Best LLC formation services in West Virginia

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

Check the name, decide on an agent and a designated office, file the Articles online or on paper, pick a speed, then get an EIN and sign an operating agreement before the first annual report comes due.

No newspaper notice and no initial report appear in the West Virginia facts we cite. The steps below follow the order that avoids rework.

1. Search the name. Look it up in the state's business records before filing. A reservation is optional and costs $15, holding the name for 120 days. It helps only if something, such as a lease or a co-owner's signature, will delay the filing.⁴
2. Decide whether to name an agent. On the Articles the agent line reads "agent to whom notice of process may be sent, if any," because the agent is optional in West Virginia. If you name one, the statute (W. Va. Code § 31B-1-108) allows an individual resident of this state, a West Virginia corporation, another LLC, or an out-of-state company authorized here. The West Virginia agent for service of process guide explains the choice.^{5, 6}
3. List the designated office. The form asks for a designated (physical) office address in a separate line. The statute calls this an office which need not be a place of its business in this state.^{5, 6}
4. Complete the Articles. The form is the Articles of Organization (Form LLD-1). A service fills it in from your order; if you file yourself, you complete it on the state's portal or on paper.¹
5. Choose a filing method. The state lists its routes as Online via the One Stop Business Portal, or paper form (mail or in person). Its own page says: "The fastest, easiest way to register a new business is to file online at the One Stop Business Portal." Online filings carry the $1.00 online processing fee.²
6. Pick a speed. Standard handling is 5-10 business days at no extra charge. Expedite tiers are 24-hour $25; 2-hour $250; 1-hour $500 (in addition to the filing fee). The paper form also lists an in-person same-day option (In-Person Same Day -$25).^{1, 3}
7. Get an EIN. The Employer Identification Number is the LLC's federal tax ID. The IRS issues it free; banks and payroll providers ask for it. Some packages below include it, others charge for it.
8. Sign an operating agreement. This internal contract says who owns what, who decides, and what happens when an owner leaves. West Virginia doesn't file it, but banks and partners may ask to see it.
9. Diary the first report. The annual report is due between January 1 and June 30 of each year, starting the year after registration, for $25. West Virginia's business franchise tax no longer applies (None (business franchise tax eliminated for tax years beginning on or after Jan 1, 2015)). Staying compliant in West Virginia covers the report and late fees.^{7, 8}

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

State fees are the same either way, and every provider below charges them in addition to its own price.

A filer in a hurry who files online and pays for the 24-hour $25 tier adds that charge and the online fee to the $100 filing fee. An LLC formed in another state pays $150 (Certificate of Authority) to register here instead. The next table lists each provider's agent price and its cheapest formation package, in the order of the site's provider table: our score, highest first, ties in editorial order.⁹

The table below shows what each cheapest package includes beyond the filing.

"Not listed" means the package description doesn't mention the item, so ask before ordering. Because the agent is optional in West Virginia, a package without one is still a complete filing; you decide separately whether to add an agent. The year-by-year totals, with renewals, are on the cheapest ways to form a West Virginia LLC.

What does each provider's formation package include for West Virginia?

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

Keep West Virginia's own rules in mind while reading them. State handling is 5-10 business days unless you pay for expedite, so a provider's own speed claim may not cover the state's part. And the yearly report has a $25 state fee, so a package that files it saves you a task more than a large sum. Agent services compared for West Virginia covers the agent side.¹

Tailor Brands

Lite costs $0 plus state fees and processes the filing within 14 business days; its description notes no annual compliance, operating agreement or branding tools. Essential, at $199/yr plus state fees, processes within 1 business day and adds annual compliance (report filing and updates), operating agreement. That report filing has a real job here, since West Virginia's report is due between January 1 and June 30 of each year.¹⁰

Neither package description says an agent is included, and the agent is priced separately at $199/year. The EIN is listed as EIN filing service offered; price not published. Essential and Elite ($249/yr plus state fees) bill yearly, not once.^{10, 11, 12}

ZenBusiness

Starter is $0 + state fees (does not renew), with processing of 7-10 days that excludes Secretary of State time, so West Virginia's own handling is added. It includes Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr); after that free year, the plan costs more than the state report it files. The EIN and operating agreement are +$99 add-ons, and faster service costs extra (Rush upgrade +$79 on Starter). Every package lists the agent as "Not included; add-on +$199/yr," with 50% off the first year ($99) when you form an LLC. Pro is $199 + state fees, renews at $199/yr. A single report filing on its own is Annual Report Filing $100 per report.^{13, 14, 33}

LegalZoom

LegalZoom's Basic package is $0 + state filing fees, and its list starts with the Articles of organization. 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 calls: 30 days included, then $49/month auto-renew. LegalZoom's report filing is $99 + state filing fees, bills once.^{15, 16, 17, 18, 34}

Bizee

Basic, at $0 + state fee, lists Registered Agent (1st year included); the agent then renews at $149/year (ongoing annual fee). In West Virginia, lacking an agent is "Not a ground for dissolution," so dropping it after the first year is allowed, but check how papers would reach you first. The EIN ($70) and operating agreement (+$99) are add-ons on Basic. Standard ($199 + state fee) includes both and promises ~2 weeks instead of 4 to 6; Bizee doesn't say how that compares with West Virginia's 5-10 business days.^{6, 19, 20, 35}

Swyft Filings

Swyft's Basic is $0 + state fees and includes Preparation and filing of Articles of Organization; 100% accuracy guarantee; processes in 7-10 business days. Standard costs $169 + state fees (promotional, 'SAVE $30'; regular $199) and adds custom organizational minutes, custom banking resolution, business banking essentials, operating agreement, with Swyft's own handling at 3 business days. No agent is listed in the packages; on its own it is $149 per quarter ($596/year). Report filing comes through ComplianceGuard $199/year, offered as a 14-day free trial then auto-charged. With a $25 state report, decide before the trial ends whether that subscription is worth keeping.^{21, 36, 37}

doola

Starter is $297/yr, a yearly charge, and includes LLC filing, EIN, US bank account guidance, US business address, registered agent. doola says it files within 1-2 business days, after which the state's handling applies. doola's page speaks to founders outside the U.S. directly ("a non-resident without a US SSN, doola can help"), so agents for non-resident founders is worth a look if that is you.^{22, 23, 38}

Northwest Registered Agent

The package is $39 + State Fees with filing plus a free domain name, open source website, phone line, business email, business address, brand protection. Its corporation page reads "One year of registered agent service included with formation," a line its LLC page doesn't repeat, so ask before ordering. The agent alone is $125 per year. The operating agreement is a Free template, and the EIN costs $50 (with SSN); $200 without SSN.^{24, 25, 26, 27, 39}

Rocket Lawyer

Formation here is tied to membership: First registration free with a Rocket Lawyer membership. Every membership bills yearly: Standard at $149/year, Plus at $249/year and Pro at $349/year, none of which covers state fees. The agent is $125 with a Plus or Pro membership, so Standard members can't add it. The EIN costs $70 with Plus or Pro membership, and no operating agreement appears in the formation offer.^{28, 29, 40, 41}

InCorp

InCorp's formation service is priced starting at $99 plus state fees, and its package description mentions only: Live chat and phone support included. The agent is sold separately at $129 per state per year. InCorp's expedited processing is a $50.00 InCorp expedite fee, with the state expedite fee extra; in West Virginia the state's cheapest tier is 24-hour $25. Its report filing is $89 + state fees.^{30, 31, 42, 43}

Harbor Compliance

Harbor prices formation starting at $99 plus state fees and says most LLCs are prepared and filed in one business day. Its formation page names Name check, articles, registered agent, EIN, operating agreement, without saying which tier includes what or how long an included agent lasts. The agent alone is $99 first year (new customers), renewing at $159 annually. Harbor sells expedited state processing too, though it doesn't publish a price (Expedited state processing available in most states (price not published)).^{32, 44, 45}

Should you file the West Virginia Articles yourself or use a service?

Filing yourself costs $100, plus the $1.00 online processing fee if you file online and any expedite you choose. You handle the name search, the agent decision, the designated office and the EIN yourself.²

The state portal handles the filing online, no publication step appears in the facts we cite, and the agent line can be left blank. An owner who does want an agent can be one if they meet the statute, as an individual resident of this state. The form asks for "The name and address of the person or company (agent)" on that line, so some owners prefer a service's address there.^{5, 6}

A service's speed claim and the state's processing run separately. ZenBusiness, for example, says its processing excludes Secretary of State time, while Bizee says its Standard timing includes expedited filing. Unless a package pays the state's expedite fee, expect West Virginia's 5-10 business days on top.^{13, 19}

Recurring charges deserve the closest look. Free first years of an agent or a compliance plan renew at the listed renewal price, and some packages bill yearly. Against a $25 state report, a compliance plan mostly buys the reminder and the filing itself. Owners with partners, investors or a licensed profession may want a lawyer to write or review the operating agreement rather than use a template. Swyft Filings, among others, sells a separate business address at $29/mo for owners who want one on other records. The glossary defines the filing terms.²¹