Best LLC formation services in New York

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

You choose a name, settle where the LLC's office is and who receives legal papers, file the Articles, then publish, file proof of publication, and take care of the EIN and an operating agreement.

The order counts because publication has its own deadline.

1. Search the name in the Department of State's records. To hold a name before you file, the reservation fee is $20 for 60 days, with up to two 60-day extensions at $20 each.³
2. Settle the LLC's office county. New York's publication newspapers are designated by the county clerk of the county in which the office of the LLC is located, so this choice decides which newspapers you pay.¹
3. Decide who receives legal papers. The Articles designate the Secretary of State, because every LLC must designate the Secretary of State as its agent for service of process. Adding a registered agent is optional; anyone named must fit "a natural person who is a resident of this state or has a business address in this state" under N.Y. Ltd. Liab. Co. Law § 302, or be an LLC or corporation. The New York registered agent guide explains the two roles.^{4, 5}
4. File the Articles of Organization. The form is the Articles of Organization (DOS-1336-f), and the Department accepts it this way: Online, by mail, in person (Albany) or by fax with a credit card authorization form.^{1, 4}
5. Pick a speed. Online filers get an email filing receipt within minutes. Paper filings have no standard time published. Expedite costs $25 within 24 hours, $75 same day or $150 within 2 hours, charged per document, plus filing fee.¹
6. Publish and file the proof. After the Articles are filed, you publish the Articles or a notice in two newspapers chosen by the county clerk for six consecutive weeks, then file the Certificate of Publication ($50) with the Department. If both aren't done within 120 days, the Department says the failure will result in the suspension of the LLC's authority.¹
7. Get an EIN. The IRS, not the state, issues this federal tax number, and banks usually ask for it before opening an account.
8. Write an operating agreement. It records who owns the LLC, how decisions are made and what happens when an owner leaves. Several packages below include a template.
9. Put the recurring filings on a calendar. The $9 biennial statement follows this schedule: Every two years (biennial statement), in the calendar month the articles of organization were filed. Some LLCs owe a yearly fee on Form IT-204-LL. Staying compliant in New York covers both.^{2, 6, 7}

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

The state's fees are identical whether you file or a service files for you, and every package price below is quoted before them.

Publication sits outside that table because the state doesn't publish newspaper rates. The county clerk names the papers, so ask them for a price before you file; the certificate's $50 fee is the only fixed part of that step. Provider prices follow in the order of the site's provider table, which is by our score, highest first, with ties in editorial order.¹

This table compares each provider's lowest package on speed and on the two items most often sold separately.

"Not listed" and "Not published" mean the provider's own pages don't say. None of these package descriptions mentions New York's publication step, so ask a provider whether it arranges the newspapers and the certificate, and at what price. First-year and second-year totals are worked out on the cheapest ways to form a New York LLC.

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

These paragraphs cover only published formation package terms, in the same order as the tables above. For the agent services themselves, see registered agent services for New York.

Tailor Brands

Lite costs $0 plus state fees and is processed within 14 business days. Besides the filing it lists a bookkeeping 30-day free trial, business coaching platform, sales and payments, and its description notes no annual compliance, operating agreement or branding tools. Essential, at $199/yr plus state fees, cuts handling to within 1 business day; that is a yearly charge, as is Elite at $249/yr plus state fees. Lite leaves out the operating agreement (Included in Essential and Elite; not in Lite). On speed, its page notes no separately priced expedite option shown, so ask whether the state's expedite fee is part of Essential's speed. Its agent service is priced on its own at $199/year.^{8, 27}

ZenBusiness

Starter is $0 + state fees (does not renew), with processing of 7-10 days that excludes Secretary of State time. Because that window leaves out the state's time, it is ZenBusiness's own handling. A Rush upgrade +$79 on Starter is available. Starter bundles Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr), and its listing adds: EIN and operating agreement are +$99 add-ons. Pro ($199 + state fees, renews at $199/yr) brings ongoing filing compliance (state-required annual report filings and up to 2 amendments per year); ZenBusiness doesn't say how that applies to New York's biennial statement. Every plan lists the agent the same way: Not included; add-on +$199/yr.¹⁰

LegalZoom

The Basic package is $0 + state filing fees and covers the Articles of organization. Everything else is priced separately: an EIN at $79, an operating agreement from $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), and the top one at $299 + state filing fees adds bookkeeping (Bookkeeping tools, 6-month subscription included). LegalZoom publishes no processing time for its own handling.^{12, 13, 28, 29}

Bizee

Bizee's Basic plan is $0 + state fee and includes the agent's first year (Yes, first year); the agent then renews at $149/year (ongoing annual fee). Standard, at $199 + state fee, is described as Basic plus EIN, operating agreement, faster processing (~2 weeks). Premium, at $299 + state fee, adds expedited filing (~4 business days). Bizee doesn't say whether those timings include New York's paid expedite or how they compare with an online filing's same-day receipt. On Basic, the EIN is $70 and the operating agreement +$99.^{14, 15, 30}

Swyft Filings

Basic costs $0 + state fees; its listing reads: Preparation and filing of Articles of Organization; 100% accuracy guarantee; processes in 7-10 business days. Standard is $169 + state fees (promotional, 'SAVE $30'; regular $199), and adds custom organizational minutes, custom banking resolution, business banking essentials, operating agreement, which makes it the first Swyft tier with an operating agreement. Premium, $269 + state fees (promotional, 'SAVE $30'; regular $299), includes a professional business address among other items. None of the three package listings we cite mentions an agent; Swyft's agent service is $149 per quarter ($596/year).^{16, 31}

doola

doola's Starter is $297/yr, a yearly plan, and includes LLC filing, EIN, US bank account guidance, US business address, registered agent. Its agent listing reads: Yes, duration not stated. doola says it files within 1-2 business days. Its terms say recurring fees auto-renew at the rates then in effect, so the second year bills the whole plan again, not an agent fee alone. Founders outside the US are covered on agent services for non-resident founders.^{17, 18, 32}

Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest charges $39 + State Fees and adds a free domain name, open source website, phone line, business email, business address, brand protection. Its statement that formation includes the agent's first year appears only on its corporation page (One year of registered agent service included with formation ($39 + state fees), as stated on the corporation page). For the operating agreement it offers this: Free template. The EIN price depends on whether you have a Social Security number: $50 (with SSN); $200 without SSN.^{19, 20, 33, 34}

Rocket Lawyer

Formation is tied to membership: First registration free with a Rocket Lawyer membership. Memberships come with a trial (Free 7-day trial, then billed yearly), and Standard costs $149/year. The agent needs Plus ($249/year) or Pro, and is $125 with a Plus or Pro membership. The EIN is $70 with Plus or Pro membership. The formation facts we cite don't mention an operating agreement.^{21, 22, 35, 36}

InCorp

InCorp prices its formation service starting at $99 plus state fees, and the package description lists only this: Live chat and phone support included. The agent is sold separately at $129 per state per year, and InCorp sells an EIN service, $69. For speed it charges a $50.00 InCorp expedite fee (state expedite fee extra), so a New York filing rushed through InCorp carries both fees.^{23, 24, 37, 38}

Harbor Compliance

Harbor's formation pricing reads: Starting at $99 plus state fees. The page lists these items, Name check, articles, registered agent, EIN, operating agreement, without saying which tier includes what. On timing: Most LLCs prepared and filed in one business day; state response varies. On expedite, it says: Expedited state processing available in most states (price not published). The standalone agent is $99 first year (new customers), renewing at $159 annually.^{25, 26, 39}

Should you file the New York Articles yourself or use a service?

Filing yourself costs $200, and an online filing brings an email filing receipt within minutes. A service's value in New York is the paperwork it handles for you, since the state's own filing is already fast.²

The agent question is simpler here than elsewhere. Every LLC's Articles designate the Secretary of State, so you don't need to pay anyone to receive papers, and naming a registered agent is optional. If you add one, it must meet N.Y. Ltd. Liab. Co. Law § 302.

Publication is the slowest step, and none of the packages above says it is included. Whether you file yourself or use a service, the notice runs in the county clerk's chosen newspapers and the Certificate of Publication ($50) is filed within 120 days. Ask any provider that offers to handle this for its price and whether the newspapers' charges are included.

Recurring charges deserve a look before checkout. Some packages are yearly plans (doola, Tailor Brands' Essential and Elite, and ZenBusiness's Pro, which renews at $199/yr), and some bundle a first year of compliance or agent service that renews later. New York's recurring Department of State filing is the $9 biennial statement, so a compliance subscription is mostly paying for reminders and the filing itself. Owners with partners or investors may want a lawyer to draft the operating agreement. Filing terms are defined in the glossary.^{2, 10}