Best LLC formation services in South Carolina

How do you form an LLC in South Carolina, step by step?

You confirm the name, choose an agent and a designated office, file the Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State, then get an EIN, sign an operating agreement and settle how the LLC will be taxed.

1. Confirm the name is free. Search the Secretary of State's records first. If you can't file yet, a reservation costs $25 and holds the name for a nonrenewable 120-day period, which helps mainly when something will delay the filing.³
2. Choose the registered agent. Under S.C. Code Ann. § 33-44-108, the agent can be an individual resident of this State or a qualifying business, and the LLC must give an agent and street address of the agent for service of process on the company. The South Carolina registered agent guide explains who qualifies and the case for acting as your own agent.²
3. Pick a designated office. The statute also asks for an office, which need not be a place of business in this State. If an agent resigns, the SOS mails copies to the designated office and to the LLC's principal office, so use an address you check.²
4. Complete the Articles. The document is the Articles of Organization (S.C. Code §§ 33-44-202 and 33-44-203). A service fills it in from your order; on your own, you complete it in the state's system or on the form.¹
5. File it. The state takes filings through SC Business Entities Online or by paper form, and the public may access forms in PDF format in the Business Filings Online system. The published fee is $110, and the state lists no separate online fee.^{1, 4}
6. Plan around the state's timing. The facts we cite include no published processing time and no state expedite fee. A provider's quoted speed covers its own work; ZenBusiness, for example, says its time excludes Secretary of State time.⁵
7. Get an EIN. The Employer Identification Number is the federal tax ID, issued by the IRS rather than the state. Banks usually want it before opening an account.
8. Sign an operating agreement. This private contract sets out ownership shares, who decides what, and what happens when an owner leaves.
9. Decide on tax treatment. An LLC left with the default treatment is not subject to the annual report or the License Fee. Corporate treatment changes that. The Department of Revenue says "An LLC taxed as a corporation is not exempt": such an LLC files the CL-1 Initial Annual Report with the Department of Revenue and pays the corporate License Fee (minimum $25). What a South Carolina LLC owes after formation covers the rest.⁶

An LLC that already exists in another state doesn't file Articles. It files an Application for a Certificate of Authority to Transact Business instead, for $110.⁷

What does a South Carolina LLC cost with and without a service?

The state's charge is the same on every route, and each provider here adds its own price to it.

The Articles fee is the only state charge every new LLC pays. A name reservation is optional, and the state facts we cite list no expedite charge to add. The next table shows each provider's published agent price and its cheapest formation package, ordered by our score, highest first, with tied scores in editorial order.

Here is what the cheapest package from each provider contains beyond the filing.

"Not listed" means the published package description doesn't mention the item, so ask before you order. The first-year and later-year arithmetic, with agent renewals, is on the cheapest ways to form a South Carolina LLC.

What does each provider's formation package include in South Carolina?

The paragraphs below follow the same order as the provider table, our score from the highest, and cover only each provider's published formation terms.

The package facts we cite are national descriptions, and none of them mentions the designated office the statute requires. If a provider will also act as your agent, compare its agent terms on registered agent services in South Carolina.

Tailor Brands

Lite costs $0 plus state fees, and its plan card says "Process the LLC within 14 business days." It includes a bookkeeping 30-day free trial and a business coaching platform; its description also notes no annual compliance, operating agreement or branding tools. Essential, at $199/yr plus state fees, shortens that to "Process the LLC within 1 business day" and adds an operating agreement plus annual compliance; for a South Carolina LLC not taxed as a corporation there is no state report for that compliance feature to file. Elite, at $249/yr plus state fees, adds a 1-year free domain, a DIY website/online store and logos. Both higher plans are charged yearly, and the pricing page shows no separately priced expedite option. The agent is not listed in any package and is priced at $199/year.^{8, 9}

ZenBusiness

Starter is $0 + state fees (does not renew) and lists Standard 7-10 day processing, which ZenBusiness says excludes Secretary of State time. It comes with Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr); note the renewal date if you don't want it. On Starter the EIN costs $99 one-time and the operating agreement template $99 one-time, and a faster turnaround costs +$79 to upgrade to Rush. Pro ($199 + state fees, renews at $199/yr) bundles both documents and adds 1-day processing. Premium ($299 + state fees, renews at $299/yr) adds Advanced Compliance Protection, domain and email. On every plan the agent is an add-on at +$199/yr.^{5, 11}

LegalZoom

The Basic plan is $0 + state filing fees and its core item is the Articles of organization; its list adds a name check service to confirm that your preferred business name is available. Other items are priced separately, such as the EIN at $79, operating agreements that start at $99, and the agent at $249/year (first-time registered agent customers). The next tier, at $249 + state filing fees, adds attorney consultations with 30 days included, then $49/month auto-renew. The top tier, at $299 + state filing fees, adds bookkeeping tools (6-month subscription included).^{12, 13, 14, 15}

Bizee

Basic is $0 + state fee and includes a first year of agent service and a first month of its virtual address; Bizee quotes its own Basic handling as 4 to 6 weeks. After the free year the agent renews at $149/year (ongoing annual fee). The EIN costs $70 and the operating agreement +$99 unless you choose Standard ($199 + state fee), which adds EIN, operating agreement, faster processing (~2 weeks). Premium ($299 + state fee) adds business contracts, expedited filing (~4 business days), domain name and business email, business phone. Bizee doesn't say how its timings relate to the Secretary of State's own.^{16, 17, 31}

Swyft Filings

Basic is $0 + state fees, and Swyft says it 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. Premium, at $269 + state fees (promotional, 'SAVE $30'; regular $299), adds same-day processing, incorp updates, professional business address. Every plan includes a 14-day free trial of ComplianceGuard, which is then charged at $199/year. For a South Carolina LLC not taxed as a corporation there is no state report for that service to file, so decide before the trial runs out. The agent is not in the packages and costs $149 per quarter ($596/year).^{18, 19, 32}

doola

Starter is $297/yr, billed every year, and includes LLC filing, EIN, US bank account guidance, US business address, registered agent. doola says it files within 1-2 business days; the state's own processing comes after. Its next plan, $1,999/yr, is Starter plus federal and state tax filing and 1:1 tax consultation. doola says it works with a non-resident without a US SSN; agents for non-resident founders compares that group.^{20, 21, 33}

Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest's package is $39 + State Fees, and its bundle 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 first. The agent alone is $125 per year. Operating agreement: Free template. The EIN costs $50 (with SSN), or $200 without SSN.^{22, 23, 24, 34, 35}

Rocket Lawyer

Formation runs through a membership, and Rocket Lawyer's page says "Your first one is FREE with a Rocket Lawyer membership!" Memberships are $149/year for Standard, $249/year for Plus and $349/year for Pro, each billed yearly after free 7-day trial. The offer leaves out government and third party fees. The agent costs $125 with a Plus or Pro membership, so a Standard member who wants Rocket Lawyer as agent moves up a tier. The EIN is $70 with Plus or Pro membership. No operating agreement is listed with the formation offer.^{25, 26, 36, 37}

InCorp

InCorp's formation service is priced starting at $99 plus state fees. The only inclusion it itemizes is support: "Live chat and phone support included with every service." The agent is sold separately at $129 per state per year. Its own expedite fee is $50.00, and any state expedite fee comes on top. The package doesn't itemize an EIN or an operating agreement.^{27, 28, 38}

Harbor Compliance

Harbor's formation starts at $99 plus state fees, and its formation page lists name check, articles, registered agent, EIN, and the operating agreement, without saying which tier gets which item or how long an included agent lasts. On speed it says "We can prepare and file the government forms to create most LLCs in one business day," adding that state response varies, which leaves the Secretary of State's share of the wait open. It says it can expedite the state's processing of your LLC but doesn't publish a price for that. On its own, the agent is $99 first year (new customers), renewing at $159 annually.^{30, 39, 40}

Should you file the South Carolina Articles yourself or use a service?

Filing yourself costs the $110 state fee and some time with the state's online system; a service charges for the paperwork and, in many packages, for extras you can buy or skip.¹

The filing itself is short. The decisions around it take more thought: the agent, the designated office, whether to reserve a name, and the tax election.

An owner who lives in South Carolina can act as agent under S.C. Code Ann. § 33-44-108, which removes the agent fee. The cost is that your street address becomes the agent address on the record, and you need to be there to receive papers. A commercial agent puts its own address in that field, as every agent does; the statute lists the designated office as a separate item. Some providers sell a separate address, such as Bizee's virtual address at $29/month.^{2, 41}

The facts we cite list no state expedite fee, and a provider's quoted turnaround describes its own work, not the Secretary of State's. Ask any provider that promises a date what that date depends on.

Recurring charges are where packages differ most. Several bundle a first year of an agent or a compliance subscription that then renews. Some packages are yearly charges themselves. Since an LLC not taxed as a corporation is not subject to the annual report or the License Fee, a subscription built around annual reports has little to do in South Carolina. Owners with partners, investors or a licensed profession may want a lawyer to draft or review the operating agreement instead of a template. The glossary defines the filing terms, and how to change a registered agent covers switching later.⁶