Best LLC formation services in Virginia

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

Check the name, line up a registered agent, file the Articles of Organization with the SCC online or on paper, pick regular or expedited handling, then get an EIN and sign an operating agreement.

The order helps. The agent's details go on the Articles, and the EIN application asks for the LLC's legal name as filed.

1. Check that the name is free in the SCC's records. To hold a name before you are ready, the SCC charges $10 on Form SCC631. The SCC fee table doesn't say how long a reservation lasts.⁶
2. Choose a registered agent. Virginia law, Va. Code § 13.1-1015, has the LLC keep a registered office and a registered agent in the Commonwealth, and the office may be "A registered office that may be the same as any of its places of business." The statute limits who qualifies; the Virginia registered agent guide lists the categories and explains whether you can act as your own.⁴
3. Complete the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1011). A formation service fills this in for you. If you file yourself, the SCC offers the form as a document or through its online system.²
4. File it. The SCC lists the filing options as "Online (SCC eFile, encouraged) or paper form" and asks owners to file online to avoid processing errors.⁶
5. Pick a speed. The SCC's page describes regular service as usually processed within 3 to 5 business days. Two faster tiers exist: Expedited, generally filed by 4:00 p.m. next business day, and Same Day service (organizational documents received by noon), each for an additional fee. The page doesn't list the amounts, and requests go on the Expedited Service Request Form SCC21.2. That page sits on an older SCC web address, so current times and charges are worth confirming with the SCC before paying for speed.³
6. Get an EIN. This is the federal tax number for the LLC, and it comes from the IRS rather than the state. A business bank account generally needs one. Some packages below include it.
7. Sign an operating agreement. It is a private document among the members, recording ownership shares, voting and what happens when someone leaves.
8. Put the yearly fee in your calendar. Virginia has no LLC annual report. The registration fee of $50 is first due by the last day of the 12th month after the month of organization, and after that it is due by the last day of the month your business was organized or registered. The SCC's fee page says the SCC mails the fee assessment to the registered agent two months before the due date; staying compliant in Virginia covers the cycle.^{5, 7}

None of the SCC and Virginia Code sources used here mentions a newspaper publication step for LLCs, so none appears above.

What does a Virginia LLC cost with and without a service?

The SCC's fees don't change with the route you take. Every package price on this page is quoted before them.

On the regular route, the SCC's charge is the $100 for the Articles. Expedited and Same Day handling cost extra, but the SCC page cited doesn't list the amounts, so they aren't totalled here. The next table gives each provider's agent price and cheapest formation package, in the order of the site's provider table: our score, highest first, ties in editorial order.¹

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

"Not listed" means the provider's package description doesn't mention the item, which isn't the same as excluding it; ask before you order. First-year and second-year totals, with agent renewals and the yearly SCC fee, are worked out on the cheapest ways to form a Virginia LLC.

What does each formation service include for a Virginia LLC?

The paragraphs follow the provider table's order, which is our score, highest first, with ties in editorial order (how we score).

They cover formation packages only. Several packages bundle an annual report or compliance feature, and Virginia LLCs don't file an annual report, so it is fair to ask a provider what that feature would do about the yearly registration fee. Agent services on their own are compared on Virginia registered agent services.

Tailor Brands

Lite, the entry package, is $0 plus state fees and handles the filing within 14 business days, and the package description notes no annual compliance, operating agreement or branding tools. Essential, at $199/yr plus state fees, moves processing to within 1 business day and lists annual compliance (report filing and updates), operating agreement. How that report filing would apply to Virginia, where the yearly obligation is a fee paid to the SCC, isn't stated. The higher tiers are yearly charges, and Elite costs $249/yr plus state fees. The agent isn't in the package list and is sold at $199/year. On speed, its pricing page has no separately priced expedite option. The SCC's Expedited and Same Day tiers are a separate matter with a separate fee.^{8, 9}

ZenBusiness

Starter costs $0 + state fees (does not renew) with standard 7-10 day processing, and ZenBusiness says its timing excludes Secretary of State time, so the SCC's processing is added on. Starter bundles Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr); the EIN and operating agreement are +$99 add-ons. A Rush upgrade +$79 on Starter is available. Pro ($199 + state fees, renews at $199/yr) adds 1-day processing and ongoing filing compliance (state-required annual report filings and up to 2 amendments per year). For a Virginia LLC, only the amendments part of that clearly has work to do. The agent is never in a package; forming through ZenBusiness gets 50% off the first year ($99) on the agent, then $199/yr.^{11, 32}

LegalZoom

LegalZoom's Basic package is $0 + state filing fees and lists the Articles of organization, with a name check and a tax consultation among its other items. The EIN is $79, the operating agreement is listed as "Starts at $99," and the agent is $249/year (first-time registered agent customers). Pro ($249 + state filing fees) adds attorney consultations, 30 days included, then $49/month auto-renew. Premium ($299 + state filing fees) adds Bookkeeping tools, 6-month subscription included.^{13, 14, 15, 16}

Bizee

Bizee's Basic is $0 + state fee and its listing reads "Registered Agent (1st year included)." After that year the agent renews at $149/year (ongoing annual fee). On Basic, the EIN ($70) and the operating agreement (+$99) are paid extras that you add at checkout if you want them. Standard, at $199 + state fee, adds your EIN, operating agreement, and faster processing, with processing put at ~2 weeks. Premium ($299 + state fee) lists expedited filing (~4 business days). Bizee doesn't say whether those timings include the SCC's Expedited or Same Day fee. Its virtual address add-on includes 1 month free with Bizee LLC formation.^{17, 18, 33, 34}

Swyft Filings

Swyft's Basic is $0 + state fees and 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; it processes in 3 business days. No agent is listed in the packages, and the standalone agent is $149 per quarter ($596/year). Every plan comes with ComplianceGuard $199/year on a 14-day free trial then auto-charged. That plan centres on annual report filing, which has no Virginia counterpart, and the trial turns into a paid year unless it is cancelled.^{19, 35, 36}

doola

doola's Starter is $297/yr, a yearly plan, and includes LLC filing, EIN, US bank account guidance, US business address, registered agent. doola doesn't say how long the agent stays included. It says it files in 1-2 business days, before the SCC's own processing. Its next tier is $1,999/yr, described as Starter plus federal and state tax filing and 1:1 tax consultation, and doola says the Tax and Compliance plan covers your annual state compliance filings (like annual reports). Virginia's yearly obligation is a fee rather than a report, and doola doesn't say how the plan handles it. doola says it can help a founder who is a non-resident without a US SSN; agent services for non-resident founders compares that group.^{20, 21, 37, 38}

Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest's package is $39 + State Fees and adds a free domain name, open source website, phone line, business email, business address, brand protection. Whether the agent comes with an LLC order is unclear: Northwest mentions an included agent year as stated on the corporation page, and its LLC page doesn't repeat it. The agent alone is $125 per year. An EIN costs $50 (with SSN); $200 without SSN, and the operating agreement is listed as "Free template."^{22, 23, 24, 25, 39}

Rocket Lawyer

Rocket Lawyer's formation offer reads "First registration free with a Rocket Lawyer membership," and the page puts later registrations at a separate charge. Memberships cost $149/year for Standard, $249/year for Plus and $349/year for Pro, and the pricing page says each is "Billed yearly after free 7-day trial." The agent is $125 with a Plus or Pro membership, and the EIN is $70 with Plus or Pro membership. No operating agreement is listed with formation.^{26, 27, 40, 41}

InCorp

InCorp prices its formation service starting at $99 plus state fees, and its package text lists "Live chat and phone support included." The agent is sold separately at $129 per state per year. Speed costs extra too: InCorp lists a $50.00 InCorp expedite fee (state expedite fee extra). Its EIN service costs $69.^{28, 29, 30, 42}

Harbor Compliance

Harbor's formation is priced "Starting at $99 plus state fees," and its page lists name check, articles, registered agent, EIN, and the operating agreement among the filings it handles, without saying which tier includes which item. It says: "We can prepare and file the government forms to create most LLCs in one business day." State expedite is offered in most states, price not published. Its standalone agent is $99 first year (new customers), renewing at $159 annually.^{31, 43, 44}

Should you file Virginia's Articles yourself or use a service?

Filing yourself costs $100 and an online session with the SCC; a service saves you the form and the agent search, at its own price, and its checkout typically offers paid add-ons.¹

The SCC steers filers to its online system, which takes care of the form. The harder parts are outside the form: finding an agent who qualifies under Va. Code § 13.1-1015, getting the EIN, and drafting an operating agreement that fits the owners.⁴

Speed works the same either way. A provider's quick turnaround covers its own preparation; the SCC's clock starts when the filing arrives, and its faster tiers are sold each for an additional fee. ZenBusiness, for example, says its processing excludes Secretary of State time.^{3, 11}

The agent decision follows you after formation. The SCC's fee page says the SCC mails the fee assessment to the registered agent two months before the due date, and the SCC lists a change of agent as "No fee," so a bundled first year doesn't lock you in. Watch the recurring charges instead. Several packages include a free or discounted year of an agent or compliance plan that then renews at full price, and some packages bill every year.^{6, 7}

If the LLC has several owners, outside money or a regulated profession, a lawyer's review of the operating agreement may be worth more than a template. The glossary defines the filing terms, and how to change a registered agent covers switching later.