Forming an LLC in California costs $70 to file and $890 in year one, then $810 a year to keep in good standing, if you're your own registered agent.
California’s filing fee is small. The $800 tax that follows is not: it is due for your first year and every year after, whether or not the LLC makes a cent. Form after mid-April and the first two payments can both land inside your first 12 months. Change any choice below, or compare any state in the LLC cost calculator.
Year one counts the filing, set-up items and any tax charged for the year you form. Yearly reports sit under "every year after" even when the first one lands inside your first 12 months; the due dates tab shows exactly when. Taxes that depend on profit or sales are explained, not counted. Not legal or tax advice.
Downloads a calendar file. Nothing is sent anywhere.
| Service | They charge | Year one, all in | Each year after | Five years |
|---|
The fee schedule
Assumes you are your own registered agent, file at standard speed and owe no tax based on profit or sales. Figures from California's own pages, checked 21 October 2026. Not legal or tax advice.
File it yourself on California’s own filing site. You only need a formation service if you want someone else to be your registered agent, or to handle the forms for you. If you’ll run the business from another state, set “Where you’ll run the business” in the calculator: it adds what registering back home costs.
Every service, with its own registered agent price after year one, which is where most of the money is. Cheapest over five years first.
| Service | They charge | Year one, all in | Each year after | Five years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File it yourself on the state websiteBeing your own registered agent | $0 | $890 | $810 | $4,130 | State site ↗ |
| Northwest Registered AgentTurn off the $100 annual report service it adds automatically | $39 | $929 | $935 | $4,669 | Visit ↗ |
| BizeeThe free filing takes about 4 to 6 weeks | $0 | $890 | $959 | $4,726 | Visit ↗ |
| Swyft FilingsCancel the ComplianceGuard trial within 14 days or it charges $199 a year | $0 | $1,039 | $959 | $4,875 | Visit ↗ |
| Inc AuthorityAgent renewal price not published; reviews say $179 to $249, $199 used here | $0 | $890 | $1,009 | $4,926 | Visit ↗ |
| CorpNetIncludes its 3% card fee | $225.57 | $1,115.57 | $959 | $4,951.57 | Visit ↗ |
| Harbor Compliance | $99 | $1,088 | $969 | $4,964 | Visit ↗ |
| Registered Agents IncAgent price includes filing your annual report (state fee extra) | $100 | $990 | $1,010 | $5,030 | Visit ↗ |
| Tailor Brands | $0 | $1,089 | $1,009 | $5,125 | Visit ↗ |
| ZenBusinessCancel the free-year compliance plan or it renews at $199 | $0 | $1,089 | $1,009 | $5,125 | Visit ↗ |
| MyCorporationAgent goes from $120 to $249 after year one | $109 | $1,119 | $1,059 | $5,355 | Visit ↗ |
| LegalZoom | $0 | $1,139 | $1,059 | $5,375 | Visit ↗ |
| doolaYearly plan includes the agent | $297 | $1,187 | $1,107 | $5,615 | Visit ↗ |
| Rocket LawyerAgent needs its $249 yearly membership | $0 | $1,263.99 | $1,183.99 | $5,999.95 | Visit ↗ |
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 California 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.
The business tax number is free from the IRS and takes minutes: apply on irs.gov. Services charge $50 to $99 for the same form.
Keep business and personal money apart from day one. That separation is a big part of what the LLC protects.
Use your own domain, then check the records that get your email into inboxes. LeadLamp checks SPF, DKIM and DMARC for free.
The calculator’s Due dates tab downloads every filing date as a calendar file, with a reminder two weeks before each.
See LLC fees in every state side by side.