How much does it cost to start an LLC in West Virginia?

Filing Articles of Organization (Form LLD-1) with the West Virginia Secretary of State costs $100 under W. Va. Code 59-1-2(a)(1)(C). The form states the fee is waived for a veteran-owned organization. Expedited handling costs an extra $25 for 24-hour, $250 for 2-hour or $500 for 1-hour service.

How much is the West Virginia LLC annual report fee?

$25 a year under W. Va. Code 59-1-2a(c). Since July 1, 2026 an LLC that has filed timely annual reports for five consecutive years and is in good standing may instead elect a biennial report costing $50 every two years.

When is the West Virginia LLC annual report due?

By 11:59 PM on June 30 each year, per W. Va. Code 59-1-2a(e) - the same fixed date for every entity, not a formation anniversary. The filing window opens January 1, and your first report is due in the year after the calendar year you registered. Filing late brings a $50 administrative late fee, making the report $75, and continued non-payment leads to dissolution or revocation after at least 30 days' certified-mail notice.

Is the West Virginia LLC filing fee waived for veterans?

Yes. West Virginia's Articles of Organization form LLD-1 states 'Fee Waived for Veteran-owned organization,' taking the normal $100 fee to $0. W. Va. Code 59-1-2a defines a veteran-owned business as at least 51 percent unconditionally owned by one or more veterans, active-duty members of any branch of the US military, or their spouses.

LLC Costs · WV

How Much Does an LLC Cost in West Virginia?

By Edmond Hui · Fees verified July 29, 2026 against the West Virginia 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 West Virginia costs $100 to file the Articles of Organization of Limited Liability Company with the state, the Annual Report costs $25 every year. That puts the first-year state cost at $155, before any registered-agent service.

Articles of Organization of Limited Liability Company$100

Annual Report$25

First-year state cost$155

Five-year state cost$255

What you actually pay in West Virginia

West Virginia charges $100 to file Articles of Organization (Form LLD-1) under W. Va. Code 59-1-2(a)(1)(C), and the form states that fee is waived for a veteran-owned organization. The annual report fee is $25, due by 11:59 PM on June 30 each year under W. Va. Code 59-1-2a(c) and (e), and the first one is not due until the year after the year of registration. Effective July 1, 2026 an entity with five consecutive years of timely annual reports and good standing may elect to file biennially at $50 instead. Budget a separate $30 Business Registration Certificate from the Tax Division per business location, plus $15 for a 120-day name reservation and $10 for a certificate of existence; expedited service runs $25 for 24-hour, $250 for 2-hour and $500 for 1-hour.

West Virginia LLC fee breakdown

Cost	Amount	How often	Charged by
Articles of Organization of Limited Liability Company (LLD-1)	$100	One time	West Virginia Secretary of State
Annual Report	$25	Every year	West Virginia Secretary of State
West Virginia Business Registration Certificate	$30	One time	West Virginia Tax Division
Required state cost, first year	$155	—	—
Registered agent service (optional)	$50–$300	Every year	Commercial provider
Expedited processing (optional) — 24-hour $25, 2-hour $250, 1-hour $500	$25+	One time	West Virginia Secretary of State
Name reservation (optional)	$15	One time	West Virginia Secretary of State
Certificate of good standing (optional)	$10	Per copy	West Virginia Secretary of State

The fee is $100 either way (W. Va. Code 59-1-2(a)(1)(C)), and Form LLD-1 states the fee is waived entirely for a veteran-owned organization.

The fee does not scale with size, but the filing cadence can change: $25 per year on the default annual cycle, or $50 every two years for entities that qualify for and elect biennial reporting under W. Va. Code 59-1-2a(d)(3) (effective July 1, 2026).

West Virginia Business Registration Certificate: Flat $30 per certificate, and a separate certificate is required for each fixed business location, so a multi-location business pays $30 per site. The $30 is charged again on each reissuance or reinstatement. A business is exempt from registering only if it meets all three of: not required by law to collect or withhold a tax, does not claim exemption from Consumers Sales and Service Tax or Use Tax, and had gross income from business activity of $4,000 or less in all states in the most recently completed income tax year.

Nothing in W. Va. Code ch. 31B or the Secretary of State's LLC forms imposes a newspaper-publication requirement.

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.

West Virginia 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)	$155	$280
Each year after	$25	$150
Five-year total	$255	$880

First filing timing: The Secretary of State and the One Stop Business Portal both state the report is filed between January 1 and June 30 of each year FOLLOWING the calendar year in which the business was registered - so an LLC formed in 2026 files its first annual report between January 1 and June 30, 2027.

Is West Virginia expensive compared with other states?

West Virginia ranks 23rd cheapest of 50 states on first-year cost — $79.53 below the $234.53 national average. On ongoing annual cost it ranks 22nd.

Cheaper state	First-year cost	You would save
Montana	$35	$120
Arizona	$50	$105
Missouri	$50	$105

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

West Virginia filing deadline and late penalties

Annual Report

Frequency	every year
Due	On or before 11:59 PM on June 30 of each year (or every two years if a biennial election is properly made); the state describes the filing window as January 1 through June 30
Fee	$25
Late penalty	$50

W. Va. Code 59-1-2a(h)(1)(A) sets an administrative late fee of $50 for an annual delinquency and $100 for a biennial delinquency, so a late annual report costs $75 in total. The Secretary of State may waive or reduce the late fee where the delinquency was caused by circumstances beyond the filer's control (59-1-2a(h)(3)). There is also a bad-check fee of up to $5 plus bank pass-through costs under 59-1-2a(g)(2).

Full West Virginia annual report filing guide · Deadline calculator

Cost traps specific to West Virginia

Everyone shares the same June 30 deadline

W. Va. Code 59-1-2a(e) sets one statewide deadline - 11:59 PM on June 30 - rather than a formation anniversary. Missing it triggers a $50 administrative late fee, taking the report to $75, and once you are more than 30 days delinquent the Tax Commissioner may suspend or cancel your business registration certificate under 59-1-2a(i)(2).

Biennial filing is not available to new LLCs

The $50 biennial option added effective July 1, 2026 requires five consecutive years of timely annual reports plus good standing (W. Va. Code 59-1-2a(d)(3)). New LLCs pay $25 a year, and an entity that later misses a biennial report can have the option revoked and must file annually for another five years before electing again.

The $100 filing is not the only mandatory cost

The Tax Division requires a $30 Business Registration Certificate before any business activity, and a separate $30 certificate for each fixed location in the state. Operating without one carries fines of $1,000 to $10,000 under W. Va. Code 11-9-12 plus $100 per day after 30 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Filing Articles of Organization (Form LLD-1) with the West Virginia Secretary of State costs $100 under W. Va. Code 59-1-2(a)(1)(C). The form states the fee is waived for a veteran-owned organization. Expedited handling costs an extra $25 for 24-hour, $250 for 2-hour or $500 for 1-hour service.
: $25 a year under W. Va. Code 59-1-2a(c). Since July 1, 2026 an LLC that has filed timely annual reports for five consecutive years and is in good standing may instead elect a biennial report costing $50 every two years.
: By 11:59 PM on June 30 each year, per W. Va. Code 59-1-2a(e) - the same fixed date for every entity, not a formation anniversary. The filing window opens January 1, and your first report is due in the year after the calendar year you registered. Filing late brings a $50 administrative late fee, making the report $75, and continued non-payment leads to dissolution or revocation after at least 30 days' certified-mail notice.
: Yes. West Virginia's Articles of Organization form LLD-1 states 'Fee Waived for Veteran-owned organization,' taking the normal $100 fee to $0. W. Va. Code 59-1-2a defines a veteran-owned business as at least 51 percent unconditionally owned by one or more veterans, active-duty members of any branch of the US military, or their spouses.

Where these numbers come from

Every fee above was checked against West Virginia's own published sources on July 29, 2026 — the West Virginia 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 of Limited Liability Company 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.

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