Is there a veteran fee waiver for a Vermont LLC?

No. Vermont sets its filing fees in statute at 11 V.S.A. § 4012, and that section is a closed enumeration with no exemption provision. Neither the articles of organization fee nor the annual report fee moves for veterans.

Why do some sites say a Vermont LLC costs $125?

Because they have not updated since 2023. The Legislature raised the articles of organization and annual report fees in 2023 Act 77 § 37, effective June 20, 2023. Any figure quoted from before that date is stale, which is worth remembering when you compare cost guides.

Does Vermont certify veteran-owned businesses?

No. There is no Vermont certification, no state set-aside and no Vermont bid preference for veteran-owned businesses. The state's own Office of Veterans Affairs business page names only federal and nonprofit resources, which is about as clear a signal as a state gives on this question.

Vermont's veterans office mentions 3% of contracts for disabled-veteran businesses. Is that a Vermont program?

No, and this catches people out. That figure is the federal contracting goal for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and applies to federal contracts. It is not a Vermont set-aside, and it will not help you win state work in Montpelier. Read it as a pointer toward federal contracting, not a state benefit.

What does MBE mean on the Vermont Secretary of State's formation menu?

Mutual Benefit Enterprise, which is a cooperative business form. It is not Minority Business Enterprise, and it has nothing to do with any diversity or veteran program. If you saw MBE in the filing options and wondered whether Vermont had a certification hiding there, it does not.

Does Vermont's business entity tax have a veteran exemption?

No. The minimum business entity tax applies to Vermont LLCs without regard to veteran ownership, just as the filing fees do. There is no veteran-conditioned relief in the state's business tax that we could locate.

Where does a Vermont veteran get free business help?

Start with the Vermont SBDC, which the Office of Veterans Affairs itself points to first, and with the SBA's Montpelier office. The OVA at 802-828-3379 can confirm current referrals. Vermont is a small state and these offices are reachable, which is a real advantage over navigating a large state bureaucracy.

LLC Guide

Vermont's LLC fees are set by statute, with no veteran exemption

11 V.S.A. § 4012 lists every fee the Secretary of State collects and provides no exemption of any kind. Vermont's own veterans office answers the business question by pointing at federal and nonprofit help.

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: August 2026

Vermont does not discount LLC filing fees for veterans — the fee is $155 for everyone — but Vermont runs no veteran-owned business certification of its own. See the sources below.

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.

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Vermont charges veterans the full $155 to file articles of organization, and the state runs no veteran-owned business certification.

The fee is not set by an agency schedule that could quietly carry an exception. It sits in statute at 11 V.S.A. § 4012, which enumerates each filing and its price and contains no exemption subsection at all. The annual report works the same way, and Vermont's minimum business entity tax applies without regard to who owns the company. The Office of Veterans Affairs runs a business development page, and every resource named on it is federal or nonprofit.

What a Veteran Pays to Form an LLC in Vermont

Standard state filing fee	$155
What a veteran pays today	$155
Veteran-specific saving	$0 — no veteran discount on this fee
State veteran-owned business certification	No state program — federal certification only

Verified August 6, 2026 against Vermont primary sources — listed at the end of this guide.

Why Vermont Has No Veteran LLC Fee Waiver

Because Vermont puts its filing fees in the statute rather than a fee schedule, the answer here is unusually clean: § 4012 is a closed list, and a fee that is not on it does not exist while a discount that is not written into it cannot be granted. There is no veteran subsection to find. The domestic annual report is a separate line in the same section, also flat, also without an exemption. One practical warning about numbers you will see elsewhere. The formation and annual report fees were raised by 2023 Act 77 § 37, effective June 20, 2023, so any article quoting $125 to form a Vermont LLC is working from pre-2023 figures. That is a common enough error that it is worth checking the date on whatever you are reading. Vermont also has no general state business licence, so there is no licence fee to be waived either; what exists are sector-specific and professional licences issued by their own boards.

Authority: 11 V.S.A. § 4012(a)(1): 'The Secretary of State shall collect the following fees when a document described in this section is delivered to the Office of the Secretary of State for filing: (1) Articles of organization $155.00.' Amended by 2023, No. 77, § 37, eff. June 20, 2023. The section sets a single flat fee and contains no veteran exemption or reduction. — legislature.vermont.gov

Veteran-Owned Business Certification in Vermont

Vermont does not run its own veteran-owned business certification. That means there is no state certificate to apply for — but it also means the federal certification is the one that matters, and it is free.

The SBA’s VetCert program certifies Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) for federal contracting. Certification is free and is handled entirely at veterans.certify.sba.gov.

State Benefits vs Federal Benefits — What Is Actually Different

Most of what gets published as “veteran LLC benefits in Vermont” is actually federal, and identical in all 50 states. Three separate things get run together:

What it is	Who runs it	Does it make forming an LLC cheaper?
Filing-fee waiver	Vermont Secretary of State, by statute	Not available in Vermont
Veteran-owned business certification	U.S. Small Business Administration (VetCert)	No — it helps you win contracts, not file paperwork
SBA loans, VBOC counselling, VA benefits	Federal agencies	No — and they are the same in every state

Certification is worth doing on its own merits, but it is not a discount on formation. If a page tells you Vermontgives veterans a “free LLC” and then links you to a certification portal, it has conflated the first row with the second.

Free Help for Veteran Business Owners in Vermont

The Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs (802-828-3379) runs a business development page that is, in effect, the state's official answer to what Vermont does for veteran business owners. It names the Vermont SBDC, the SBA's Montpelier office, the VA's VetBiz portal and NaVOBA. Everything on that list is federal or nonprofit, which tells you where the actual help is. The Vermont SBDC is the most useful first call for a Vermont-based founder, since its advising is free and its counsellors work with the state's licensing and tax agencies routinely.

Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs — veterans.vermont.gov · 802-828-3379

Veteran Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs) are funded by the SBA and provide free business planning and formation counselling to veterans, service members and military spouses. Find your VBOC.

Forming the LLC Itself

Nothing about the formation process changes because you are a veteran — the forms, the registered agent requirement and the annual filing are the same. The full walkthrough lives in our Vermont formation guide rather than being repeated here.

How to start an LLC in Vermont →

Sources

Every figure on this page was checked against these primary sources on August 6, 2026.

Chart comparing the standard Vermont LLC filing fee with what a veteran actually pays to form an LLC, and the difference between the two. — What a veteran pays to form an LLC in Vermont, against the standard filing fee. Source: Vermont Secretary of State.

Frequently Asked Questions

: No. Vermont sets its filing fees in statute at 11 V.S.A. § 4012, and that section is a closed enumeration with no exemption provision. Neither the articles of organization fee nor the annual report fee moves for veterans.
: Because they have not updated since 2023. The Legislature raised the articles of organization and annual report fees in 2023 Act 77 § 37, effective June 20, 2023. Any figure quoted from before that date is stale, which is worth remembering when you compare cost guides.
: No. There is no Vermont certification, no state set-aside and no Vermont bid preference for veteran-owned businesses. The state's own Office of Veterans Affairs business page names only federal and nonprofit resources, which is about as clear a signal as a state gives on this question.
: No, and this catches people out. That figure is the federal contracting goal for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and applies to federal contracts. It is not a Vermont set-aside, and it will not help you win state work in Montpelier. Read it as a pointer toward federal contracting, not a state benefit.
: Mutual Benefit Enterprise, which is a cooperative business form. It is not Minority Business Enterprise, and it has nothing to do with any diversity or veteran program. If you saw MBE in the filing options and wondered whether Vermont had a certification hiding there, it does not.
: No. The minimum business entity tax applies to Vermont LLCs without regard to veteran ownership, just as the filing fees do. There is no veteran-conditioned relief in the state's business tax that we could locate.
: Start with the Vermont SBDC, which the Office of Veterans Affairs itself points to first, and with the SBA's Montpelier office. The OVA at 802-828-3379 can confirm current referrals. Vermont is a small state and these offices are reachable, which is a real advantage over navigating a large state bureaucracy.

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