Best LLC formation services in Connecticut

How do you form an LLC in Connecticut, step by step?

Pick a name, line up a registered agent, file the Certificate of Organization online, decide whether to pay for expedite, then get an EIN and sign an operating agreement before the first annual report comes round.

The order helps: the name and the agent both go on the certificate, so settle them before you file.

1. Choose and check the name. Confirm it is available before you file. Holding a name costs $60, and the Secretary of the State's fee page doesn't give the reservation period, so ask before you count on it. If you can file now, there is little reason to reserve.¹
2. Line up the registered agent. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 34-243n, the agent may be a "Natural person who is a resident of this state", among others listed in the statute, and the agent shall have a place of business in this state. The registered agent is the person or company that accepts lawsuit papers and state notices for the LLC. Who qualifies and how to serve yourself are covered in the Connecticut registered agent guide.³
3. Complete the Certificate of Organization. The state describes its fee as covering the certificate including appointment of statutory agent, so there is no separate appointment fee. A service prepares the certificate from your answers; filing yourself means filling it in on the state's system.¹
4. File it. Online filing is recommended, and the state also takes paper forms by mail or hand delivery. The state calls paper the slowest option, and it requires a check or money order (no credit cards), so online is the quicker way in.⁴
5. Decide on expedite. Expedite adds $50 per transaction, and the state says "Expedited service is not applicable for filings by mail". The state says most online filings are accepted automatically and doesn't publish how much time expedite saves, so it is worth asking before paying. A formation service's own "rush" option, where sold, is the provider's charge rather than the state's.²
6. Get an EIN. The Employer Identification Number is the LLC's federal tax ID, issued by the IRS rather than the state. Banks ask for it when you open an account. Some packages below include it.
7. Sign an operating agreement. This internal document is kept by the owners and sets out shares, voting and what happens when someone leaves. Several packages include a template.
8. Diary the first annual report. The first report is due the year after formation, and it costs $80 from January 1 to March 31 each year. The state also notes that the Business Entity Tax ended under Public Act 19-117. The rest of the yearly routine is on staying compliant in Connecticut.^{1, 5, 6}

An LLC formed in another state that wants to work in Connecticut files a foreign registration instead, at $120, and under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 34-243n its agent also needs a place of business in Connecticut.⁷

What does a Connecticut LLC cost with and without a service?

The state's fees don't change with the route you take, and every package price on this page is quoted before them.

With expedite, the state's part of the bill comes to the $120 filing fee plus $50 per transaction. There is no annual report fee in the formation year. The next table lists each provider's agent price and cheapest formation package, in the order of the site's provider table: our score, highest first, with ties in editorial order.

The table below shows what each cheapest package includes beyond the state filing.

"Not listed" means the published package description doesn't mention the item, so ask the provider before ordering. Agent renewals and the yearly report push the second-year bill higher; the cheapest ways to form a Connecticut LLC works through those figures.

What does each provider's formation package include in Connecticut?

The paragraphs cover each provider's published formation terms, in the order of the site's provider table: our score, highest first, ties in editorial order (how we score).

Read the package descriptions against the two state facts that shape the bill here: online filings are mostly accepted automatically, and the annual report begins the year after formation. Registered agent services for Connecticut compares the agent side in more depth.

Tailor Brands

Lite is $0 plus state fees and processes the LLC within 14 business days; its description says it has no annual compliance, operating agreement or branding tools. Essential, at $199/yr plus state fees, processes within 1 business day and adds annual compliance (report filing and updates) and an operating agreement. In Connecticut the report in question is the yearly $80 filing, starting in the LLC's second calendar year.⁸

Neither package says a registered agent is included; Tailor Brands sells the agent at $199/year. It offers an EIN filing service, price not published. Essential and Elite ($249/yr plus state fees) are yearly plans, so their price recurs.^{8, 9, 10}

ZenBusiness

Starter is $0 + state fees (does not renew), with processing of 7-10 days that ZenBusiness says excludes Secretary of State time. It includes Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr), and the EIN and operating agreement are +$99 add-ons. The first Connecticut report opens the January after formation, so whether that free year reaches it depends on the formation date; check before it renews. The agent is an add-on +$199/yr, with 50% off the first year ($99) when you form an LLC. A faster option is sold as a Rush upgrade +$79 on Starter. Pro ($199 + state fees, renews at $199/yr) lists ongoing filing compliance (state-required annual report filings and up to 2 amendments per year), plus an EIN and an operating agreement template.^{11, 31}

LegalZoom

LegalZoom's cheapest package, $0 + state filing fees, covers the "Articles of organization". The rest is priced separately: an EIN at $79, an operating agreement that starts at $99, and the agent at $249/year (first-time registered agent customers). The $249 + state filing fees package adds attorney consultations, with 30 days included, then $49/month auto-renew, so put a cancel date in the diary if you only want the first month.^{13, 14, 15, 16}

Bizee

Bizee's Basic package costs $0 + state fee and lists Registered Agent (1st year included); the agent then renews at $149/year (ongoing annual fee). On Basic, the EIN is an add-on at $70 and so is the operating agreement, at +$99, which Bizee bundles into its higher tiers. Standard, $199 + state fee, includes both and gives its timing as approximately 2 weeks (includes expedited filing). With Connecticut accepting most online filings automatically, ask how much of that timing is Bizee's own handling.^{17, 18, 32}

Swyft Filings

Basic is $0 + state fees and includes Preparation and filing of Articles of Organization; 100% accuracy guarantee; processes in 7-10 business days. Standard, at $169 + state fees (promotional, 'SAVE $30'; regular $199), adds custom organizational minutes, custom banking resolution, business banking essentials, operating agreement, processing in 3 business days. None of the packages lists an agent, which Swyft sells on its own at $149 per quarter ($596/year), billed every quarter. Every plan starts a trial of ComplianceGuard $199/year, described as a 14-day free trial then auto-charged. A Connecticut LLC has nothing to file in its formation year, so the trial ends before there is a report, and the paid year follows unless it is cancelled.^{19, 33, 34}

doola

Starter is $297/yr, a yearly plan, and lists LLC filing, EIN, US bank account guidance, US business address, registered agent. doola says it files within 1-2 business days, after which the state's own review applies. It serves US citizens and a non-resident without a US SSN, which suits owners abroad; agents for non-resident founders covers that group.^{20, 21, 35}

Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest's package is $39 + State Fees and adds a free domain name, open source website, phone line, business email, business address, brand protection. Its corporation page describes the price as "a total that includes one year of registered agent service", but the LLC page doesn't repeat it, so confirm before ordering. The agent on its own is $125 per year. The operating agreement comes as a template at no charge (Free template), and the EIN costs $50 (with SSN); $200 without SSN.^{22, 23, 24, 25, 36}

Rocket Lawyer

Rocket Lawyer makes the first registration free with a Rocket Lawyer membership, and the membership is a yearly charge: Standard $149/year, Plus $249/year, Pro $349/year. The offer excludes government and third party fees. The agent is $125 with a Plus or Pro membership, which rules out Standard, and the EIN is $70 with Plus or Pro membership. No operating agreement is listed with the package.^{26, 27, 37, 38}

InCorp

InCorp prices formation starting at $99 plus state fees, and its package description lists only "Live chat and phone support included". The agent is sold separately at $129 per state per year. It lists a $50.00 InCorp expedite fee, separate from the state's $50 per transaction. The package doesn't itemize an EIN or operating agreement.^{28, 29, 39}

Harbor Compliance

Harbor prices formation starting at $99 plus state fees, and its page says it can prepare and file the forms to create most LLCs in one business day. The formation page lists a name check and articles alongside the registered agent, EIN and operating agreement, without saying which tier includes each item or how long an included agent lasts. The standalone agent is $99 first year (new customers), renewing at $159 annually. Harbor says it can speed up state processing and offer several options in most states, without publishing a price.^{30, 40, 41}

Should you file the Connecticut certificate yourself or use a service?

Filing yourself costs $120, plus $50 per transaction if you expedite, and no provider fee. A service mainly saves the form-filling and adds extras such as an EIN filing or an agent.¹

Two Connecticut facts make filing yourself simpler: the state says most online filings are accepted automatically, and the agent is appointed on the same certificate at no extra charge. A Connecticut resident can act as agent (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 34-243n), at the cost of putting their own address in the agent field of a public filing.²

A service earns its fee in other ways. It can be your agent if you don't live in Connecticut or don't want to be named, and some packages include the EIN or an operating agreement template. If you want a business address that isn't your home, some providers sell one; Swyft Filings lists its address and virtual mailbox at $29/mo. Whether such an address can go on the certificate is a question for the Secretary of the State.¹⁹

Watch what recurs. Yearly plans bill again, bundled agent years end, and compliance trials turn into paid subscriptions. Connecticut adds its own recurring $80 report from the second calendar year whichever route you choose. Owners with partners, investors or a licensed profession may want a lawyer to draft the operating agreement rather than rely on a template; the glossary explains the filing terms.