Best LLC formation services in South Dakota

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

Check the name, choose a registered agent, file the Articles of Organization online or on paper, then get an EIN, sign an operating agreement and note the anniversary month for the annual report.

The order below avoids the two usual holdups: a name already on file and an agent address that doesn't meet the statute.

1. Search the name. Look it up in the Secretary of State's business records before you file. To hold a name you aren't ready to use, a reservation costs $25; the state's fee page doesn't say how long a reservation lasts, so check that before relying on one.²
2. Choose the agent. South Dakota's rules sit in SDCL § 59-11-6 and SDCL 59-11-5, which asks for an actual street address or rural route box number in this state. You may name a noncommercial agent, yourself included, if you have such an address, or hire a commercial service. Who qualifies is set out in the South Dakota registered agent guide.⁴
3. Complete the Articles of Organization. A service prepares it from your order; filing yourself, you fill it in on the state's system or on the paper form.
4. Pick online or paper. The choices are Online (SOS Enterprise) or by mail on a paper form (paper adds a $15 fee), which is why the Articles cost $150 online, $165 by paper.³
5. Plan for processing time. The state lists online filings processed immediately and paper filings on average 1-3 business days. It also lists a $50 expedite fee, defined as completion sooner than the normal course of business on request; the fee is listed under Miscellaneous Business Fees (not LLC-specific), and an online filing has nothing left to speed up.^{2, 3}
6. Apply for an EIN. This federal tax number comes from the IRS, not the state, and banks usually want it before opening an account. Some packages below include it.
7. Write the operating agreement. It isn't among the state filings listed on this page; it sets out ownership shares, voting and what happens when a member leaves. Several packages include a template.
8. Mark the anniversary month. The annual report is due by the 1st day of the anniversary month of the original filing, so the first one falls due in the first anniversary month. Staying compliant in South Dakota covers what it asks and what a missed report costs.⁵

South Dakota has no corporate income tax, and the only franchise tax listed is the bank franchise tax, so the LLC has no state franchise or corporate income tax return to set up. Sales tax and licences depend on the business and are outside this page.⁶

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

The state's fee is the same whoever files; every package price below is charged on top of it.

Filing yourself online costs $150 and finishes at once. A service that files on paper pays $165, and none of the providers here publishes which method it uses in South Dakota, so ask whether the paper fee is passed on. The table that follows lists each provider's agent price and cheapest package in the order of the site's provider table, which is our score, highest first, ties in editorial order.²

The next table shows what each cheapest package includes besides the filing.

"Not listed" means the published package description doesn't mention the item, so ask before you order. The cheapest ways to form a South Dakota LLC works through first-year and later-year totals, including the yearly report fee of $55 online.²

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

Each paragraph covers only the provider's published package terms, in the same score order as the table. Because the state lists online filings processed immediately, a provider's own handling time is most of the wait when it files online.³

Trustpilot ratings appear in the site's provider table, not here. The agent services themselves are compared on registered agents in South Dakota.

Tailor Brands

Lite costs $0 plus state fees and is processed within 14 business days; its listing is plain that there is no annual compliance, operating agreement or branding tools, so the operating agreement and the yearly report stay with you. The middle plan, Essential, is $199/yr plus state fees. It is processed within 1 business day and adds annual compliance (report filing and updates), operating agreement, and in South Dakota that report filing has work to do every year. No package lists an agent, which Tailor Brands prices separately at $199/year, and an EIN filing service is offered with the price not published. Essential and Elite ($249/yr plus state fees) are billed every year rather than once.^{7, 8, 9}

ZenBusiness

Starter is $0 + state fees (does not renew), with 7-10 days of ZenBusiness handling, a figure that excludes Secretary of State time. Starter includes Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr), and the EIN and operating agreement are +$99 add-ons. On every plan the agent is sold as an add-on +$199/yr, though ZenBusiness offers 50% off the first year ($99) when you form an LLC. Rush handling on Starter costs $79 more. Pro ($199 + state fees, renews at $199/yr) includes the EIN, an operating agreement template and ongoing filing compliance (state-required annual report filings and up to 2 amendments per year), which covers the South Dakota report.^{10, 30}

LegalZoom

LegalZoom's cheapest package, $0 + state filing fees, covers the Articles of organization, with a name check and a tax consult listed beside it. Other items are priced separately. The EIN is $79, an operating agreement starts at $99, and the agent $249/year (first-time registered agent customers). Its middle package, $249 + state filing fees, adds attorney consultations (30 days included, then $49/month auto-renew). A single annual report filing is $99 + state filing fees, bills once.^{12, 13, 14, 31}

Bizee

Bizee's Basic is $0 + state fee and includes the agent (1st year included), after which the agent renews at $149/year (ongoing annual fee) unless you move it to another agent or serve yourself. The EIN and operating agreement are add-ons at $70 and +$99. Standard ($199 + state fee) adds EIN, operating agreement and faster processing (~2 weeks); Premium lists expedited filing (~4 business days). Bizee doesn't say how those times relate to a state that processes online filings immediately.^{16, 17, 32}

Swyft Filings

Basic is $0 + state fees and covers preparation and filing of Articles of Organization, with handling Swyft gives as 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 processes in 3 business days. No agent is listed; Swyft's agent is $149 per quarter ($596/year). Every plan includes a trial of its annual report product, ComplianceGuard $199/year, on these terms: a 14-day free trial then auto-charged. In South Dakota that product would have a report to file each year, so compare its price with filing online yourself before the trial ends.^{18, 33, 34}

doola

doola's Starter is $297/yr, a yearly charge, and includes LLC filing, EIN, US bank account guidance, US business address, registered agent. It says it files within 1-2 business days. doola's pages say it can help a non-resident without a US SSN; agent services for non-resident founders covers that case.^{19, 20, 35}

Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest's package is $39 + State Fees and includes filing plus 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 the LLC page doesn't repeat it, so confirm before ordering. The agent alone is $125 per year. Northwest lists its operating agreement as a free template, and the EIN costs $50 (with SSN); $200 without SSN.^{21, 22, 23, 36, 37}

Rocket Lawyer

Rocket Lawyer's offer is the first registration free with a Rocket Lawyer membership, and that membership is a yearly bill: Standard $149/year, Plus $249/year, Pro $349/year. The state fee comes on top. The agent is $125 with a Plus or Pro membership, so a Standard member can't add it. The EIN is $70 with Plus or Pro membership, and no operating agreement is listed with the package.^{24, 25, 38, 39}

InCorp

InCorp prices formation starting at $99 plus state fees, and its package description notes live chat and phone support included. The agent is not part of it: it is sold separately at $129 per state per year. InCorp's expedite option is a $50.00 InCorp expedite fee (state expedite fee extra). Its EIN service costs $69.^{26, 27, 28, 40}

Harbor Compliance

Harbor prices formation starting at $99 plus state fees and describes its timing as most LLCs prepared and filed in one business day. The formation page lists name check, articles, registered agent, EIN, operating agreement but doesn't say which tier carries which item or how long an included agent lasts. Its standalone agent is $99 first year (new customers), renewing at $159 annually. Harbor offers to expedite state processing in most states (price not published).^{29, 41, 42}

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

Filing yourself online costs $150, and the state lists online filings processed immediately, so the filing itself is quick to do alone; a service saves the paperwork and can bundle the agent, EIN and report filing.^{2, 3}

The steps you would handle yourself are the name search, the agent, the Articles, the EIN and the operating agreement. If you have an address that meets SDCL 59-11-5 you can be your own agent and pay nothing for it, but that address goes on the public record and you need to be there to accept papers.⁴

A service's speed claims count for less here. The state's online processing is immediate, so a package that promises faster handling mostly shortens the provider's own queue. Ask whether a provider files online or on paper, since paper costs $15 more.³

Whoever acts as agent, its address fills only the agent field. The yearly report still lists names and addresses of the LLC's principal officers and directors (governors). For a different public-facing address some providers sell a separate product; Swyft Filings lists a business address and mailbox at $29/mo.^{18, 43}

The cost that keeps coming is the report. A package with report filing does yearly work in South Dakota, while a free trial of a compliance product turns into a yearly charge unless you cancel. Owners with partners or outside investors may want a lawyer to draft the operating agreement instead of a template. The glossary defines the filing terms.