Best LLC formation services in Missouri

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

You choose a name, line up a registered agent, file the Articles of Organization online or on paper, then get an EIN and sign an operating agreement. After that, Missouri LLCs do not have to file annual reports with the Secretary of State.⁴

The order below puts the name and the agent first, because a taken name or an agent whose office doesn't qualify would hold up the filing.

1. Settle the name. Search the Secretary of State's records for a conflicting name. If filing will be delayed, you can reserve a name for $25 for up to 60 days, renewable for two more 60-day periods. A founder ready to file today can skip the reservation.²
2. Line up a registered agent. Missouri law allows an individual resident of Missouri or a domestic or foreign corporation authorized to do business in Missouri, one whose business office is identical with the registered office. That office becomes the LLC's registered office on file. The rules on who qualifies and on being your own agent are in the Missouri registered agent guide.³
3. Complete the Articles. The form is Articles of Organization (LLC 1). A service fills it in from your order; on your own, you complete it in the state's system or on the paper form.¹
4. Choose online or paper. The state accepts filings online ($50) or on paper ($105). Filing online saves $55.00 compared with paper, the largest single choice you control in the state's part of the bill.^{2, 5}
5. Wait for approval. The Secretary of State doesn't publish a standard processing time or a paid expedite option. A provider's quoted turnaround covers its own handling, so read it as that, not as the state's speed.
6. Get an EIN. The Employer Identification Number is the federal tax ID the IRS issues to the LLC. Banks usually ask for it, and some packages below include it.
7. Sign an operating agreement. This internal document records ownership shares, who makes decisions, and what happens when a member leaves. The Secretary of State doesn't publish a requirement to file it, and several packages include a template.
8. Plan the years ahead. Missouri LLCs do not have to file annual reports with the Secretary of State, so the ongoing tasks center on keeping the agent and registered office current. Staying compliant in Missouri covers the rest.⁴

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

The state's fees are identical whether you file or a service files for you; every package price below is charged in addition to them.

The one state choice that changes the total is the filing method: $50 online against $105 on paper. When comparing services, ask whether a provider files online, because a paper filing passes the higher fee on to you. The next table lists each provider's published agent price and cheapest formation package, ordered by our score, highest first, with ties in editorial order.

The table below sets each cheapest package against two things Missouri founders tend to ask about: whether the first year of a registered agent comes with it, and how quickly the provider says it handles the order.

"Not listed" means the published package description doesn't mention the item, and "Not published" means we found no figure on the provider's pages. The year-by-year totals, including agent renewals, are worked out on the cheapest ways to form a Missouri LLC.

What does each formation package include for a Missouri LLC?

Each paragraph covers one provider's published formation terms, in the same order as the provider table: our score, highest first, with ties in editorial order (how we score).

None of these package descriptions says whether the provider files Missouri's Articles online or on paper, so ask, since the state fee follows the method. The agent services themselves are compared on Missouri registered agents compared.

Tailor Brands

Lite is $0 plus state fees, and Tailor Brands says it processes the LLC within 14 business days. It comes with a bookkeeping 30-day free trial, business coaching platform, sales and payments. Its description is plain about the gaps: no annual compliance, operating agreement or branding tools. Essential costs $199/yr plus state fees, is processed within 1 business day, and adds an operating agreement among other items; its annual compliance feature has no Missouri report to file. No package lists a registered agent, which is sold at $199/year. EIN filing is offered too, with the price not published.^{6, 7, 22}

ZenBusiness

Starter costs $0 + state fees (does not renew). ZenBusiness quotes 7-10 days for it and says that time excludes Secretary of State time, so Missouri's own review comes on top. Starter carries Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr), a feature built around annual reports that Missouri LLCs don't file, so note when the free year ends. The EIN and operating agreement are +$99 add-ons, and faster handling is a Rush upgrade +$79 on Starter. No package includes the agent, though ZenBusiness offers 50% off the first year ($99) when you form an LLC.^{8, 23}

LegalZoom

LegalZoom's Basic package is $0 + state filing fees and lists the Articles of organization. The EIN is $79, the operating agreement starts at $99, and the agent $249/year (first-time registered agent customers). Its legal document library is included in Pro ($249) and Premium ($299), not Basic, so the next tier, $249 + state filing fees, is the step up that adds it.^{9, 10, 24, 25}

Bizee

Bizee's Basic package is $0 + state fee, a one-time fee, and includes the Registered Agent (1st year included). Once that first year ends, the agent service bills at $149/year (ongoing annual fee) unless you switch. Bizee puts Basic's processing at 4 to 6 weeks. Standard, at $199 + state fee, is Basic plus EIN, operating agreement, faster processing (~2 weeks) by Bizee's description. On Basic, the EIN costs $70 and the operating agreement +$99, and a separate business address is sold too, with 1 month free with Bizee LLC formation.^{11, 26, 27, 28}

Swyft Filings

Swyft's Basic package is $0 + state fees. It covers preparing and filing the Articles with a 100% accuracy guarantee, and Swyft quotes 7-10 business days for it. Standard is listed at $169 + state fees (promotional, 'SAVE $30'; regular $199) and lists, among its additions, custom banking resolution, business banking essentials, operating agreement. No package lists an agent; the service is $149 per quarter ($596/year). Every plan includes ComplianceGuard on a 14-day free trial then auto-charged, which a Missouri-only LLC, with no annual report to file, may want to cancel before the trial ends.^{12, 29, 30}

doola

doola's Starter plan costs $297/yr, a yearly charge, and includes LLC filing, EIN, US bank account guidance, US business address, registered agent. doola says the filing goes in within 1-2 business days, before the state's own review. Its pages say it can help a founder who is a non-resident without a US SSN; agents for non-resident founders covers that group.^{13, 14, 31}

Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest's package is $39 + State Fees and lists a free domain name, open source website, phone line, business email, business address, brand protection. Its corporation page describes a total that includes one year of registered agent service, but its LLC page doesn't say the agent is included, so ask before ordering. The operating agreement is a free template. The EIN service is priced $50 (with SSN); $200 without SSN.^{15, 16, 32, 33}

Rocket Lawyer

Rocket Lawyer's registration page says "Your first one is FREE with a Rocket Lawyer membership," so the membership is the price to compare: Standard at $149/year or Plus at $249/year. The fine print reads "Excludes government and third party fees," so the Missouri filing fee is still yours to pay. The agent is $125 with a Plus or Pro membership, which rules out Standard for anyone who wants Rocket Lawyer as agent. The EIN is $70 with Plus or Pro membership.^{17, 34, 35, 36}

InCorp

InCorp's formation service is priced starting at $99 plus state fees, with the registered agent sold separately at $129 per state per year. Its own rush handling is a $50.00 InCorp expedite fee, and InCorp says any state expedite fee is charged in addition; Missouri doesn't publish a state expedite option, so the fee covers InCorp's handling. The EIN service is $69.^{18, 19, 37, 38}

Harbor Compliance

Harbor's formation service starts at $99 plus state fees and says it handles the name check, articles, registered agent, EIN, and the operating agreement, without saying which tier includes what. It says it can prepare and file the government forms to create most LLCs in one business day. Harbor also says it can expedite the state's processing of your LLC in most states, with the price not published; ask what that means in Missouri, where the Secretary of State doesn't publish an expedite option. The agent on its own is $99 first year (new customers), renewing at $159 annually.^{20, 21, 39}

Should you file Missouri's Articles yourself or use a service?

Filing yourself costs $50 online and needs a name search, an eligible registered agent and a completed Articles of Organization (LLC 1). A service handles the same paperwork for its fee, and some include an agent.²

Missouri keeps the do-it-yourself route fairly short: one form, an online fee lower than the paper one, and no annual report afterwards ($0 report fee). An owner who lives in Missouri fits the statute's description of an individual agent, provided their business office is the registered office. The trade-off is that the owner's address then goes on file as the LLC's registered office, and someone must be reliably there to accept legal papers.⁴

A service is easier to justify when you want the agent role off your own address, when you live outside Missouri, or when you would rather not fill in the form. Check what you're buying, though. Because the Secretary of State doesn't publish an expedite option, ask any provider selling speed what it shortens; ZenBusiness and InCorp describe theirs as their own handling. Several packages also carry compliance trials built for annual reports that Missouri LLCs don't file.

Recurring charges are the other thing to read for. Some packages are yearly (Tailor Brands' Essential at $199/yr plus state fees, doola's Starter at $297/yr), and bundled agents renew after the first year. If you change your mind about an agent later, the state charges $10 to name a new one. Owners with partners, investors or a regulated trade may want a lawyer to review the operating agreement rather than relying on a template. The glossary defines the filing terms used here.⁴⁰