Best LLC formation services in Delaware

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

You choose a name, line up a registered agent with a Delaware office, file the Certificate of Formation with the Division of Corporations, then get an EIN and sign an operating agreement.

If you live outside Delaware, settle the agent before you file: under 6 Del. C. § 18-104, every Delaware LLC keeps a registered office and an agent in the state.

1. Pick a name and check that it is free before you file. A reservation is optional; it costs $75 and holds the name for 120 days. It helps when the filing has to wait, for example on a co-founder's sign-off.⁵
2. Line up a registered agent. Under 6 Del. C. § 18-104, the LLC keeps a registered office in the state, which may but need not be a place of its business in the State of Delaware. The agent can be an individual resident in Delaware or a business entity, and the statute also allows the LLC itself, but the agent's business office has to be that Delaware office. Owners outside the state usually hire a commercial agent. The Delaware registered agent guide covers who qualifies.⁶
3. Prepare the certificate. The form is the Certificate of Formation. A service fills it in from your order; filing yourself means completing the Division's form directly.¹
4. Submit it. The Division accepts filings online via the Document Filing and Certificate Request Service, or by mail. Mailed requests need a cover sheet.⁷
5. Decide on speed. The Division's FAQ says: "Processing time for regular (non-expedited) work varies based upon the volume of items received by our office." So there is no date to plan around. If you need the LLC by a set day, 24-hour filing adds $50 and same-day filing adds $100 to the filing fee.³
6. Get an EIN. The Employer Identification Number is the federal tax ID that the IRS issues. Banks typically ask for it, and several packages below include it.
7. Sign an operating agreement. It records who owns the LLC, how decisions are made and what happens when an owner leaves. A bank or a business partner may ask to see it.
8. Put the tax in your calendar. From the year after formation, the LLC tax of $400 is due on or before June 1, and paying late adds a $200 penalty plus 1.5% interest per month. Staying compliant in Delaware covers the rest.⁴

An LLC that already exists in another state and wants to do business in Delaware doesn't file a certificate of formation. It registers as a foreign LLC instead, for $200.²

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

The state's charges don't change with the route you choose. Services add their own price on top of them, so start from these figures.

With 24-hour filing, the state's part of the bill is the $110 filing fee plus $50; same-day filing adds $100 instead. The next table lists each provider's agent price and cheapest formation package, in the same order as the provider table elsewhere on the site: our score, highest first, ties in editorial order.²

Here is what the cheapest package from each provider covers, and what an owner outside Delaware would still need to add.

"Not listed" means the published package description doesn't mention the item, so ask before you order. For first-year and later-year totals, see the cheapest ways to form a Delaware LLC.

What does each provider's formation package include for a Delaware LLC?

Each paragraph covers only published package terms, in table order. None of the package descriptions name the Delaware LLC tax, so treat it as a separate cost unless a provider confirms otherwise.

Agent services on their own are compared in Delaware registered agents compared.

Tailor Brands

Lite, the cheapest plan, is $0 plus state fees and processes the LLC within 14 business days, and its description says it has no annual compliance, operating agreement or branding tools. Essential costs $199/yr plus state fees, processes within 1 business day and adds annual compliance (report filing and updates) and an operating agreement. A Delaware LLC has no report to file, and the plan list doesn't say whether that feature covers the LLC tax. No plan description lists the agent, which costs $199/year on its own. For founders outside the US, Tailor Brands links a separate sign-up flow for non-US citizens from its LLC page, without published eligibility details.^{8, 9, 36}

ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness Starter costs $0 + state fees (does not renew), with ZenBusiness processing of 7-10 days, a figure that excludes Secretary of State time by ZenBusiness's own note, so Delaware's queue comes after it. The EIN and operating agreement are +$99 add-ons on Starter, and the agent is an add-on on every plan, at +$199/yr. Starter also bundles Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr); ask what it does for a Delaware LLC before the renewal date. Pro is $199 + state fees, renews at $199/yr. A rush upgrade on Starter costs +$79.¹¹

LegalZoom

LegalZoom's Basic package is $0 + state filing fees, and its package list names Articles of organization. On Basic, other items are priced separately: $79 for the EIN, an operating agreement that starts at $99, and $249/year (first-time registered agent customers) for the agent. For founders without a Social Security number, LegalZoom's EIN filing without one is included in Pro and Premium.^{13, 14, 15, 37}

Bizee

Bizee Basic is $0 + state fee, and its list shows Registered Agent (1st year included); after that year the agent renews at $149/year (ongoing annual fee). The EIN ($70) and operating agreement (+$99) are add-ons on Basic. Standard, at $199 + state fee, adds the EIN, operating agreement, faster processing (~2 weeks). Bizee says Standard's timing includes expedited filing; it doesn't say which Delaware rush option, if any, that pays for.^{17, 18, 19}

Swyft Filings

Swyft's Basic package is $0 + state fees; Swyft gives Basic processing as 7-10 business days. Standard, at $169 + state fees (promotional, 'SAVE $30'; regular $199), adds the operating agreement. No agent is listed in the packages, and the agent itself costs $149 per quarter ($596/year). Every tier includes a trial of its annual report service, ComplianceGuard $199/year, on the terms of a 14-day free trial then auto-charged. Delaware LLCs file no annual report, so decide whether to keep it before the trial ends.^{20, 21, 22}

doola

doola's Starter plan is $297/yr and includes LLC filing, EIN, US bank account guidance, US business address, registered agent. It files within 1-2 business days, with the Division's processing after that. doola says it serves US citizens and a non-resident without a US SSN. Its next plan, $1,999/yr, adds federal and state tax filing; doola doesn't say whether that includes the Delaware LLC tax. Founders abroad can compare agents on agent services for non-resident founders.^{23, 24, 38}

Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest's formation price 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 that price as a total that includes one year of registered agent service; the LLC page doesn't repeat it, so confirm before ordering. The agent alone is $125 per year. The EIN is $50 (with SSN); $200 without SSN.^{25, 26, 39, 40}

Rocket Lawyer

With Rocket Lawyer, the first registration is free with a Rocket Lawyer membership. The cheapest membership, Standard, is $149/year, and the offer notes "Excludes government and third party fees." The agent is $125 with a Plus or Pro membership, which rules out Standard for anyone who needs Rocket Lawyer as agent. The EIN is $70 with Plus or Pro membership. No operating agreement is listed with the formation offer.^{28, 29, 41, 42}

InCorp

InCorp prices formation starting at $99 plus state fees, and the only item its package description names is live chat and phone support. The package leaves the agent out, with the registered agent sold separately at $129 per state per year. InCorp's own expedite fee is $50.00, and any state expedite fee is charged in addition. Its EIN service costs $69.^{30, 31, 32, 33}

Harbor Compliance

Harbor prices formation starting at $99 plus state fees. It says it handles name check, articles, registered agent, EIN, and the operating agreement, though it doesn't publish which tier includes which item, and it says it can prepare and file the government forms to create most LLCs in one business day. Its agent service is $99 first year (new customers), then $159 annually. Harbor doesn't publish how long an agent bundled with formation lasts.^{34, 35, 43}

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

Filing yourself costs $110 plus any rush fee, and you supply a registered agent with a Delaware office. A service mostly saves the paperwork; for owners outside Delaware, the agent is the harder part to arrange alone.²

Filing the certificate is mostly form-filling; the agent is where self-filing gets harder. The statute allows an individual resident in Delaware or the LLC itself, but either way someone has to keep a business office at the registered office in the state. An owner who lives in Delaware can name themselves and skip the agent fee. Their own address then goes in the agent field of the filing.⁶

A service's speed and Delaware's speed are separate. Delaware's regular processing time varies with volume, and only the state's 24-hour and same-day options buy a firm turnaround. When a package promises quick handling, ask whether it pays one of those state fees or only moves your order up the service's own queue.

Recurring charges come from three places. The first, the state tax of $400, applies whether or not you used a service, and it is the same for every LLC. A bundled agent renews after its included period, at the renewal prices listed above. And some packages, such as ZenBusiness Pro and doola's plans, are billed every year themselves. An owner with partners or outside investors may want a lawyer to draft or review the operating agreement rather than use a template. The glossary defines the filing terms used here.⁴