How to Start an LLC in Virginia (2026)
Forming an LLC in Virginia costs $100 to file your articles of organization with the State Corporation Commission.
In This Article
- Overview
- Quick Facts
- Introduction
- Choose a Name for Your Virginia LLC
- Choose a Registered Agent in Virginia
- File Your Articles of Organization with Virginia
- Get an EIN from the IRS
- Create an Operating Agreement for Your Virginia LLC
- Open a Business Bank Account
- Federal BOI Reporting
- Top 3 LLC Services
- FAQ
- Next Steps
What You'll Learn in This Guide
This guide walks you through every step to legally form a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Virginia, from picking a name to staying compliant year after year. We've kept it practical, current, and free of unnecessary fluff.
Note
Virginia LLC formation costs $100 in state fees. You can file DIY or through a formation service starting at $0.
Virginia LLC: Quick Facts
Last Verified: Sep 2026- Filing Fee (Online)
- $100
- Processing Time
- Same day online, 5 business days…*
- Expedited Available
- Yes (Next business day online,…**
- Annual Registration Fee
- $50***
- State Income Tax
- Yes
- Sales Tax Rate
- 4.3%
- Filed With
- State Corporation Commission
- Last Verified
- September 12, 2026
Processing time verified September 12, 2026
* Processing Time: Same day online, 5 business days with an attachment
** Expedited Available: Yes (Next business day online, lowest fee / $50)
*** Annual Registration Fee: $50, due By the last day of the anniversary month of formation.
What Virginia LLC Formation Actually Looks Like
Forming an LLC in Virginia costs $100 to file your articles of organization with the State Corporation Commission. File online and let the Commission build the document for you, and your LLC is usually accepted the moment you check out.
A Virginia LLC puts a legal wall between your personal assets and your business obligations. If your LLC gets sued or takes on debt, your house, car, and personal savings stay protected. That separation is the entire point of forming one.
Virginia's filing fee is $100, which is right around the national average. There's no general state business license requirement, though you may need local or industry-specific permits depending on what you do. One thing that sets Virginia apart: the state doesn't require an annual report for LLCs. Instead, you pay a $50 annual registration fee to the State Corporation Commission to keep your LLC in good standing.
The process runs to six steps, from picking a name to opening a bank account. You can file online or by mail. The two are not close. The Commission's filing tool writes your articles of organization from the details you type. Attach nothing and it sends a receipt and an acceptance email the moment you check out. Attach your own wording, or pick a name that needs review, and the Commission says to expect about five business days. File on paper and it answers by letter, with no published turnaround at all.
Almost every guide answers the speed question with a range of days. Virginia does not work that way. The Commission accepts a clean online filing the moment you check out. The delays that exist are mostly ones you choose yourself.
Choose a Name for Your Virginia LLC
Your LLC name must meet Virginia's naming rules and be distinguishable from any existing business on file with the State Corporation Commission.
Your name has to be different from every business already on file with the Commission. You can check it for free on the SCC's entity search before you file.
Search available names →Virginia LLC Naming Requirements
Optional Name Reservation
- You can reserve your name for 120 days for a $10 fee
- File online or by mail with the State Corporation Commission
- Useful if you're not ready to file your articles of organization yet
State Specific
Virginia lets you reserve a name for 120 days for just $10, which is longer than most states offer.
Pro Tip
Search the State Corporation Commission's business database before you get attached to a name. It's free and takes 30 seconds.
Choose a Registered Agent in Virginia
Every Virginia LLC needs a registered agent with a Virginia street address. Virginia is stricter than most states about who may hold the job.
Your registered agent receives lawsuits, official notices and your annual registration fee bill. Most states let any adult resident do this. Virginia does not. Your agent needs a Virginia street address and has to be there in business hours. They also have to fit one of the roles the state accepts. In practice that means a member or manager of your LLC, or a Virginia lawyer. You can hire a company instead, as long as it is cleared to do business in Virginia. No business may act as its own agent. The filing form asks which role your agent fills, so you cannot skip past it.
Your Three Options
- Be your own agent, free, if you live in Virginia and are a member or manager. Your street address then goes on the public record.
- Ask a Virginia attorney. A member of the Virginia State Bar qualifies with no stake in your business.
- Hire an agent service, a company cleared to work in Virginia. Usually $50 to $300 a year, and your own address stays off the record.
State Specific
A friend or relative who simply lives in Virginia cannot be your registered agent. They have to be a member or manager of your LLC, or a Virginia attorney. The Commission collects that detail as part of the filing.
Pro Tip
If you work from home and don't want your home address on public record, a professional registered agent service keeps your personal address private.
File Your Articles of Organization with Virginia
This is the filing that creates your LLC. You submit form LLC1011 to the State Corporation Commission, online or by mail.
To form your LLC you file form LLC1011, the Articles of Organization, with the State Corporation Commission. Virginia asks for less than most states. The form wants your LLC name and your registered office address. It wants your agent's name and the role they fill. It wants a principal office address, which need not be in Virginia. Owners are not on it. The Commission keeps no record of an LLC's members or managers, so who owns the business stays off the public file.
File Online
File by Mail
Mail your completed form and $100 fee to State Corporation Commission, Clerk's Office, P.O. Box 1197, Richmond, VA 23218-1197. If speed matters at all, file online instead. The Commission will not rush paper for any fee. Online you can buy a next business day response from $50, if you file before 2:00PM Eastern. Same business day costs $200, with a 10:00AM cut off.
Recommended: Northwest Registered Agent
$39 + state fee. Includes registered agent, business address, domain, website, email, and phone. No upsells.
Get an EIN from the IRS
Your EIN is a federal tax ID number for your LLC. You'll need it to open a business bank account, hire employees, and file taxes.
Apply for your EIN directly on the IRS website at no cost. The online application takes about 10 minutes, and you'll receive your EIN immediately. You can also apply by mail or fax using Form SS-4, but there's no reason to wait when the online option is instant and free.
Apply for your EIN on IRS.gov →Create an Operating Agreement for Your Virginia LLC
An operating agreement defines how your LLC is owned and run. Virginia doesn't require one by law, but operating without one is a risk you shouldn't take.
An operating agreement is an internal document that spells out who owns what, how decisions get made, and what happens if a member leaves. Even if you're a single-member LLC, having one strengthens the legal separation between you and your business. Banks sometimes ask to see it when you open a business account.
Key Sections to Include
State Specific
Virginia does not require an operating agreement. Without one your LLC falls back on the default rules in Virginia's LLC Act, which may not match how you want to run things.
Open a Business Bank Account
A separate business account keeps your personal and LLC money apart. That separation is what holds your liability protection up.
Mixing personal and business funds is one of the fastest ways to lose your LLC's liability protection. A court can "pierce the veil" and hold you personally liable if it looks like you and your LLC are financially the same entity. A dedicated business bank account prevents that problem from the start.
What to Bring to the Bank
- Your filed articles of organization (the stamped or approved copy from the SCC)
- Your EIN confirmation letter from the IRS
- Your operating agreement
- A valid government-issued photo ID
- An initial deposit (amount varies by bank)
Pro Tip
Many Virginia banks and credit unions offer free business checking for small LLCs. Shop around before committing.
Federal BOI Reporting
No. FinCEN exempted every company formed in the United States from beneficial ownership reporting in an interim final rule published 26 March 2025 and applied from 21 March 2025, then made that exemption permanent in a final rule published 11 August 2026 and effective 14 August 2026. Only entities formed under foreign law and registered to do business in a US state still report.
Top 3 LLC Formation Services
We've independently reviewed the top LLC formation services in Virginia. Here's how they compare.
| Feature | Northwest Registered Agent Best Overall | ZenBusiness Best for LLC Formation | Tailor Brands Best for Branding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $39 + state fees | $0 + state fees | $0 + state fees |
| Formation Speed | Same-day only on the $199 package | 7-10 days, 1 day on Pro | 1-14 business days |
| Support | Lifetime Corporate Guides | Phone, Chat, Email | Phone, Chat, Email |
| States Covered | 50 states | 50 states | 50 states |
| In Business Since | 1998 | 2015 | 2014 |
| Get Started → | Get Started → | Get Started → |
Frequently Asked Questions
What to Do Next
Once your Virginia LLC is approved, take these steps to set your business up for success.
Get an EIN
Apply for free in about 10 minutes at IRS.gov, required before opening a bank account or hiring anyone.
Open a Business Bank Account
Keep personal and business finances separate from day one. Bring your EIN, Articles of Organization, and a government ID.
Create an Operating Agreement
Even if Virginia does not require one, an operating agreement protects your liability shield and defines how the LLC is managed.
File Your Annual Registration Fee
Set a calendar reminder now. Missing your Annual Registration Fee deadline can result in late fees or administrative dissolution.
Paying contractors
Virginia is not in the IRS forwarding program, so the federal $2,000 threshold does not settle what Virginia wants. Check the state directly.
Ready To File?
Start your Virginia LLC with Northwest Registered Agent. $39 + state fee includes registered agent, business address, domain, and more.
About the Author
Business Formation Researcher
Eliot leads StartupOwl's state data research. He maintains the site's fifty state records of LLC filing fees, annual costs, processing times, and small business grant programs, checking each figure against the state office that publishes it and logging the date it was verified. Based in New Jersey, he has spent his working life in and around small businesses, and he writes for the founder who wants the real number rather than the advertised one. Every figure under his byline traces to a named source, and when a state proves a number wrong, the correction is published, not buried.
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