How much does it cost to start an LLC in South Dakota?

Filing Articles of Organization online with the South Dakota Secretary of State costs $150. The same filing on paper costs $165, because the state adds a $15 paper-filing fee to documents that could have been filed online. A series LLC pays $200 instead of $150, and expedited handling is an extra $50.

What is the South Dakota LLC annual report fee?

The annual report is $55 filed electronically or $70 filed on paper. If the report is delinquent, SDCL 47-34A-212(b) adds a $55 penalty. The Secretary of State's older online instructions page still quotes a $50 late fee, but the statute and the current fee schedule both say $55.

When is the South Dakota LLC annual report due?

Under the current version of SDCL 59-11-25 the first annual report is due before the first day of the second month of the year following the year the LLC was authorized to transact business, and by that same date each year after. The Secretary of State does not publish a general due date and instead shows each entity's own due date in its business search tool, so check your entity record. Beginning January 1, 2027 a 2026 amendment lets LLCs choose between an anniversary-month deadline and a January 31 deadline.

Does a South Dakota LLC pay state income tax?

No. The South Dakota Department of Revenue states that South Dakota does not impose a corporate income tax, and there is no state franchise tax on LLC income. Your only recurring state filing cost is the $55 annual report (or $70 on paper).

LLC Costs · SD

How Much Does an LLC Cost in South Dakota?

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

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.

Forming an LLC in South Dakota costs $150 to file the Articles of Organization with the state, the Annual Report costs $55 every year. That puts the first-year state cost at $205, before any registered-agent service.

Articles of Organization$150

Annual Report$55

First-year state cost$205

Five-year state cost$425

What you actually pay in South Dakota

South Dakota charges $150 to file Articles of Organization online and $165 on paper, because the fee schedule adds a flat $15 paper-filing fee to anything that could have been filed online. The annual report is $55 online or $70 on paper, and a delinquent annual report adds a $55 penalty (SDCL 47-34A-212(b)). A series LLC's Articles of Organization cost $200 rather than $150, and a foreign LLC's certificate of authority is $750 online / $765 on paper. South Dakota has no corporate income tax, so the recurring cost of a South Dakota LLC is essentially the $55 annual report.

South Dakota LLC fee breakdown

Cost	Amount	How often	Charged by
Articles of Organization	$150	One time	South Dakota Secretary of State
Same filing, submitted on paper	$165	One time	South Dakota Secretary of State
Annual Report	$55	Every year	South Dakota Secretary of State
Required state cost, first year	$205	—	—
Registered agent service (optional)	$50–$300	Every year	Commercial provider
Expedited processing (optional) — Expedited service (completion sooner than the normal course of business, upon request) $50	$50+	One time	South Dakota Secretary of State
Name reservation (optional)	$25	One time	South Dakota Secretary of State
Certificate of good standing (optional)	$20	Per copy	South Dakota Secretary of State

Filing online costs $150; the paper version costs $165 because the fee schedule adds a $15 "Paper Filing Fee for documents able to be filed online." Articles that authorize one or more series cost $200.

: The South Dakota Department of Revenue states "South Dakota does not impose a corporate income tax." There is no state franchise tax or entity-level income tax on an LLC's earnings; South Dakota's bank franchise tax reaches financial institutions only.

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.

South Dakota 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)	$205	$330
Each year after	$55	$180
Five-year total	$425	$1,050

First filing timing: The first annual report is due on the first day of the anniversary month in the calendar year following formation. From 1 January 2027, SL 2026 ch. 203 rewrites SDCL 59-11-25 into an election: either the anniversary month each year, or on or before 31 January each year beginning the calendar year after formation. The entity picks one on its formation document and may switch later by filing a change-of-filing-date form.

Is South Dakota expensive compared with other states?

South Dakota ranks 33rd cheapest of 50 states on first-year cost — $29.53 below the $234.53 national average. On ongoing annual cost it ranks 30th.

Cheaper state	First-year cost	You would save
Montana	$35	$170
Arizona	$50	$155
Missouri	$50	$155

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

South Dakota filing deadline and late penalties

Annual Report

Frequency	every year
Due	The first day of the LLC's anniversary month, beginning the calendar year after formation (an LLC filed 11 June 2026 files first on 1 June 2027, then every 1 June). Filing opens two months before the due date.
Fee	$55
Late penalty	$55

Late fees begin two months after the due date, not on it: a report due 1 June becomes delinquent 1 August. A delinquent annual report incurs a $55 late fee under SDCL 47-34A-212(b).

Under SDCL 47-34A-809 the Secretary of State may commence administrative dissolution if the LLC does not deliver its annual report within 60 days after it is due, or pay fees/penalties within 60 days after they are due. SDCL 47-34A-810 then gives the LLC 60 days after service of notice to cure before dissolution is entered. Reinstatement of a dissolved LLC costs $150 plus all delinquent reports and late fees, and requires an approved tax clearance certificate from the South Dakota Department of Revenue.

Full South Dakota annual report filing guide · Deadline calculator

Cost traps specific to South Dakota

Paper filing costs $15 more, every time

The fee schedule adds a $15 "Paper Filing Fee for documents able to be filed online," which is why the Articles of Organization are $165 on paper and the annual report is $70 on paper.

Annual report due date is changing on January 1, 2027

SDCL 59-11-25 as amended by SL 2026 ch. 203 (effective January 1, 2027) replaces the single statutory date with a choice between the formation-anniversary month and a January 31 deadline, selected on the formation document.

60 days late starts the dissolution clock

SDCL 47-34A-809 lets the Secretary of State begin administrative dissolution once the annual report is 60 days overdue; getting back to active status then costs $150 plus every missed report, a $55 penalty each, and a Department of Revenue tax clearance.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Filing Articles of Organization online with the South Dakota Secretary of State costs $150. The same filing on paper costs $165, because the state adds a $15 paper-filing fee to documents that could have been filed online. A series LLC pays $200 instead of $150, and expedited handling is an extra $50.
: The annual report is $55 filed electronically or $70 filed on paper. If the report is delinquent, SDCL 47-34A-212(b) adds a $55 penalty. The Secretary of State's older online instructions page still quotes a $50 late fee, but the statute and the current fee schedule both say $55.
: Under the current version of SDCL 59-11-25 the first annual report is due before the first day of the second month of the year following the year the LLC was authorized to transact business, and by that same date each year after. The Secretary of State does not publish a general due date and instead shows each entity's own due date in its business search tool, so check your entity record. Beginning January 1, 2027 a 2026 amendment lets LLCs choose between an anniversary-month deadline and a January 31 deadline.
: No. The South Dakota Department of Revenue states that South Dakota does not impose a corporate income tax, and there is no state franchise tax on LLC income. Your only recurring state filing cost is the $55 annual report (or $70 on paper).

Where these numbers come from

Every fee above was checked against South Dakota's own published sources on July 29, 2026 — the South Dakota 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.

Primary sources: