Best LLC Formation Services in Texas

Texas finished rolling out Texas Express on July 14, 2026. Every business filing now qualifies. Standard expedited costs $50 a document and takes two to three business days. Next business day costs $500, and same day costs $750, both on a noon cutoff. Add the $300 filing fee and the state's own bill comes to $350, $800 or $1,050. That matters while you pick a service. A provider's rush option speeds up its own paperwork, not the state's queue.

Paying the state by card costs 2.7% more. The Secretary of State adds that convenience fee to every card payment. So a $300 certificate of formation comes to $308.10 on a card. Checks and money orders avoid it.

Texas is one of the few states that allows Series LLCs. A Series LLC holds separate liability protected divisions inside one parent company. Real estate investors use them to hold several properties without a separate LLC for each. The filing fee is still $300.

Registering an out of state LLC in Texas costs $750 on the Secretary of State fee schedule. Forming here is cheaper. That is two and a half times the $300 fee a Texas LLC pays. Trade in Texas for more than ninety days before you register and the state adds a late fee for every year you went unregistered.

Texas does not offer anonymous LLCs. Your name and address go on the public filing. If privacy is the priority, founders form a holding LLC in a state that allows anonymity, then register it into Texas as a foreign entity. That brings back the $750.

Every Texas LLC must file a Public Information Report by May 15. It is due even in a year you owe no tax. Since the 2024 report year, an LLC under the no tax due threshold files no franchise tax report at all. The PIR is still due. Skip it and the LLC can forfeit its right to do business, which costs it the right to sue or defend in a Texas court and makes each member personally liable for certain company debts.

1. Get an EIN from the IRS, free and same day. You need it to open a bank account, hire staff, and file federal taxes. Apply at irs.gov and pay nothing.
2. Appoint a registered agent with a physical Texas address. You may serve as your own agent if you live in Texas and have a street address there. An officer, owner or employee may serve too. The LLC itself may not. A P.O. box does not qualify, and most services cover the first year. Compare the options in our Texas registered agent guide.
3. Apply for a Texas sales tax permit if you sell taxable goods or services. The state rate is 6.25%. Local jurisdictions add up to 2% more, so the combined rate tops out at 8.25%. The permit is free from the Texas Comptroller.
4. File your Public Information Report by May 15 every year. An LLC under the $2,650,000 no tax due threshold owes no franchise tax. It files no franchise tax report either. The PIR is still required, and it carries no fee. A late report costs $50.
5. Draft an operating agreement. Texas does not require one. Without it you have no written record of who owns what, how profits split, or who decides. Banks and investors ask for it.
6. Open a dedicated business bank account. This separates your money from the company's. It protects the liability shield the LLC exists to give you.

• Texas Express expedite fees, $50, $500 or $750 per document - Standard expedited takes two to three days. Next business day and same day both need the filing in hand by noon.
• Card convenience fee of 2.7% - A $300 filing paid by card costs $308.10. The fee applies to expedite fees too.
• Foreign LLC registration, $750 - Bringing an existing out of state LLC into Texas costs more than twice the domestic filing fee.
• Reinstatement after tax forfeiture, $75 - That is the filing fee alone. Every delinquent report, penalty and interest still has to be paid.
• Name reservation, $40 - It is optional, and it holds your name for 120 days.
• Late report penalty, $50 - It applies to each late report, even when no tax is owed.
• Change of registered agent, $15 - Switching agents later means a Form 401 filing. An agent's own resignation is free.