Cheapest LLC formation in Illinois

What does Illinois charge to form and keep an LLC?

The state's charges are set in the LLC Act's fee section, so no provider can lower them. Package prices are quoted before these fees.

Every new standard LLC pays $150 for the Articles of Organization, whether you file them or a service does. An LLC set up with series or the authority to create them pays $400 instead, and its yearly report then costs $50 more for each series with a certificate of designation in effect. Unless you need that structure, the standard filing is the cheaper one.¹

Illinois also has a fixed cost after formation. The annual report is $75 every year, plus a penalty if delinquent. The fee section cited here doesn't state the penalty amount, so the safe plan is to file on time.¹

Two other fees are optional. Reserving a name before filing costs $25, and it isn't needed if you are ready to file the Articles straight away. An LLC formed in another state that wants to work in Illinois doesn't pay the formation fee; it pays $150 for an application for admission.¹

What raises the cost of an Illinois LLC?

Four things push the bill above the state's fees: the registered agent, paying someone to file the annual report, packages that bill yearly, and a lapse that ends in reinstatement.

The registered agent

Each Illinois LLC needs an agent with an office in the state (805 ILCS 180/1-35). You can cover that in three ways.³

1. Act as your own agent. An Illinois resident pays nothing, but their address goes in the agent field of every annual report. The Illinois registered agent guide explains what the role involves.
2. Take a first year bundled with formation, then pay the provider's renewal.
3. Buy the agent on its own at the published prices below.

Changing agents later costs $25 on the Statement of change of registered agent and/or registered office. Put the new agent on file before you cancel the old one, because an LLC that has failed to appoint and maintain a registered agent in Illinois can be dissolved. How to change a registered agent has the steps.^{1, 5}

Report-filing services

Filing the annual report yourself costs only the state's fee. Services charge on top of it: LegalZoom lists $99 plus state fees, InCorp $89 + state fees, and Northwest $100 + state fees. Northwest also says agent customers will "automatically be enrolled in our renewal service", so an owner who plans to file alone would need to opt out. Swyft Filings' ComplianceGuard comes with a 14-day free trial then auto-charged at $199/year.^{6, 7, 8, 9}

Yearly packages and memberships

Some formation prices recur. Tailor Brands' Essential plan is $199/yr plus state fees and Elite $249/yr plus state fees, doola's Starter plan is $297/yr, and Rocket Lawyer's memberships come with a Free 7-day trial, then billed yearly. A yearly plan can still be the cheaper route if it covers the agent and the report you would otherwise buy separately, so compare it with the sum of those two.^{10, 11, 12}

Expedited filing

The official sources this page cites don't include an Illinois expedite fee or a standard processing time. If a service sells faster handling, ask whether it includes any state expedite charge or only speeds up its own work.

Reinstatement after a lapse

An LLC that has failed to file its annual report and pay its fee as required by this Act, or has gone without an agent, can be administratively dissolved. Getting it back costs $200 for the application alone, well above the yearly report fee. Staying compliant in Illinois covers what keeps the LLC in good standing.^{1, 5}

Which providers have the lowest published prices for an Illinois LLC?

The table shows each provider's published agent price, renewal and lowest-priced package. Rows follow our score, highest first, with ties in our editorial order; they are not sorted by price.

Here is what each provider's cheapest route adds to the Illinois fees in the first year and later, in the same order.

A few rows need a second look. Tailor Brands' Lite package has no annual compliance, operating agreement or branding tools, while Essential ($199/yr plus state fees) adds annual compliance (report filing and updates), which in Illinois means a report to file every year and a plan price that recurs alongside it. Rocket Lawyer's agent requires Plus ($249/year) or Pro ($349/year); the Standard membership ($149/year) doesn't include it. Ask Northwest whether an LLC order includes the agent's first year. InCorp's terms bill renewals at the then-current fee rather than a fixed one, and Harbor Compliance renews for another paid term unless you give notice at least 90 days before the end of the current term.^{10, 12, 32}

Put together, the cheapest Illinois routes fall into three patterns. The lowest is an Illinois resident acting as agent and filing every report personally: $150 at the start, then $75 a year. Next is a bundled first-year agent, which matches that first-year bill and then adds the agent's renewal once the bundled year ends. The most expensive pattern pays a provider for both the agent and the report, so the report costs the state fee plus the provider's own charge each year. Which one suits you depends on whether you want your own address in the agent field and how much you trust yourself to remember the report.

For a lower agent price on its own, see the cheapest registered agent services nationwide, or the full Illinois list on Illinois registered agent services compared. Package contents are on Illinois LLC formation services compared.