Best LLC formation services in New Hampshire

How do you form an LLC in New Hampshire, step by step?

You confirm the name, pick a registered agent, file the Certificate of Formation, then get an EIN and sign an operating agreement, with the first annual report due the following calendar year.

1. Search the name. Check the state's business register before you file. If you need to hold a name while you sort out financing or a lease, a reservation costs $15 and lasts 120 days.²
2. Choose the registered agent. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 304-C:36 allows "An individual who resides in this state" whose home or business office is the registered office, or a business organized or authorized in New Hampshire. The agent's office then becomes the LLC's registered office. Who may serve is set out in the New Hampshire registered agent guide.⁴
3. Complete the certificate. The form is the Certificate of Formation (Form LLC-1). A service fills it in from your order; filing yourself, you complete it directly.¹
4. File it. Accepted filing methods are Online (NH QuickStart), by mail or in person. Paying online through NH QuickStart adds a $2.00 handling charge.^{2, 5}
5. Wait, or go in person. Online filings generally take no more than 10 business days. The state doesn't publish a standard time for mailed filings. If you need the LLC sooner, the state's expedite is $25, in person at the Customer Lobby only.³
6. Get an EIN. The Employer Identification Number is the LLC's federal tax ID, issued by the IRS, and banks usually want it before they open an account. Some packages below include it.
7. Sign an operating agreement. The owners use it to record shares, voting and what happens if someone leaves. The state doesn't publish a filing rule for it in the facts cited here.
8. Plan for the first report. The annual report costs $100 and is filed between January 1 and April 1; an LLC formed in December files its first report in the second calendar year after formation. The Business Profits Tax, which applies to business organizations above a gross business income threshold, is covered on staying compliant in New Hampshire.^{2, 6, 7}

An LLC already formed elsewhere doesn't use this certificate. It registers as a foreign LLC instead, for $100 (Form FLLC-1).²

What does a New Hampshire LLC cost with and without a service?

The state's filing fee is the same whether you file or a service does. Each service adds its own price on top of it.

Filing yourself online, the state's part is $100 plus a $2.00 handling charge. Going to the Customer Lobby to expedite adds $25. The next table shows each provider's published registered agent price and its cheapest formation package, in the order used across this site: our score, highest first, with ties in editorial order.^{2, 3}

What each cheapest package includes beyond the filing is set out below.

"Not listed" means the published package description doesn't mention the item, so ask before you order. First-year and second-year totals, with agent renewals and the report fee added in, are worked out on the cheapest ways to form a New Hampshire LLC.

What does each provider's formation package include in New Hampshire?

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

Two New Hampshire details run through all of them. A provider's rush or next-day handling is its own preparation time unless it says otherwise, because the state's only expedite is an in-person service. And because the LLC owes a report between January 1 and April 1 each year from the year after formation, a package that files the report has real work to do here. The agent services themselves are compared on registered agents for New Hampshire.⁶

Tailor Brands

Lite is $0 plus state fees and processes the order within 14 business days; its description notes no annual compliance, operating agreement or branding tools. Essential, at $199/yr plus state fees, processes within 1 business day and adds an operating agreement and annual compliance (report filing and updates), so the New Hampshire report would be filed for you while the plan is active. Elite costs $249/yr plus state fees. Both paid plans are yearly charges. The package lists don't mention a registered agent, which Tailor Brands sells at $199/year, and it offers an EIN filing service, price not published.^{8, 9, 10}

ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness's Starter is $0 + state fees (does not renew), with handling of 7-10 days, and the company says its timing excludes Secretary of State time, so New Hampshire's own processing comes after. Starter carries Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr); whether that free year reaches the first New Hampshire report depends on the month you form. The EIN and operating agreement are +$99 add-ons. On Starter, a Rush upgrade costs +$79. Pro ($199 + state fees, renews at $199/yr) folds in the EIN, an operating agreement template and state-required annual report filings and up to 2 amendments per year. No package includes the agent; ZenBusiness sells it as an add-on +$199/yr, with 50% off the first year ($99) when you form an LLC.^{11, 32}

LegalZoom

The cheapest LegalZoom package is $0 + state filing fees and covers the filing itself, listed as "Articles of organization". Everything else is priced on its own: the EIN at $79, an operating agreement that starts at $99, and the agent at $249/year (first-time registered agent customers). The middle package, $249 + state filing fees, adds attorney consultations (30 days included, then $49/month auto-renew). LegalZoom's report filing is sold apart from any formation package, at $99 + state filing fees, bills once.^{13, 14, 15, 16, 33}

Bizee

Bizee's Basic is $0 + state fee and includes Registered Agent (1st year included); the agent then renews at $149/year (ongoing annual fee). The EIN ($70) and operating agreement (+$99) are add-ons on Basic. Standard ($199 + state fee) includes both and speeds handling to ~2 weeks instead of 4 to 6, and Premium ($299 + state fee) lists expedited filing (~4 business days). Bizee doesn't say how its timing lines up with New Hampshire's processing. Its annual report service has no standalone price stated.^{17, 18, 34, 35}

Swyft Filings

Swyft's 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, and processes in 3 business days. No agent is listed in the packages; the agent alone is $149 per quarter ($596/year). Every package also starts a trial of ComplianceGuard $199/year, on these terms: 14-day free trial then auto-charged. A New Hampshire LLC has a report to file every year, so that subscription would have work to do; count it as a yearly cost unless it is cancelled during the trial.^{19, 36, 37}

doola

doola's Starter is $297/yr and includes LLC filing, EIN, US bank account guidance, US business address, registered agent. It is billed every year. doola files the formation within 1-2 business days, and the state's processing follows. Starter does not include ongoing compliance filings; report filing comes with the Tax and Compliance plan at $1,999/yr. doola says it works with US citizens and with a non-resident without a US SSN; agent services for non-resident founders covers that case.^{20, 21, 38, 39}

Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest's formation 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 calls the price a total that includes one year of registered agent service, but the LLC page doesn't say that, so confirm before ordering. The agent alone is $125 per year. Its operating agreement is listed at no charge (Free template), and the EIN costs $50 (with SSN); $200 without SSN. For New Hampshire owners, the cost to watch is the report: Northwest's annual report service is $100 + state fees, charged at filing, and its agent customers are enrolled in it automatically.^{22, 23, 24, 25, 40, 41}

Rocket Lawyer

Rocket Lawyer lists formation as First registration free with a Rocket Lawyer membership, and the offer excludes government and third party fees. Every membership is billed yearly, at $149/year for Standard, $249/year for Plus and $349/year for Pro. The agent ($125 with a Plus or Pro membership) needs Plus or Pro, so Standard members filing in New Hampshire would name someone else as agent or upgrade. The EIN is $70 with Plus or Pro membership, report filing is $100 with Pro membership, excluding state fees, and no operating agreement is listed with formation.^{26, 27, 42, 43, 44}

InCorp

InCorp prices its formation service starting at $99 plus state fees, and the only item its published description names is "Live chat and phone support included". The agent is not included; InCorp says it is sold separately at $129 per state per year. The EIN service costs $69. InCorp's own rush is a $50.00 InCorp expedite fee, and its terms add that any state expedite fee is charged in addition; in New Hampshire the state's expedite is the in-person service described above.^{28, 29, 30, 45}

Harbor Compliance

Harbor prices formation starting at $99 plus state fees. Its formation page lists Name check, articles, registered agent, EIN, operating agreement, but Harbor doesn't publish which tier includes which item or how long an included agent lasts. The agent on its own is $99 first year (new customers), renewing at $159 annually, and cancelling needs notice at least 90 days before the end of the current term. Harbor lists expedited state processing as available in most states (price not published).^{31, 46, 47}

Should you file the New Hampshire certificate yourself or use a service?

Filing yourself costs $100, plus a $2.00 handling charge online. What a service adds is mostly what comes after: the agent, the EIN and the yearly report.²

A New Hampshire resident can be the LLC's own registered agent under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 304-C:36, which removes the agent fee. The trade-off is that the resident's office becomes the registered office on the public record, and someone has to be there to accept papers.⁴

Speed is the other question. Online filing generally takes no more than 10 business days whether you or a service submits it, and only an in-person visit buys the state's expedite. A service promising fast handling can prepare and submit the certificate quickly; it can't shorten the state's own review. ZenBusiness, for example, says its timing excludes Secretary of State time.^{3, 11}

A commercial agent's address replaces yours only in the registered office slot. If you also want a business address for other uses, that is a separate product; Swyft Filings, for one, lists a business address and virtual mailbox at $29/mo.¹⁹

Then there is the report. Because a New Hampshire LLC files a report every year at $100, a package with report filing does real work here, though it never lowers the state's fee. Doing it yourself means an online filing each year; paying a provider adds its charge each year. Watch first-year discounts that renew at full price, such as ZenBusiness's Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr). Owners with co-owners or outside investors may want a lawyer to review the operating agreement rather than relying on a template. The glossary defines the filing terms, and how annual reports work explains the yearly filing in general.^{2, 11}