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Every step from Delaware’s own pages · checked October 22, 2026

How to start an LLC in Delaware

You can start a Delaware LLC from anywhere. The state asks for a name, a Delaware registered agent and one signature, and nothing about who owns it. The filing is a PDF you upload to the Division of Corporations for $110; after that the only yearly charge is a flat $400 tax every June 1.

To set up$110Certificate of Formation
First year$510state fees in your first 12 months
Every year after$400$400 annual tax, June 1 (no report)
Where to fileeCorp uploada finished PDF, weekdays only
How long it takesOrder received$50 buys 24 hours, $100 same day
Five years in total$2,110state fees, if you are your own registered agent

Step by step

Setting up a Delaware LLC, step by step

  1. 01

    Check your business name is free

    Search for your name on Delaware name availability search. The free General Information Name Search lists active and inactive businesses (name, file number, formation date, registered agent) but not their status. The Name Availability Search gives an instant answer on whether a name is free for the business type you choose. Neither is a final ruling. The Division of Corporations still checks the name against the rules when your certificate of formation (the document that creates your LLC) is filed, and it can reject it.

    Your name must end with
    Limited Liability Company, L.L.C. or LLC
    Holding a name
    Reserving a name is optional. It costs $75 and holds the name for 120 days. The same applicant can renew for more 120-day periods, at $75 each time.

    Words you can’t use, or need permission to use:

    • bank, or any form of the word. Allowed only if the LLC is a supervised bank or bank-holding-type company, or if the word is used in a way that clearly does not suggest a banking business

    Also worth knowing:

    • Your name must be clearly different from every name on the Division's records. That covers Delaware businesses, out-of-state businesses registered in Delaware, and reserved names, unless the other business files written consent.
    • The name may include a member's (owner's) or manager's name. It may also include words such as Company, Association, Club, Foundation, Fund, Institute, Society, Union, Syndicate, Limited, Public Benefit or Trust.
  2. 02

    Choose your registered agent

    Every LLC needs a registered agent: a person or company with an address in Delaware who receives legal papers and official letters for it.

    Can you do it yourself?
    Yes, in two cases. The LLC itself can be its own registered agent if the business is physically located in Delaware. Or any individual who lives in Delaware, such as a member (owner), can do it if they are usually at a set Delaware address often enough to accept legal papers.
    Address rules
    The agent must have a physical street address in Delaware, and it must be the same as the registered office (the LLC's official Delaware address for legal papers). The agent may not do the job only through a virtual office or a mail-forwarding service.
    Do they need to agree?
    The agent does not sign the certificate. But the Division requires whoever submits a filing that names an agent to contact the agent first and confirm they agree to act.
    • Anyone who acts as agent for more than 50 businesses is a 'commercial registered agent'. They must hold a Delaware business license and keep a staffed office in Delaware.
    • The LLC must give its agent the name, business address and phone number of a 'communications contact'. This can be a member, manager, officer, employee or chosen agent. The LLC must keep it up to date. If it is not provided, the agent can resign.
    • If the agent resigns and no new agent takes over, the resignation takes effect 30 days after it is filed. If the LLC does not name a new agent within those 30 days, its certificate of formation (the document that created it) is canceled.
  3. 03

    File the form that creates your LLC

    The form is called the Certificate of Formation. File it online at Division of Corporations’ document upload service. The fee: $110

    You’ll be asked for:

    • LLC name, including the LLC ending
    • Registered office street address in Delaware (street, city, ZIP)
    • Name of the registered agent (who receives legal papers) at that address
    • Signature and printed name of an authorized person (a person allowed to sign the certificate for the LLC)

    Good to know about the Delaware form:

    • The online service only takes uploads. You upload a completed fillable PDF certificate instead of filling in an online form, and the system builds the cover memo from what you enter.
    • Your card or bank account is not charged when you submit. The fee is charged when the Division processes the order, and an invoice follows.
    • The online service runs Monday to Thursday 7:45 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. and Friday 7:45 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Eastern time. It is closed on weekends and state holidays.
    • The certificate does not ask for members, managers, a business purpose or a main business address. Any extra terms are optional.

    Prefer paper? Yes. Mail the signed certificate with a cover memo to the Division of Corporations, 401 Federal Street, Suite 4, Dover, DE 19901. Pay by check made out to the Delaware Secretary of State. Cards are only accepted through the online service, not for mail or walk-in orders.

  4. 04

    Wait for approval (or pay to speed it up)

    No fixed time is published. Regular work (without a fee for faster service) is filed in the order it arrives, and timing depends on how much work there is. You can call the Division to ask which date it is working on now.

    Extra feeHow fastDetails
    $5024 hours (next business day)Must arrive by 7 p.m. Eastern. Paid on top of the $110 filing fee, for each file number.
    $100Same dayMust arrive before 2 p.m. Eastern. Paid on top of the filing fee, for each file number.
    $5002 hoursMust arrive by 7 p.m. Eastern. Charged for each document or request.
    $1,0001 hourMust arrive by 9 p.m. Eastern. Charged for each document or request.

    Filed papers come back by ordinary US mail unless you give a FedEx or UPS account number. Nothing is returned by fax or email.

  5. 05

    After approval: what to do next

    Once your LLC is approved, get its EIN (the business tax number), free from the IRS. Then work through what Delaware asks for next:

    • Give your registered agent a communications contactFrom formation, kept up to date · free

      State law requires every Delaware LLC to tell its registered agent (who receives legal papers for your LLC) about a person authorized to receive messages. Give that person's name, business address and phone. Without it, the agent may resign.

    • Pay the yearly LLC taxJune 1 of the year after formation, then every June 1 · $400

      A flat tax for every Delaware LLC. You owe it for any calendar year the LLC is on the records, even for one day, and it is never reduced for part of a year. It was $300 before tax year 2026. Paying late adds a $200 penalty plus 1.5% interest a month.

    • No annual report

      Delaware LLCs file no annual report with the Division of Corporations. Paying the yearly tax is the only yearly state filing with the Division.

    • Delaware business license (only if you do business in Delaware)When business starts in Delaware; renews every December 31 · Depends on the activity

      The Division of Revenue requires a license for anyone doing business in Delaware. This includes businesses located in Delaware that do business outside the state. Apply through the One Stop Business Licensing and Registration Service. If you are unsure, use the Nexus Questionnaire.

    • Gross receipts tax (only if you do business in Delaware)Every quarter at first (by the last day of the month after each quarter) · 0.0945% to 1.9914% of gross receipts above the tax-free amount

      Delaware has no sales tax. Instead it taxes the seller's gross receipts (total sales income). The monthly or quarterly tax-free amounts start at $100,000. New businesses start by filing every quarter and must file online.

    • Withholding and unemployment insurance (if you have employees in Delaware)When you have employees working in Delaware

      Employers register as a withholding agent (to take tax out of workers' pay) using Part B of the CRA form through One Stop. They also register with the Delaware Division of Unemployment Insurance and the Office of Workers' Compensation.

Delaware or your home state?

Delaware’s courts and privacy suit large companies and investors. For a small business run from another state, forming in Delaware usually means two sets of fees: Delaware’s $400 tax and a registered agent there, plus registering the LLC in the state where you actually work and paying that state’s yearly fees too. The calculator below adds both up when you set where you’ll run the business.

If keeping owners off the record is the reason, a Wyoming LLC does that too, for lower yearly fees. And Delaware LLCs file no annual report: what arrives each spring is a tax bill, explained on the Delaware LLC annual report page.

The cost

What a Delaware LLC costs to start and to keep

Answer four quick questions and your costs appear underneath: every state fee for your own case, and your deadlines. To compare Delaware with anywhere else, use the LLC cost calculator.

LLC cost calculatorState fees checked 21 October 2026
Usually the state you live in, or where your office or staff are.
Most people set it up in the state they run it from. Some choose Wyoming or Delaware, but then they usually pay two states.
Who will receive the LLC's official mail? Every LLC must name a "registered agent" with an address in the state, to receive legal papers and letters from the state.
What does this mean?

You can be your own registered agent if you live in the state, have a street address there (not a PO box) and are around in office hours. Your address then goes on the public record. A registered agent service does it for you, keeps your home address private, and costs about $125 a year.

So we can work out your real deadlines. Not sure yet? Leave it blank.
Optional extras
How fast do you need it?
Some states charge extra to process your filing faster.

Your costs appear below as soon as you choose a state, and change as you answer. Free, and nothing you enter leaves your browser.

Choose a state in question 1 to see what you'll pay: to set up, every year after, your deadlines, and what a company would charge to help.

When you file

Filing fee$110Certificate of Formation · official page · checked 2026-10-21

Also in year one

Annual LLC tax$400Owed for the year you form, even if you form in December. Paid by June 1 the next year. · official page · checked 2026-10-21

Every year after

Annual LLC tax$400June 1 of the following year (the 2026 tax is due 1 June 2027) · official page · checked 2026-10-21
Year one$510
Each year after$400
Five years$2,110

Optional or for other cases

  • Faster filing: $50 extra for 24 hours (next business day) (official page)
  • Name reservation: $75, holds the name for 120 days (official page)
  • Registering an out-of-state LLC in Delaware: $200 (official page)

Assumes you are your own registered agent, file at standard speed and owe no tax based on profit or sales. Figures from Delaware's own pages, checked 21 October 2026. Not legal or tax advice.

What’s different in Delaware

  • The LLC tax is now $400, but the Division's own How to Form page and one FAQ answer still say $300. The tax instructions page, the August 2026 certificate form and the state law all say $400.

    Official source

  • The tax is never reduced for part of a year. An LLC formed in December owes the full $400 for that year by the next June 1. An LLC that closes must pay that year's full tax before its cancellation is filed.

    Official source

  • Filing 'online' means uploading a finished PDF certificate through the Document Filing and Certificate Request Service. It is not an online form, it does not work out fees, and it is closed on weekends.

    Official source

  • Unpaid LLC tax does more than build up penalties. The LLC loses good standing (being up to date with the state) at once. If the tax stays unpaid for 3 years from its due date, the certificate of formation is canceled.

    Official source

Whose details are made public?

Yes. Members and managers do not appear on any public Delaware filing. The free business search shows only the name, file number, formation date, agent details and residency (Delaware or out-of-state). The LLC must still keep its own record of members and managers. It must also give its agent a communications contact, which the agent holds, not the state.

When you set up: Only the LLC name, the registered agent and registered office, and the name and signature of the authorized person who signs. No members or managers.

Every year: None. LLCs file no annual report, and the Division says LLCs and similar non-corporation businesses (alternative entities) do not have to list members or managers.

If you’d rather pay someone to file

Every big company that sets up LLCs, with what it charges to be your registered agent each year after the first, which is where most of the money goes. Cheapest over five years in Delaware first.

ServiceThey chargeYear one, all inEach year afterFive years
File it yourself on the state websiteBeing your own registered agent$0$510$400$2,110State site ↗
Northwest Registered AgentTurn off the $100 annual report service it adds automatically$39$549$525$2,649Visit ↗
BizeeThe free filing takes about 4 to 6 weeks$0$510$549$2,706Visit ↗
Swyft FilingsCancel the ComplianceGuard trial within 14 days or it charges $199 a year$0$659$549$2,855Visit ↗
Stripe Atlas$500 includes the Delaware filing fee$500$900$500$2,900Visit ↗
Inc AuthorityAgent renewal price not published; reviews say $179 to $249, $199 used here$0$510$599$2,906Visit ↗
CorpNetIncludes its 3% card fee$225.57$735.57$549$2,931.57Visit ↗

Each service’s own prices, checked 21 Oct 2026. Registered agent in the formation state only. Optional extras are left out, including EIN filing ($50 to $99), which the IRS does free. State fees for Delaware are included. Some links are partner links: if you buy, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes the order, which is always cheapest first. How partner links work.

Questions about Delaware LLCs

How much does it cost to start an LLC in Delaware?

$110 to file with the state. Counting the annual llc tax, your first year comes to $510. After that, $400 a year in state fees, and $2,110 over five years if you are your own registered agent.

Do I need to live in Delaware to form a Delaware LLC?

No. The Division of Corporations says you only need a registered agent (the person or company that receives legal papers for your LLC) in Delaware. This can be a Delaware resident or a business authorized to do business in the state.

How much is the Delaware LLC annual tax?

$400 a year from tax year 2026 (it was $300). It is due by June 1 of the following year and is never reduced for part of a year. Paying late adds a $200 penalty plus 1.5% interest a month.

Does a Delaware LLC file an annual report?

No. Delaware LLCs do not file an annual report. They only pay the yearly $400 tax by June 1.

Official pages this guide is checked against

Fees checked 21 October 2026, steps checked October 22, 2026. Not legal or tax advice.