We compared 4 services (Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness, LegalZoom) on 3-year service cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score. The ranking is arithmetic you can redo yourself from the tables below.
Services compared4
Data points per service17
Last updatedSeptember 2026
Affiliate disclosure: ZenBusiness, Bizee, LegalZoom and Northwest Registered Agent pay us a commission if you sign up through our link, at no extra cost to you. This page lists the formation services we have an affiliate relationship with, so it is not a survey of the whole market. Among the services listed, the order is computed from published cost and third-party ratings, and the code that computes it never reads which of them pays us.
Ranked on 3-year cost (55%), BBB rating (25%) and Trustpilot score (20%). The formula and the full arithmetic are in the methodology below.
Find your best fit:
Our Rankings
Ordered by the score in the methodology below, which is 55% three-year cost, 25% BBB rating and 20% Trustpilot score. Every card shows its own arithmetic.
Northwest Registered Agent files your LLC for $39 plus the state fee, and that price includes a year of registered agent service. After year one, registered agent service is $125/yr, which puts the 3-year total at $289. Northwest says it does not sell your information and runs its own servers. The $39 package does not include EIN filing (a $50 add-on) or IRS Form 2553. One thing to know before you sign up: registered agent customers are enrolled by default in Northwest's annual report filing service, charged at $100 plus state fees when it files your report, and you can cancel that service at any time.
#1, score 94.3 / 100Lowest 3-year cost
Northwest Registered Agent
$39 + state fee
starting price
⭐ 4.1/5 Trustpilot (297 reviews)BBB: A, not BBB accreditedBoth figures as recorded September 15, 2026, not re-checked since
Pros
✓Registered agent included for year one, then a flat $125/yr
✓States in its privacy policy that it does not sell your information
✓Runs its own servers
Cons
✗EIN filing is a $50 add-on, and S-corp election is sold as a separate service
✗$39 formation fee vs $0 on starter plans elsewhere
✗Enrolls registered agent customers in annual report filing ($100 + state fees) by default
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no cost to you
Bizee (formerly Incfile) suits founders for whom registered agent renewal cost is the priority. Its registered agent renews at $149/yr once year-one promotions expire, $50/yr less than ZenBusiness and $100/yr less than LegalZoom. Their Gold plan bundles IRS Form 2553 (S-Corp election filing), EIN application, and a banking resolution document. Its C rating from the BBB is the main drag on Bizee's score. BBB gives two reasons for that grade: 82 complaints filed in three years, and, in BBB's words, that the business "has failed to resolve underlying cause(s) of a pattern of complaints". BBB's pattern-of-complaint alert on the profile is still live, and Bizee has posted a response to it describing changes to renewal notices, cancellation and refunds. If you choose Bizee for the price, read every auto-renewal term before completing checkout.
#2, score 83 / 100Registered agent renews at $149/yr
Bizee
$0 + state fee
starting price
⭐ 4.8/5 Trustpilot (26,100+ reviews)BBB: C, unaccredited, with a live BBB pattern-of-complaint alertBoth figures as recorded September 15, 2026, not re-checked since
⚠️ Bizee holds a C rating from the BBB, which is not accredited and carries a live pattern-of-complaint alert. We're flagging this so you can make an informed choice. It's still a widely-used service.
Pros
✓Registered agent renews at $149/yr after year one
✓Free registered agent included on all plans for year one
✓Gold plan bundles EIN + IRS Form 2553 + banking resolution
Cons
✗C rating from the BBB, which cites a pattern of complaints about charges and cancellation
✗Phone and email support only, with no chat channel
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no cost to you
ZenBusiness holds a 4.8/5 Trustpilot score. Their free Starter plan covers state filing, registered agent for year one, and a compliance dashboard that tracks your annual report deadlines. Worry-Free Compliance ($199/yr after year one) is useful if you would rather not track state deadlines yourself, and skippable if you will. Registered agent renews at $199/yr, which is $50/yr more than Bizee, and that renewal is what puts the 3-year total at $398.
#3, score 82.1 / 100Compliance dashboard on the free plan
ZenBusiness
$0 + state fee
starting price
⭐ 4.8/5 Trustpilot (32,500+ reviews)BBB: ABoth figures as recorded September 15, 2026, not re-checked since
Pros
✓Free starter plan with registered agent included yr 1
✓4.8/5 Trustpilot score, with phone, email and chat support
✓Worry-Free Compliance keeps annual filings on track
Cons
✗Registered agent renews at $199/yr after year one
✗Compliance package auto-renews. Read the fine print at checkout
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no cost to you
LegalZoom has helped form more than 4 million business entities since 2001. For a simple single-member LLC, they're overkill: registered agent costs $249/yr and is not included in any plan. That puts their 3-year total at $747, against Bizee's $298. But if your situation involves multiple members with non-equal ownership, IP or trademark concerns, or an operating agreement with unusual terms, their Premium plan's attorney access changes the math: it includes unlimited 30-minute consultations with a licensed attorney during your first 30 days. Budget the full first-year cost. RA adds $249 on top of the plan price before you start.
#4, score 64.7 / 100Licensed attorney access on Premium
LegalZoom
$0 + state fee
starting price
⭐ 4.6/5 Trustpilot (32,900+ reviews)BBB: A+Both figures as recorded September 15, 2026, not re-checked since
Pros
✓Attorney access on Premium: unlimited 30-min consultations (first 30 days)
✓4M+ customers served since 2001
✓Handles trademarks, wills, and contracts beyond just LLC formation
Cons
✗Registered agent is $249/yr and NOT included in any plan
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no cost to you
Full Feature Comparison
Columns are in ranked order, highest score first. The first three rows are the only three figures the ranking is computed from. Scroll horizontally on mobile.
Feature
Northwest Registered Agent#1, score 94.3
Bizee#2, score 83
ZenBusiness#3, score 82.1
LegalZoom#4, score 64.7
3-year total (excl. state fee)Scoring input
$289
$298
$398
$747
BBB ratingScoring input
A (unaccredited)
C (unaccredited)
A
A+
Trustpilot scoreScoring input
4.1/5 (297)
4.8/5 (26,100+)
4.8/5 (32,500+)
4.6/5 (32,900+)
Formation fee
$39 + state
$0 + state
$0 + state
$0 + state
Articles of Organization
✓
✓ all plans
✓ all plans
✓ all plans
Registered agent, year 1
✓ included
✓ free
✓ free
✗ ($249 extra)
Registered agent, renewal
$125/yr
$149/yr
$199/yr
$249/yr
Operating agreement
✓ included
Gold+
Pro+
Pro+
EIN filing
$50 add-on
Gold+
Pro+
Pro+
IRS Form 2553
Sold separately
Gold+
✗
✗
Banking resolution
✗
Gold+
✗
✗
Attorney access
✗
✗
✗
✓ Premium
Annual report reminders
✓
✓ lifetime
✓ all plans
✓
No data sharing / spam
Says it does not sell data; uses Meta Pixel
✗
Partial
Partial
Standard turnaround
State-dependent
State-dependent
2 to 3 weeks
5 to 14 days
Rush processing
Not stated
A few days
4 to 6 business days
1 business day
Customer support
Phone / email
Phone / email
Phone / email / chat
Phone / email / chat
BBB and Trustpilot figures as recorded September 15, 2026 to September 15, 2026. We have not re-checked them since, and both sources update continuously. Northwest Registered Agent's figures were re-checked on September 15, 2026, when we joined its affiliate programme, and that check moved our record down, from A+ to A and from 4.7 to 4.1.
Total Cost Over 3 Years
Registered agent is a legal requirement in every state, not an optional add-on. That makes registered agent renewal cost the most important variable in this comparison, not the formation fee, which is why the 3-year total below carries 55% of the score. Cheapest first, excluding the state filing fee (which is identical regardless of which service you use):
Service
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
3-Year Total
Note
Northwest Registered Agent
$39
$125
$125
$289
Includes RA yr 1
Bizee
$0
$149
$149
$298
C BBB rating
ZenBusiness
$0
$199
$199
$398
RA free yr 1
LegalZoom
$249
$249
$249
$747
RA not included in plans
Excludes state filing fees ($35 to $520 depending on state) and any optional add-ons. Assumes registered agent only, no compliance packages or premium tiers.
How We Rank These Services
This is desk research, not hands-on testing. We have not formed a test LLC with any of these companies. The ranking is computed from three figures that are published by the companies themselves or by a third party, all three of which are printed in the comparison table above, so you can recompute the order yourself and disagree with it on the arithmetic.
Cost, 55%
Three-year service cost excluding the state fee, which is the same whichever service you use. Scored as 100 × 289 ÷ (that service's 3-year total), so the cheapest scores 100 and a service that costs twice as much scores 50. A registered agent is a legal requirement in every state, and its renewal is the one line you pay every year.
BBB rating, 25%
The Better Business Bureau letter grade. The 13 grades are spread evenly from 100 for A+ down to 0 for F. The grade is BBB's; converting a letter to a number is ours, and this is the whole of that conversion.
Trustpilot score, 20%
The published Trustpilot score, multiplied by 20 to put it on the same 0 to 100 scale. It carries the least weight because the four scores span only 0.7 points. The review counts behind them are very different, and the formula does not weight for that: the counts are printed in the comparison table above.
The arithmetic, in full
#
Service
3-yr cost
Cost score (×0.55)
BBB (×0.25)
Trustpilot (×0.2)
Total
1
Northwest Registered Agent
$289
100
91.7
82
94.3
2
Bizee
$298
97
41.7
96
83
3
ZenBusiness
$398
72.6
91.7
96
82.1
4
LegalZoom
$747
38.7
100
92
64.7
What the weights do to the answer. First place does not depend on the weight on cost. With the BBB and Trustpilot weights kept in their 25 to 20 ratio, Northwest Registered Agent finishes first at every weighting from 40% to 70% on cost. At the 55% we use, Northwest Registered Agent leads Bizee by 11.3 points.
What is not in the formula. Checkout transparency, support responsiveness and processing speed are all things a reader would reasonably want scored, and we have no way to measure any of them that would survive being checked. They stay in the write-ups as description and carry no weight in the number.
No service pays for its position in the order, but only services that pay us a commission are listed. ZenBusiness, Bizee, LegalZoom and Northwest Registered Agent pay us a commission if you sign up through our link, at no extra cost to you. Among the services listed, the order is computed from published cost and third-party ratings, and the code that computes it never reads which of them pays us.
How to Choose an LLC Formation Service
8 things to understand before you pay, including two where the industry broadly misleads buyers.
1. Optimize for year 2+ cost, not the formation fee
All four services offer $0 or near-zero formation pricing. The real difference shows up in registered agent renewal: $125/yr (Northwest Registered Agent) to $249/yr (LegalZoom). Over five years, the spread between cheapest and most expensive registered agent is $620. Choose based on what you'll pay annually, not what you'll pay once.
2. Formation speed is determined by your state, not the service
Every formation service submits your paperwork to the same state office, so standard turnaround is outside their control. What is easy to miss is that most states never publish one: 31 of 50 state no standard non-expedited processing time at all, and Arizona, California and Florida post only a rolling queue of the dates they are currently working through. Delaware is one of the silent ones (it says only that "processing times may vary during our busy season") so a service quoting you a Delaware turnaround is quoting its own handling time, not the state's. Services can pay the state's expedite fee where one exists (30 states), and that is the only lever that actually moves the state's side.
3. Your registered agent address becomes a public record
If you list your home address as your registered agent, it appears in publicly searchable state business records. One of the real benefits of a professional registered agent service is that its address, not yours, appears as your LLC's registered office in the public record. Your state may still publish other addresses, such as a principal office or an organizer's address. All four services above sell this service: ZenBusiness and Bizee include it free for year one, Northwest Registered Agent includes it in its $39 formation package, and LegalZoom sells it as a separate add-on on every plan.
4. Get your EIN directly from the IRS. Don't pay for it
An EIN (Employer Identification Number) is obtained at irs.gov/EIN for free in about 10 minutes. Every formation service upsells EIN filing as an add-on. Skip it. The only exception: non-U.S. residents without an SSN must file the SS-4 paper form, where paying a service to handle the process is worth the time saved.
5. Attorney access is only worth it for complex situations
LegalZoom's Premium attorney consultations are useful for multi-member LLCs with unusual ownership splits, businesses in regulated industries, founders with IP or trademark concerns, or anyone considering Series LLC structures. For a standard single-member LLC as a freelancer, consultant, or solo founder, you don't need, and shouldn't pay for, attorney access.
6. Watch for pre-checked upsells during checkout
Registered agent, operating agreement, EIN filing, compliance packages, and domain registration are commonly pre-checked by default in formation service checkouts. Uncheck every box and add back only what you've decided you want. We have not walked these checkouts ourselves, so treat this as a general warning about the category rather than a ranking of the services above.
7. Draft an operating agreement even if your state doesn't require one
Most states don't legally mandate an operating agreement for single-member LLCs. But banks often require one before opening a business account, and courts have pierced LLC liability shields in cases where there was no documented separation between personal and business operations. For a solo founder, a one-page operating agreement confirming you're the sole member, 100% owner, and managing member is sufficient and takes 15 minutes to create using a free template.
8. Know your annual report deadline before you close the tab
Every state has an annual (or biennial) report requirement to keep your LLC in good standing. Deadlines vary: some are on a fixed calendar date, others fall on your LLC's anniversary month, and a few states charge a minimum franchise tax on top of the report fee. Missing your state's deadline triggers late fees and, in most states, eventually dissolves your LLC administratively. Look up your state's specific deadline on the Secretary of State website immediately after your LLC is approved. Don't rely on a formation service reminder as your only safeguard.
Our Recommendation
On the three figures we can source, Northwest Registered Agent scores highest of the services listed here, at 94.3 out of 100: $289 over three years and an A from the BBB, against the lowest Trustpilot score on this page (4.1/5 from 297 reviews, where the others carry 4.6 to 4.8). That is a statement about those three figures, not about which product suits you. The rows below are about that, and they do not follow the ranking.
If you need…
You want a compliance dashboard and phone, email and chat support
Use…
ZenBusiness Starter
$0 formation, a 4.8/5 Trustpilot score, and phone, email and chat. $398 over three years.
If you need…
The lowest possible three-year cost
Use…
Northwest Registered Agent
$289 over three years, the lowest listed here. The tradeoff is a $39 formation fee where the other plans start at $0, and a 4.1/5 Trustpilot score from 297 reviews.
If you need…
Multi-member LLC, IP concerns, or complex structure
Use…
LegalZoom Premium
The only one of the four with licensed attorney access. Also the most expensive by a wide margin at $747 over three years.
What to Do After Forming Your LLC
Filing your Articles of Organization is step one. These six steps turn your approved LLC into a properly operating, protected business, and most founders skip at least two of them.
1
Get your EIN from the IRS (free, ~10 minutes)
An Employer Identification Number is your LLC's federal tax identifier. You need it to open a business bank account, hire employees, and file business taxes. Apply directly at IRS.gov/EIN for free. The online process takes about 10 minutes and delivers your EIN instantly. Do not pay a formation service to do this for you. The online application is identical and there is no benefit to using an intermediary.
2
Open a dedicated business bank account
Keeping business and personal finances separate is the single most important thing you can do to maintain your LLC's liability protection. Courts have pierced the LLC shield specifically when founders mixed personal and business funds, a practice called "piercing the corporate veil." Most major banks (Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo) offer free business checking for LLCs. Bring your Articles of Organization, EIN letter, and operating agreement when you apply. Mercury and Relay are popular online alternatives with no monthly fees.
3
Draft and sign your operating agreement
An operating agreement documents your LLC's internal rules: ownership percentage, how profits and losses are distributed, voting procedures, and what happens when a member wants to exit. For a single-member LLC, a one-page document confirming you're the 100% managing member is sufficient. For multi-member LLCs, this document is critical, especially buyout rights and dispute resolution clauses. File a signed copy in a safe place and provide it whenever a bank or vendor requests proof of membership.
4
Obtain any required business licenses
Forming an LLC gives you a legal business entity. It doesn't automatically authorize you to operate in a regulated industry or jurisdiction. Depending on your business type and location, you may need: a local business operating license (most cities and counties require one for commercial activity), a professional license (required for contractors, healthcare providers, lawyers, real estate agents, and many other professions), a sales tax permit if you sell physical goods, or federal licenses if you operate in certain industries (firearms, alcohol, broadcasting). Contact your city or county clerk and your state's licensing board for your specific requirements.
5
Set up your bookkeeping system
Your LLC is a separate tax entity and needs its own books. The IRS requires you to maintain records that clearly separate business income and expenses from personal activity. At minimum, use a dedicated business credit or debit card for all business purchases, and reconcile your accounts monthly. For simple single-member LLCs, free tools like Wave or a basic spreadsheet work fine. As your revenue grows, QuickBooks Self-Employed ($15/mo) or FreshBooks ($17/mo) add invoicing, mileage tracking, and tax estimates. If your LLC earns more than $75,000/yr, consider a bookkeeper. The cost is tax-deductible and typically pays for itself in missed deductions.
6
Mark your annual report deadline
Every state requires LLCs to file a periodic report (annual, biennial, or on a rolling anniversary basis) to maintain active status. Missing the deadline results in late fees, and in most states, continued non-compliance triggers administrative dissolution, your LLC loses its legal status. Look up your state's specific deadline, fee, and filing method on your Secretary of State's website today, and calendar the reminder at least 60 days before it's due. If you prefer hands-off compliance management, ZenBusiness Worry-Free Compliance ($199/yr after year one) handles reminders and filing for you.
LLC Filing Fees by State (2026)
State filing fees are paid directly to your Secretary of State. They're mandatory regardless of which formation service you use and are not included in any service's advertised pricing. Fees range from $35 (Montana) to $520 (Massachusetts). Some states also levy an entity-level tax on top of the filing fee. California adds $800/yr, Delaware $400/yr, and Rhode Island $400/yr. Always research your specific state's total cost before filing.
State
Filing Fee
Annual Report / Fee
Key Notes
Alabama
$200
None for most LLCs
Business Privilege Tax return only if computed tax exceeds $100
Alaska
$250
$100/2 yrs
Biennial report
Arizona
$50
None
No annual report required
California
$70
$20/2 yrs
$800/yr minimum franchise tax required
Colorado
$50
$25/yr
Periodic report due annually
Delaware
$110
None
Popular for investors; flat $400 annual LLC tax due June 1, no report
Florida
$125
$138.75/yr
Annual report due May 1
Georgia
$110
$60/yr
Annual registration
Illinois
$150
$75/yr
Annual report required
New York
$200
$9/2 yrs
Publication requirement adds at least $200 one-time
Nevada
$75
$150/yr
Annual List $150 plus $200 State Business License, so $425 day one and $350/yr after
Texas
$300
$0 (franchise tax may apply)
Franchise tax due if gross receipts > $2.65M (2026)
Washington
$200
$70/yr
Annual renewal required; $180 if filed on paper
Wyoming
$100
$60 min/yr
Strong asset protection laws; popular for privacy
Fees shown are for standard processing. Expedited filing costs extra. Always verify current fees with your Secretary of State. These change periodically.
Frequently Asked Questions
The total cost has two parts: a service fee (which can be $0 on starter plans) and a mandatory state filing fee. State fees vary widely. Delaware charges $110, Wyoming charges $100, and California charges $70, but some states cost more. California also has an $800/yr minimum franchise tax regardless of income. New York requires a publication fee (~$500 one-time). When you add a registered agent ($125 to $249/yr depending on the service), the realistic first-year cost for most people is $150 to $500 all in. The 'free' plans are legitimately free for the formation service itself. The state fee is unavoidable.
ZenBusiness scores higher on our formula: it has a higher Trustpilot score (4.8 vs 4.6), lower ongoing cost, and includes a registered agent free for the first year, while LegalZoom charges $249/yr for registered agent on top of the plan price. LegalZoom is the right choice if you need attorney access: their Premium plan includes unlimited 30-minute legal consultations during your first 30 days, which is valuable for complex structures, IP concerns, or multi-member LLCs with unusual terms.
Both offer a $0 starter plan with registered agent included in year one. The difference shows up on renewal: Bizee's registered agent renews at $149/yr vs ZenBusiness's $199/yr, making Bizee cheaper than ZenBusiness long-term if price is your only concern. However, ZenBusiness holds an A from the BBB against Bizee's C, and offers chat support alongside phone and email. Bizee's Gold plan also bundles EIN, IRS Form 2553 and a banking resolution. ZenBusiness includes EIN filing on Pro and above, and our table shows neither Form 2553 nor a banking resolution in its plans. Choose Bizee over ZenBusiness for the lower ongoing cost; choose ZenBusiness for the higher BBB grade and chat support.
Bizee (formerly Incfile) holds a C rating from the Better Business Bureau, and is not BBB accredited. BBB gives two reasons on the profile: 82 complaints filed in the last three years, and that the business has failed to resolve the underlying causes of a pattern of complaints. BBB's alert describes complaints about unexpected charges, difficulty canceling recurring services, and delays in completing filings. Bizee has posted a response to that alert describing changes: advance notice before registered agent renewal charges, self-service cancellation in the dashboard, and a formal escalation process. This doesn't mean the service is fraudulent, and millions of people have formed LLCs through them. If you do use Bizee, read the terms carefully and set a calendar reminder to review renewal charges annually.
It depends on your state far more than on the formation service, and most states will not tell you. Only 19 of 50 publish any standard non-expedited turnaround, so for the other 31, including Delaware, Texas and New York, nobody can quote you a reliable state figure. The service timelines are their own internal handling, not a state promise: ZenBusiness typically takes 2 to 3 weeks, Bizee is state-dependent, LegalZoom takes 5 to 14 days on their base plan, and Northwest does not publish one. Rush options exist (LegalZoom 1 business day; ZenBusiness 4 to 6 business days on Pro and Premium) but they only speed up the service's side unless you also pay the state's own expedite fee, which 30 states offer. Wyoming is genuinely fast: its own portal makes online filings effective immediately.
Yes. Every LLC is legally required to have a registered agent in the state where it's formed. A registered agent receives official legal and government mail on your behalf (lawsuits, tax notices, compliance reminders). You can be your own registered agent if you live in the state and are available at a physical address during business hours, but using a service ($125 to $249/yr) is worth it because it keeps your personal address off public records, ensures you never miss a notice, and handles compliance reminders automatically.
Yes. Every state lets you file Articles of Organization directly with the Secretary of State, typically online, for the same state fee. The DIY route makes sense if you're comfortable with paperwork, don't need a registered agent service, and are forming in a simple single-member structure. What you give up: document storage, annual report reminders, compliance alerts, and the convenience of having formation docs organized in one place. For most first-time founders, paying $0 + state fee for a starter plan from ZenBusiness or Bizee gives you professional filing plus those extras at no additional cost.
Worry-Free Compliance is ZenBusiness's annual compliance package. It's included free for the first year on all plans, then auto-renews at $199/yr. It covers two amendment filings per year, annual report reminders and filing assistance, and access to their compliance dashboard. It's worth it if your LLC is active and you want hands-off compliance management. It's not worth it if you're comfortable tracking your own annual report deadlines (each state's deadline is public information) and your LLC structure is unlikely to change. Cancel before the auto-renewal date if you don't want it.
A formation service files your Articles of Organization with the state, a one-time action. A registered agent service receives official legal and government correspondence on behalf of your LLC on an ongoing annual basis. Most formation companies sell both: they handle the initial filing and then provide registered agent service going forward. The two are separate products bundled together, which is why all major services advertise '$0 + state fee' for formation while charging separately for registered agent renewal starting in year two.
Not automatically. They're two separate products. On starter plans at ZenBusiness and Bizee, registered agent is pre-selected and included for year one as part of the formation package. After year one, you'll receive renewal notices. You can continue with the same service, switch to a different registered agent, or appoint yourself as registered agent if you live in the state and have a physical address available during business hours.
If your registered agent service lapses and you don't replace it, your LLC risks administrative dissolution in most states. The state can revoke your LLC's good standing for failing to maintain a registered agent. In practice there's usually a notice period and cure window. Registered agent services send renewal reminders starting 60 to 90 days before expiration. If you plan to discontinue a professional service, file a Change of Registered Agent form with the Secretary of State before your current subscription expires.
For most small business owners: form in your home state. The popular advice to use Delaware or Wyoming applies mainly to venture-backed startups and specific situations. Delaware is the standard for companies planning to raise VC funding or go public. Wyoming offers strong asset protection for multi-state portfolios or complex multi-member structures. The catch: if you form in Wyoming but operate in California, you still need to register as a foreign LLC in California and pay California's $800/yr minimum franchise tax. The foreign registration costs typically exceed any savings for a single-state small business.
No. An EIN (Employer Identification Number) is obtained directly from the IRS at irs.gov/EIN. It's free and takes about 10 minutes online. There is no reason to pay a formation service to file it for you. Every major service upsells EIN filing as an add-on or includes it on their paid tiers. If a service charges $50 to $70 for EIN filing, skip it and file directly with the IRS. The only exception is if you're a non-U.S. citizen without a Social Security Number, which requires the SS-4 paper form. Formation services can handle that complexity.
Yes. Switching registered agents is straightforward: file a Change of Registered Agent form with your Secretary of State (typically a $10 to $25 state fee), appoint the new agent, and cancel your old service. The new registered agent takes effect upon state acceptance, usually within 1 to 2 business days. Northwest Registered Agent at $125/yr is the lowest renewal of the services listed here if you're switching away from a more expensive service at renewal time. The formation service relationship itself is a one-time transaction. Once your LLC is filed, you can switch any ongoing subscriptions independently.
An operating agreement is an internal document that defines how your LLC is governed, who owns what percentage, how profits are distributed, how decisions are made, and what happens if a member wants to leave. Most states do not legally require an operating agreement, but you should have one anyway. Without it, your state's default LLC rules apply, which may not match your intentions. Banks and investors often require an operating agreement before opening business accounts or extending credit. For a single-member LLC, a basic operating agreement is a one-page document; for multi-member LLCs with different ownership percentages, it becomes more important to get right. ZenBusiness includes an operating agreement template on Pro plans; LegalZoom provides attorney-drafted versions on Premium; Northwest includes one with its formation service. Single-member owners can find template operating agreements online for free, or use LegalZoom's standalone operating agreement service if you need a state-specific version.
Annual reports (also called Statements of Information or Biennial Reports depending on the state) are periodic filings that update your state on your LLC's current registered agent, members, and contact information. They're not tax filings. They're an administrative requirement to keep your LLC in good standing. The deadline and frequency vary by state: California requires a Statement of Information within 90 days of formation, then every two years ($20 fee). Wyoming's annual report is due the first day of your anniversary month ($60 minimum). Delaware LLCs file no annual report but owe a flat annual tax, due by June 1 each year. Missing an annual report deadline can result in late fees, administrative dissolution, or loss of LLC good standing. All four formation services on this page provide annual report reminders; ZenBusiness's Worry-Free Compliance ($199/yr after year one) includes filing assistance. If you don't use a compliance service, calendar your state's deadline immediately after formation.
The most important difference is liability protection. A sole proprietorship offers no legal separation between you and your business: if your business is sued or can't pay its debts, your personal assets (savings, home, car) are at risk. An LLC creates a separate legal entity, so business liabilities generally stay within the LLC. Your personal assets are shielded in most circumstances. The second difference is credibility: an LLC signals you're running a legitimate business, which matters when opening a bank account, applying for contracts, or bringing on clients. The tradeoff is cost: a sole proprietorship costs nothing to start and has no ongoing compliance requirements, while an LLC requires a state filing fee ($35 to $520) and annual maintenance. For any business with real revenue, clients, or liability exposure, the cost of an LLC is almost always worth the protection.
Yes. There is no US citizenship or residency requirement to form an LLC. Non-US residents can form LLCs in any state. Wyoming and Delaware are popular choices for international founders because of strong asset protection laws and minimal reporting requirements. The main complications are EIN acquisition and banking. Non-US residents without a Social Security Number cannot apply for an EIN online. They must submit IRS Form SS-4 by fax or mail, which takes 4 to 8 weeks. Some formation services, ZenBusiness among them, offer EIN application assistance for non-residents. Opening a US business bank account is also more complex for non-residents; most major banks require in-person visits. Newer fintech alternatives like Mercury, Relay, and Bluevine have opened US business banking to international founders with varying degrees of success depending on country of residence.
A single-member LLC has one owner (the member), while a multi-member LLC has two or more. The core structure and liability protections are identical. The differences show up in taxation and governance. A single-member LLC is treated as a disregarded entity by default: you report business income on your personal tax return (Schedule C) with no separate LLC tax return required. A multi-member LLC is treated as a partnership by default, requiring a partnership tax return (Form 1065) in addition to each member's personal return. Both types can elect S-Corp or C-Corp tax status. For governance, multi-member LLCs need an operating agreement that specifies ownership percentages, voting rights, and profit distribution, these aren't needed for solo operators but become critical when co-founders disagree. If you're forming with a partner, draft a detailed operating agreement before anything else.
Best LLC services by state
LLC formation rules, fees, and timelines are set at the state level. Pick your state for rankings tuned to its requirements: