Staying compliant in West Virginia

How does the West Virginia annual report work?

Every active LLC formed on or before December 31 of the previous year has to file, which means the first report falls in the spring after the calendar year you formed. The fee is $25 if the West Virginia Secretary of State receives it by the end of June.^{1, 2}

The calendar year is what counts, not the anniversary of your filing. An LLC approved in early January and one approved in late December both file their first report in the next January to June window, so the December LLC gets only a few weeks of breathing room. The state's wording is that the fee is due following the calendar year in which the business was registered.¹

What the report asks for

The West Virginia Secretary of State says the report "requires update of managers or members authorized to sign filings, addresses, agent of process", along with other information the SOS requires. In practice that means checking the people who can sign for the LLC, your office addresses, and the agent for service of process on file, if any. It is the routine chance to correct anything that changed during the year without a separate filing.²

The biennial option

West Virginia law, as amended effective July 1, 2026, lets an LLC that has timely filed annual reports for five consecutive years switch to reporting every other year, with a $50 biennial report fee instead. A new LLC cannot use it straight away, since it first needs that run of on-time reports. The late charge is larger on this track too: $100 for a biennial delinquency. The state's annual reports page is the place to check how to make the election once you qualify. For how annual reports work in other states, see annual reports explained.^{1, 2}

Does West Virginia charge LLCs a franchise tax?

No. The business franchise tax was eliminated for tax years beginning on or after Jan 1, 2015, and for those years the franchise tax statute says "there shall be no tax due under the provisions of this article".³

The $25 report fee is the recurring West Virginia Secretary of State charge this page's sources show for an ordinary LLC. Other state taxes run through the West Virginia Tax Division, and this page does not cover which ones apply to your business. Two links between the two agencies are worth knowing. Unpaid fees or taxes are listed among the grounds for administrative dissolution, and reinstating a dissolved LLC requires a letter of good standing from the Tax Division. So a tax problem can become a standing problem at the West Virginia Secretary of State. Ask the Tax Division or a tax professional which registrations and returns your LLC needs, and the IRS for federal filings.¹

What happens if a West Virginia LLC files late or is dissolved?

A late report adds a $50 late fee, and leaving it unfiled longer is riskier still. Failing to file within 60 days after due is a ground for administrative dissolution.²

The grounds for administrative dissolution in the LLC statute are unpaid fees/taxes, annual report not delivered within 60 days, license revocation, employment-program default, misrepresentation. They do not include lacking an agent. For a typical small LLC with no employees and nothing owed, then, the annual report is the one deadline that can cost it its standing.⁴

How reinstatement works

The application is Form LLD-10. Expect to pay several pieces together.⁵

• the $25 application fee⁵
• all delinquent annual report fees ($25/yr) for each year missed⁵
• a $50 late fee per year on top of the back fees⁵

The form also asks for an annual report, and a Tax Division Letter of Good Standing, so get the tax letter moving early; it comes from a different agency and depends on your tax accounts being in order.⁵

Timing is strict. Under the LLC statute, an LLC can apply only within 2 years of administrative dissolution. Once that has passed, this form is off the table; ask the West Virginia Secretary of State or a lawyer what is left. If the business kept trading or signing contracts while dissolved, a lawyer can also tell you what that means for the owners. For more on agent rules and why a missing agent does not trigger dissolution, see the West Virginia agent requirements.⁵

How do you keep your agent and addresses current in West Virginia?

Update the West Virginia Secretary of State's record whenever your agent, designated office or signers change, either on Form AAO for $15 or in your next annual report.^{6, 7}

Because West Virginia LLCs are not required to appoint an agent for service of process, the job is less about avoiding a gap and more about making sure papers and state mail reach you.⁴

The addresses deserve the most care. When an agent resigns, the Secretary of State mails a copy to the designated office and to the LLC at its principal office, and the agency ends on the 31st day after filing. If those addresses are stale, the notice can sit unread at a place you left long ago. The state's change page allows online filing via the One Stop portal, which makes a mid-year fix quick. Full steps for switching agents are in the guide to changing an agent. For foreign LLCs registered here (the Certificate of Authority costs $150), the agent statute applies in the same way, but this page's sources don't spell out their report duties, so confirm those with the West Virginia Secretary of State.^{6, 8, 9}

What a provider's compliance features cover in West Virginia

Many agent services sell an annual report filing service, and in West Virginia there is a real report for them to file. The lines below set each provider's published price and billing against a state fee of $25. The list below follows the order of our score, highest first.¹

• Tailor Brands lists annual report filing in its formation plans: Included in Essential and Elite (annual compliance report filing and updates); not in Lite.¹⁰
• ZenBusiness lists Annual Report Filing $100 per report or a Worry-Free Compliance $199/year plan.¹¹
• LegalZoom sells a one-time filing at $99 + state filing fees, or a Compliance Filings subscription that starts at $199/year and renews automatically.^{12, 13}
• Bizee (formerly Incfile) offers annual report filing with no standalone price stated.¹⁴
• Swyft Filings sells ComplianceGuard $199/year. It starts as a 14-day free trial and is then charged automatically unless cancelled.¹⁵
• doola includes annual report notifications with its agent service, and lists Annual State Report Filing included in the Tax and Compliance and Business-in-a-Box™ plans.^{16, 17}
• Northwest Registered Agent charges $100 + state fees per filing and says registered agent customers are auto-enrolled, so check your account settings.¹⁸
• InCorp Services charges $89 + state fees and sends email reminders before deadlines as part of its agent service.^{19, 20}
• Harbor Compliance charges $199 per state per year plus filing fees.²¹

The published facts for these features cover annual report filing and reminders, not state taxes or the Tax Division letter. Whether a filing plan is worth it depends on how much you value not tracking one spring deadline. Prices side by side are on the West Virginia agent comparison. A wider view is on services with compliance tools.

What does a West Virginia LLC compliance calendar look like?

West Virginia's calendar turns on the calendar year you registered, so the first year is usually quiet and the second has the first fixed deadline.

Year one (the year you register)

1. Formation. The West Virginia Secretary of State approves your Articles; the steps are in the West Virginia LLC formation guide, and the fees in the cheapest ways to form a West Virginia LLC.
2. No annual report is due in this calendar year.
3. Note who your agent is, if any, and where the designated office sits. Those are the addresses the state will write to.
4. Ask the Tax Division and the IRS which registrations and returns apply, and keep them on a separate list.
5. If you use a paid agent or filing plan, note its renewal date and any trial that converts to a charge.

Year two and later

1. File the annual report between January 1 and June 30 and pay $25. After June a $50 late fee is added.^{1, 2}
2. Use the report to confirm signers, addresses and your agent.
3. Mid-year changes go on Form AAO ($15).^{6, 7}
4. Once the LLC has timely filed annual reports for five consecutive years, consider the biennial option, which carries a $50 biennial report fee.¹
5. If anything slips, act before the dissolution grounds apply; reinstatement is limited to within 2 years.⁵

Terms on this page, such as administrative dissolution, are defined in the glossary. If you run LLCs in neighbouring states too, compare staying compliant in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.