to May 1 window each year, plus a $2.50 enhanced access fee if you file online. A $25 late penalty is applied June 1. Your first annual report is due the calendar year after you register, so an LLC formed in 2026 first files in 2027.

What is the total annual cost of a Rhode Island LLC?

About $450 a year in mandatory state costs: the $50 Secretary of State annual report plus the $400 Division of Taxation annual charge. Add $2.50 if you file the report online and $25 if you miss the May 1 deadline. First-year cost is roughly $600 once you include the $150 formation fee.

Rhode Island LLC Cost (2026)

By Edmond Hui · Fees verified July 29, 2026 against the Rhode Island Secretary of State fee schedule

In Rhode Island, the first-year state cost of an LLC is $600, before any registered-agent service. Forming an LLC in Rhode Island costs $150 to file the Articles of Organization with the state, the Annual Report costs $50 every year, and the Annual charge adds $400 a year.

Bar chart of LLC costs in Rhode Island: $600 in unavoidable state charges in the first year and $450 a year after that. Rhode Island charges $50 for its annual report. — The recurring figure covers the annual report plus any flat state entity tax. Source: Rhode Island's published filing fee schedule, verified July 2026.

Articles of Organization$150

Annual Report$50

Annual charge$400/yr

First-year state cost$600

Five-year state cost$2,400

How much does it cost to form an LLC in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island charges $150 to file Articles of Organization (Form 400) and $50 for the annual report (Form 632), but the Secretary of State fee is the smaller half of the picture: an LLC not taxed as a corporation also owes a $400 annual charge to the Division of Taxation, so its recurring state cost is about $450 a year rather than $50 (an LLC taxed as a corporation owes Rhode Island's corporate tax instead). The annual report can only be filed in the February 1 - May 1 window, and a $25 late penalty is applied June 1. A Reservation of Entity Name is $50, a certificate of good standing ordered by mail is $20, and certified copies are $10 plus $0.15 per page. A foreign LLC pays the same $150 to register.

Which fees does a Rhode Island LLC pay, and how often?

Cost	Amount	How often	Charged by
Articles of Organization (Form 400)	$150	One time	Rhode Island Secretary of State
Annual Report	$50	Every year	Rhode Island Secretary of State
Annual charge	$400	Every year	Rhode Island Division of Taxation
Required state cost, first year	$600	N/A	N/A
Registered agent service (optional)	$50 to $300	Every year	Commercial provider
Name reservation (optional)	$50	One time	Rhode Island Secretary of State
Certificate of good standing (optional)	$20	Per copy	Rhode Island Secretary of State

Annual charge: $400 a year for an LLC not taxed as a corporation (an LLC taxed as a corporation owes Rhode Island's corporate tax instead). The due date depends on the LLC's federal tax classification, so confirm it with the Division of Taxation.

Rhode Island's LLC statute forms the company when the Secretary of State accepts the articles of organization, and a companion section lists their contents; neither imposes a newspaper publication step.

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 Rhode Island.

Next steps for an LLC in Rhode Island

What does a Rhode Island 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)	$600	$725
Each year after	$450/yr	$575/yr
Five-year total	$2,400	$3,025

First filing timing: LLCs "are required to file an annual report starting the calendar year after they register their business with the State of Rhode Island," so an LLC formed in 2026 files its first annual report between February 1 and May 1, 2027.

Is Rhode Island expensive compared with other states?

Rhode Island ranks 47th cheapest of 50 states on first-year cost , $367.84 above the $232.16 national average. On ongoing annual cost it ranks 48th.

Cheaper state	First-year cost	You would save
Montana	$35	$565
Arizona	$50	$550
Missouri	$50	$550

A cheaper filing fee elsewhere rarely saves money if you live and operate in Rhode Island. Doing business here with an out-of-state LLC generally means registering it as a foreign LLC in Rhode Island anyway. Paying both states. See foreign qualification in Rhode Island before forming elsewhere to save on fees.

When is the Rhode Island filing deadline, and what happens if you miss it?

Annual Report

Frequency	every year
Due	February 1 - May 1
Fee	$50
Late penalty	$25

The $25 late penalty is applied June 1; online filers also pay a $2.50 enhanced access fee on the report ($3.00 when the penalty is paid online).

A courtesy reminder is mailed each January to the registered agent of every active business owing an annual report; the Department of State states that if the reminder letter is returned undeliverable, revocation proceedings will be implemented for failure to maintain a registered office. Revoked entities must take additional steps before they can file an annual report.

Full Rhode Island annual report filing guide · Deadline calculator

What cost traps are specific to Rhode Island?

The $400 state tax dwarfs the $50 annual report

Rhode Island's Division of Taxation charges every LLC not taxed as a corporation a $400 annual charge (one taxed as a corporation owes Rhode Island's corporate tax instead), so a site quoting only the $50 Secretary of State report understates true recurring cost by eight times. The real figure is roughly $450 per year.

You owe the $400 for your formation year, even for one day

The Division of Taxation applies the charge "for any year in which the business is in existence, whether a full year, or partial year," and the Department of State confirms it is not pro-rated and is owed with no business activity and no profit, so a December formation still triggers a full $400.

Three-month filing window, then a June 1 penalty

The LLC annual report can only be filed February 1 through May 1; a $25 late penalty is applied June 1, and the only reminder is a courtesy letter mailed each January to the registered agent. If that letter comes back undeliverable, the Department of State starts revocation proceedings for failure to maintain a registered office.

Frequently Asked Questions

: The Rhode Island Department of State charges $150 to file the Articles of Organization (Form 400), and filings are processed within two business days. Budget for the recurring costs too: a $50 annual report every year and a $400 annual charge to the Division of Taxation, which is owed even for the partial formation year.
: $50, filed on Form 632 during the February 1 to May 1 window each year, plus a $2.50 enhanced access fee if you file online. A $25 late penalty is applied June 1. Your first annual report is due the calendar year after you register, so an LLC formed in 2026 first files in 2027.
: It is the Division of Taxation's annual charge, sometimes called the annual fee, and it has been $400 for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2017. It applies to an LLC not taxed as a corporation (an LLC taxed as a corporation owes Rhode Island's corporate tax instead). The due date depends on the LLC's federal tax classification, so confirm it with the Division of Taxation.
: About $450 a year in mandatory state costs: the $50 Secretary of State annual report plus the $400 Division of Taxation annual charge. Add $2.50 if you file the report online and $25 if you miss the May 1 deadline. First-year cost is roughly $600 once you include the $150 formation fee.

Where do these numbers come from?

Every fee above was checked against Rhode Island's own published sources on July 29, 2026 , the Rhode Island 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.

Sources

10 documents

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Rhode Island sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so. Where we hold the citation but no stable public link, the citation is printed on its own rather than pointed at a guessed address.

sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/business-basics/costs-and-fees
sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/ri-business/file-your-annual-report
docs.sos.ri.gov/documents/BusinessServices/400-articles-of-organization.pdf
docs.sos.ri.gov/documents/BusinessServices/450-application-for-registration.pdf
docs.sos.ri.gov/documents/BusinessServices/LLCArticlesOfOrganizationFilingGuide.pdf
tax.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur541/files/2025-02/Notice_2025_01_LLC_filing_requirements.pdf
sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/order-certificates
sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/order-certified-copies
Rhode Island statute: R.I. Gen. Laws 7-16-5 (LLC formation)
Rhode Island statute: R.I. Gen. Laws 7-16-6 (articles of organization contents)

More for Rhode Island LLCs

Start and set up

Taxes, money and growth

Stay compliant

Operate in other states

A Rhode Island LLC operating elsewhere

Compare structures

By owner type

By profession

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.

How we check facts