Best LLC formation services in Oregon

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

Search the name, settle on a registered agent, file the Articles with the Corporation Division online or by paper, wait for staff review, then get an EIN, sign an operating agreement and put the first renewal date on your calendar.

The order below avoids the usual holdups: a name that turns out to be taken, an agent address that doesn't qualify, or a first renewal nobody remembered.

1. Check that the name is free before filing. A reservation is possible, but it costs $100, the same as the Articles themselves ($100), and holds the name for 120 days. It only pays off if something outside your control, such as a lease or a co-owner's signature, will delay the filing.⁵
2. Choose the registered agent. The registered office has to be a physical street address where process may be personally served on the registered agent. You can serve yourself if you qualify, use someone you know, or hire a commercial service; the Oregon registered agent guide sets out who qualifies, and registered agents compared for Oregon covers the paid options.
3. Complete the Articles of Organization. The state form is titled Articles of Organization - Limited Liability Company. A service fills it in from your answers at checkout; on your own you complete it directly.¹
4. Submit it. The Corporation Division takes filings online (Oregon Business Registry) or by mail, and it keeps a walk-in front desk in Salem. Because forms and payments are not accepted by email, a scanned form sent as an attachment won't be processed.⁶
5. Wait for review. The state's FAQ explains that registrations are reviewed by Corporation Division staff before completion, and that the review typically begins within one business day. The state doesn't publish an expedite option among the facts gathered for this page, so read a service's rush handling as a description of its own side of the work.
6. Get an EIN. The IRS issues this federal tax ID, and banks generally ask for it before opening an account. Some packages below include it.
7. Sign an operating agreement. It records who owns what, who decides and what happens when an owner leaves. Some packages below include a template.
8. Mark the renewal date. Oregon LLCs renew on the anniversary date of the original filing for $100, and the state says notices go out about 45 days before the due date. Staying compliant in Oregon covers what that filing asks.¹

What does an Oregon LLC cost with and without a service?

The state's charges are identical whether you file or a service does, and every package below is priced before them.

In the first year, a new Oregon LLC pays the state the Articles fee ($100) and, only if it wants one, the name reservation ($100); the renewal waits for the first anniversary. The next table lists each provider's agent price and cheapest package in the site's provider order, which is our score, highest first, with ties in editorial order.

Because every Oregon LLC files a yearly renewal, the last column below shows how each provider handles that filing alongside what its cheapest package covers.

"Not listed" means the provider's published package description doesn't mention the item, so ask before ordering. Any provider's annual report price is on top of the state's $100. First-year and later-year totals are worked out on the cheapest ways to form an Oregon LLC.

What does each provider's formation package include in Oregon?

These paragraphs cover only formation packages, in the provider table's order: our score, highest first, ties in editorial order (how we score).

Agent pricing and exit terms for the same providers are compared on Oregon registered agent services. A provider that also acts as your agent supplies the registered office, which has to meet the statute's street-address test.

Tailor Brands

Lite costs $0 plus state fees. As the cheapest Tailor Brands plan, it processes the LLC within 14 business days and includes a bookkeeping 30-day free trial and a business coaching platform; the same card notes no annual compliance, operating agreement or branding tools, so an Oregon owner on Lite files the yearly renewal without help from the plan. Essential costs $199/yr plus state fees, processes within 1 business day, and adds annual compliance (report filing and updates) plus an operating agreement, and that compliance item is what lines up with Oregon's yearly renewal. No registered agent appears in either plan's published list; Tailor Brands sells it separately at $199/year (renews at the same price). Elite, at $249/yr plus state fees, is also billed every year.^{7, 8}

ZenBusiness

Starter is $0 + state fees (does not renew) and handles the first filing, with processing of 7-10 days; ZenBusiness notes that this excludes Secretary of State time, so the Corporation Division's review comes after. Starter bundles Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr), and the EIN and operating agreement are +$99 add-ons. The agent isn't in any ZenBusiness package and costs extra (add-on +$199/yr), though LLCs formed through ZenBusiness get 50% off the first year ($99) on it. Faster handling on Starter costs extra (Rush upgrade +$79 on Starter). Pro ($199 + state fees, renews at $199/yr) includes ongoing filing compliance (state-required annual report filings and up to 2 amendments per year), which covers the Oregon renewal filing for as long as the plan is paid.^{10, 36}

LegalZoom

LegalZoom's entry package is $0 + state filing fees and covers the Articles of organization. On that package, other items are priced separately: 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). The top package, $299 + state filing fees, adds bookkeeping tools with a 6-month subscription included.^{12, 13, 14, 37}

Bizee

Bizee's Basic package is $0 + state fee and lists Registered Agent (1st year included). The agent then renews at $149/year (ongoing annual fee). An EIN ($70) and an operating agreement (+$99) are extras on Basic; Standard, at $199 + state fee, adds both, plus faster processing (~2 weeks). Premium ($299 + state fee) lists expedited filing (~4 business days). Bizee's pages don't say how its timing relates to the Corporation Division's review. It sells annual report filing, with no standalone price stated.^{16, 17, 18, 38}

Swyft Filings

Swyft's Basic package is $0 + state fees, with preparation and filing of the Articles, and processes in 7-10 business days. Standard, $169 + state fees (promotional, 'SAVE $30'; regular $199), adds custom organizational minutes, custom banking resolution, business banking essentials, operating agreement, and its timing drops to 3 business days. No package lists an agent; Swyft sells one at $149 per quarter ($596/year). Every plan includes a trial of ComplianceGuard, Swyft's annual report service (ComplianceGuard $199/year), described as a 14-day free trial then auto-charged. Unless it is cancelled, the trial rolls into that yearly charge.^{19, 20, 39}

doola

doola's Starter plan costs $297/yr, and that price repeats each year. It bundles LLC filing, EIN, US bank account guidance, US business address, registered agent. doola says it files within 1-2 business days, after which the Corporation Division's review starts. Starter does not include ongoing compliance filings; filing the renewal for you is part of Tax and Compliance at $1,999/yr. doola says it can help a US citizen or a non-resident without a US SSN; agents for non-resident founders covers that situation.^{21, 22, 40, 41}

Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest's formation price is $39 + State Fees, covering the filing plus a free domain name, open source website, phone line, business email, business address, brand protection. Its corporation page describes the price as a total that includes one year of registered agent service; the LLC page doesn't say so, which is worth confirming. For the operating agreement, Northwest offers a free template, while an EIN costs $50 (with SSN), or $200 without SSN. Filing the Oregon renewal through Northwest costs $100 + state fees, charged at filing.^{23, 24, 25, 26, 42}

Rocket Lawyer

Rocket Lawyer ties formation to membership, offering the first registration free with a Rocket Lawyer membership. Memberships are yearly, at $149/year for Standard, $249/year for Plus and $349/year for Pro, each with a free 7-day trial, then billed yearly. Its offer excludes government and third party fees. Because the agent is $125 with a Plus or Pro membership, a Standard member who wants Rocket Lawyer as agent has to move up a tier. The EIN is $70 with Plus or Pro membership, and Pro adds annual report filing at $100 with Pro membership. No operating agreement is listed with the formation offer.^{27, 28, 29, 43, 44}

InCorp

InCorp prices formation starting at $99 plus state fees, and the only item its package description lists is live chat and phone support. The agent is sold separately at $129 per state per year. Its expedited processing carries a $50.00 InCorp expedite fee, and any state expedite fee is charged on top. The EIN service costs $69, and InCorp files annual reports for $89 + state fees. No operating agreement appears in the package description.^{30, 31, 32, 33, 45}

Harbor Compliance

Harbor prices formation starting at $99 plus state fees, and its formation page lists name check, articles, registered agent, EIN, operating agreement, without saying which tier carries which item or how long an included agent lasts. It says it can prepare and file the government forms to create most LLCs in one business day. It says it can also expedite the state's processing and offer several options in most states, though it doesn't publish a price for that. On its own, the agent is $99 first year (new customers) and renews at $159 annually, with notice due at least 90 days before the end of the current term if you want to stop it.^{34, 46, 47, 48}

Should you file the Oregon Articles yourself or use a service?

Filing yourself costs $100, sent online (Oregon Business Registry) or by mail, or handed in at the walk-in front desk in Salem, and you handle the name search, agent and EIN on your own. A service mainly saves the form-filling, and some bundle extras you might buy anyway.²

The Business Registry accepts the Articles online, so filing without a service is a real option. The state's review typically begins within one business day either way; a service's speed claims describe its own handling before the state sees the filing. ZenBusiness, for example, says its timing excludes Secretary of State time.¹⁰

An owner who qualifies can act as registered agent and skip that fee. The trade-off is that the agent's address goes on the public record and someone must be there to receive papers in person, since the office has to be a physical street address where process may be personally served on the registered agent. A commercial agent's address goes in that field instead. It doesn't change any other address the LLC lists on its filings; for those, some providers sell a separate business address, such as Swyft Filings' virtual mailbox at $29/mo.¹⁹

The bigger difference shows up after the first year. Oregon's $100 renewal comes on the anniversary date of the original filing, and a few packages handle it as part of a yearly plan, while others sell it per filing. If you file yourself, you file the renewal yourself as well. Owners with co-owners or outside investors may want a lawyer to review the operating agreement rather than relying on a template. Filing terms are defined in the glossary, and how annual reports work gives background on the yearly filing.