Cheapest LLC formation in Hawaii

What does the state of Hawaii charge to form an LLC?

These are the Business Registration Division's published fees. Packages advertised "plus state fees" add these to their own price.

The only state charge every new Hawaii LLC pays is $50 for the Articles. The fee page lists one filing fee for the Articles, whether you file yourself or a service files for you.

Two other state fees are optional. A name reservation is $10, worth paying only when you want to hold a name and aren't ready to file. Expedited review is $25 per filing, covered under the costs you can choose below.^{1, 6}

An LLC formed in another state that wants to do business in Hawaii pays the foreign registration fee instead, $50 for an Application for Certificate of Authority. That is the same amount as a new Hawaii LLC's Articles.⁷

Then there is the yearly report. It costs $12.50 online, and the Division's LLC fee page lists the report at $15.00 without naming a method. It is due by the last day of the calendar quarter in which the LLC was organized. No report is due in the year the LLC is organized, so it first shows up in your second-year budget. Hawaii's other deadlines are on staying compliant in Hawaii.^{3, 4}

What raises the cost of a Hawaii LLC?

Five things push the bill above the Articles fee: expedited review, a paid registered agent, report-filing subscriptions, checkout add-ons, and late or missed filings.

Expedited review

The Division charges $25 extra for expedited review, but it doesn't publish a processing time for either regular or expedited filings. So the fee buys priority without a stated turnaround. If nothing depends on a particular date, regular review costs nothing extra. When a package promises fast processing, ask whether the state's fee is included or added.⁶

The registered agent

Hawaii requires an agent (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 428-107): an individual who resides in this State or an entity authorized here, at a Hawaii business address. There are three ways to pay for it.⁸

1. Serve yourself, if you live in Hawaii. The agent then costs nothing, but your address goes in the agent field and you need to be reachable there.
2. Take a first year bundled with a formation package, then pay the renewal.
3. Buy agent service on its own at the prices below.

A mainland or overseas owner can't take the first route, so unless a Hawaii resident serves for them, a commercial agent is a yearly cost from the second year at the latest. If a renewal climbs, switching costs $25 on Form X-7. File the change before cancelling the old service so the LLC always has an agent; changing a registered agent has the steps.^{1, 9}

Report-filing subscriptions

Several providers on this page sell annual report filing as a yearly plan or a per-report fee. In Hawaii the state's own charge is $12.50 online, so most of a subscription's price pays for the reminder and the filing work, not the state. Swyft Filings, for example, starts every plan on a trial of ComplianceGuard $199/year: a 14-day free trial then auto-charged.¹⁰

Add-ons at checkout

An EIN, an operating agreement, a business address or bookkeeping may be offered at checkout. Each is a separate choice from forming the LLC. Some come inside higher packages, so compare the step up in package price with the add-on prices.

Late reports and reinstatement

A late annual report costs $10 per year delinquent. If the LLC ever needs reinstating, the state fee is $25, and the fee page doesn't list any other conditions; the Hawaii registered agent guide explains what can lead there.^{1, 11}

Which providers have the lowest published prices for a Hawaii LLC?

The table lists each provider's agent price, renewal and cheapest formation package. Rows follow our score, highest first, with ties in editorial order, not price order.

Below, in the same order, is what each lowest-priced option adds to the $50 state fee in the first year and what keeps billing after that.

Tailor Brands. Lite is $0 plus state fees. It doesn't list a registered agent, so the agent is either you (if you live in Hawaii) or the agent service at $199/year, which renews at the same price. The next plan is $199/yr plus state fees, a yearly charge. Tailor Brands review.^{12, 13}

ZenBusiness. Starter is $0 + state fees (does not renew). The agent is an add-on (+$199/yr), with 50% off the first year ($99) when the LLC is formed through ZenBusiness, then $199/yr. Starter also includes Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr). ZenBusiness review.^{14, 15}

LegalZoom. The entry package is $0 + state filing fees. Its agent is $249/year (first-time registered agent customers), and the service renews at the purchase rate each year, so a returning agent customer may see a different price. LegalZoom review.^{16, 17}

Bizee. Basic is $0 + state fee, with the agent free for the first year with any Bizee formation package. After that the agent is $149/year (ongoing annual fee). In year one the state fee is the whole bill; from year two it is the renewal plus the report. Bizee review.^{5, 18}

Swyft Filings. Basic is $0 + state fees. The agent is $149 per quarter ($596/year), so compare its yearly total rather than the quarterly charge, and the plan's ComplianceGuard trial is a 14-day free trial then auto-charged. Swyft Filings review.^{10, 19, 20}

doola. Starter is $297/yr and includes the agent, but the plan is charged every year, so the agent recurs as part of a plan charge rather than at an agent-only rate. doola review.²¹

Northwest Registered Agent. Formation is $39 + State Fees. Its corporation page lists registered agent service included with formation; the LLC page doesn't, so confirm it. The agent alone is $125 per year. Its terms also note: RA customers auto-enrolled in Compliance Services billed in annual auto-pay. Report filing is $100 + state fees, several times Hawaii's report fee of $12.50 online. Northwest review.^{22, 23, 24, 25, 26}

Rocket Lawyer. Its formation offer reads: First registration free with a Rocket Lawyer membership. Standard is $149/year and has no agent; Plus ($249/year) and Pro ($349/year) allow the agent at $125 with a Plus or Pro membership. Count the membership and the agent together. Rocket Lawyer review.^{27, 28, 29}

InCorp Services. Formation is priced starting at $99 plus state fees, with the registered agent sold separately at $129 per state per year. Its terms say renewals are billed at then-current fee. InCorp review.^{30, 31, 32}

Harbor Compliance. Formation is priced starting at $99 plus state fees. The agent has a discounted first year at $99 for new customers, then renews at $159 annually, and stopping it takes notice at least 90 days before the end of the current term. Harbor Compliance review.^{33, 34, 35}

Agent-only prices across the country are on cheapest registered agent services, and the agent services are compared in detail on registered agents compared for Hawaii.