Article
How Much Does It Cost to Form an LLC in Georgia in 2026? (Itemized)
Form an LLC in Georgia and the Secretary of State’s website tells you it costs $100. That’s true. It’s also incomplete.
Here is what it actually costs to set up a Georgia LLC properly in 2026, broken down line by line.
The short answer
| Path | Year 1 cost |
|---|---|
| Cheapest DIY (self as registered agent, no extras) | $150–$250 |
| Standard DIY (commercial RA, local license) | $300–$600 |
| Online formation service (LegalZoom, ZenBusiness) with typical upsells | $400–$700 |
| Attorney-assisted (10-hour Georgia retainer) | $4,200–$4,500 |
| Attorney-assisted, complex (20-hour retainer for multi-member, property contributions, capital structuring) | $8,200–$8,500 |
The state filing fee is $100. Everything else depends on which decisions you delegate, which you DIY, and how complex your LLC is.
Calculate your first-year cost
Adjust the options below and the estimate updates as you go. This is an estimate based on typical 2026 pricing — not a quote.
Your estimated first-year cost
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| First-year total | $0 |
| Year 2+ recurring (estimated) | $0 / year |
Estimates only based on typical 2026 pricing. Actual costs vary based on specifics. This is not a quote and does not establish an attorney-client relationship.
1. The mandatory state fees
These are the costs you cannot avoid.
| Fee | Amount | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization (online filing) | $100 | One-time |
| Articles of Organization (paper filing) | $110 | One-time |
| Annual registration | $50 | Each year, due April 1 |
That’s it for the state. The Georgia Secretary of State Corporations Division does not charge a separate organization fee, registered agent appointment fee, or operating agreement filing fee.
One Georgia advantage: Unlike new Georgia corporations, a Georgia LLC has no newspaper publication requirement. Corporations under O.C.G.A. § 14-2-201.1 must publish a notice of intent to incorporate (typically $40–$60). LLCs do not. That’s a real difference, and it’s one reason LLCs outnumber corporations among new Georgia filings each year.
2. Things that look optional but really aren’t
Registered agent
Georgia law requires every LLC to maintain a registered agent and registered office in the state at all times (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-209). You can serve as your own registered agent if you have a Georgia street address (P.O. boxes don’t count) and you’re available during business hours to receive service of process.
- Self-RA: $0
- Commercial RA: $100–$300 per year (Northwest, ZenBusiness, LegalZoom, etc.)
The tradeoff: self-RA saves money but puts your home or office address on a public record, requires you to be physically present during business hours, and creates the inconvenience of receiving lawsuit paperwork in front of clients or family.
Federal EIN
Required for opening a business bank account, hiring employees, or filing as a multi-member partnership. Free from the IRS (IRS Form SS-4, or apply online).
If a service offers to obtain your EIN for $79, they are charging you for a fifteen-minute online form.
Operating agreement
Georgia does not require LLCs to have an operating agreement. Banks, lenders, partners, and litigation opponents do.
- DIY template: $0
- Attorney-drafted: $500–$2,000 standalone, or included in a formation retainer
A single-member LLC with a bare-bones template operating agreement is fine for many situations. A multi-member LLC with a template operating agreement is taking on real risk: when a member leaves, dies, divorces, or wants to bring in a partner, the template won’t have the buyout, transfer, and decision-making provisions that prevent disputes.
Local business license / occupational tax
Most Georgia cities and counties require a business license or occupational tax certificate. Costs vary:
- City of Atlanta: $75 base plus per-employee fees
- Most metro counties: $100–$500 depending on industry and employee count
- Small towns: often a flat $50–$100
Industry-regulated businesses (real estate, construction, food service, professional services) have additional license requirements through state boards.
3. The hidden costs no one mentions
These rarely show up in formation cost comparisons:
| Item | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report | $0 | Free with FinCEN, but takes ~30 minutes; status of CTA enforcement has shifted in 2024–2025 — verify current requirement |
| Federal trademark application (if registering) | $250–$350 per class | TEAS Standard application |
| Georgia state trademark | $15 | Per class |
| Bookkeeping software (year 1) | $360–$1,080 | QuickBooks Online: $30–$90/month |
| Tax preparation (year 1) | $400–$1,500 | Schedule C single-member; Form 1065 multi-member |
| Pre-formation accountant consultation | $200–$500 | Often saves multiples of its cost on tax-classification decisions |
| Initial bank account fees | $0–$25/month | Varies by bank |
These costs are not part of “forming an LLC” in the strict sense, but they are part of being a Georgia LLC owner. Founders who plan only for filing fees get caught short by the operating costs.
4. What “free LLC formation” actually charges
Several online services advertise “free LLC formation.” None of them are free.
| Service | Headline price | What you actually pay year 1 |
|---|---|---|
| LegalZoom Basic | $0 + state fee | ~$200–$500 with typical upsells (EIN $79, operating agreement, expedited filing) |
| ZenBusiness Starter | $0 + state fee | ~$150–$400 with typical add-ons |
| Northwest Registered Agent | $39 + state fee | ~$140 year 1; renewal at $125–$300/year for the registered agent |
| Inc Authority | $0 + state fee | ~$100–$300 with upsells |
The economics are simple: these services file the Articles for free or near-free, then charge meaningful annual recurring fees for registered agent services. The first year looks cheap. Year two onward is where they make money.
For a single-member Georgia LLC with no investors, no employees, and no real estate, an online service is often a defensible choice. Just understand what you’re buying and what you’re not — most of them do not include legal advice, custom operating agreements, or any guidance on tax classification.
5. Attorney-assisted formation
Our firm forms Georgia LLCs through a 10-hour retainer at $400/hour, paid into trust.
| Retainer | Cost | What’s included |
|---|---|---|
| 10-hour Georgia retainer | $4,000 | Entity formation, custom operating agreement, EIN, post-formation compliance setup, initial member resolutions, S-corp election analysis (if applicable) |
| 20-hour Georgia retainer | $8,000 | Above, plus complex multi-member structures, capital contributions in property or IP, capital-call provisions, vesting and buyout mechanics |
After formation, clients can extend the relationship through our Outside Counsel Service Plan — $1,200/month, $2,400/quarter, or $4,000/year for ongoing standby legal counsel.
When attorney-assisted formation pays back
| Situation | Attorney recommended? |
|---|---|
| Single-member services LLC, no investors, no employees | Often unnecessary |
| Multi-member LLC with two or more owners | Yes — operating agreement risk is real |
| LLC receiving capital contributions in property or IP | Yes — tax and titling complexity |
| Real estate holding LLC with mortgage | Yes — lender requirements; structure for asset protection |
| LLC planning friends-and-family investment | Yes — securities law compliance |
| Single-member with future partner planned | Yes — set up the operating agreement now to avoid amending under pressure later |
A $4,000 retainer is roughly the cost of avoiding one typical operating-agreement dispute in a multi-member LLC. Real disputes — buyout disagreements, deadlocks, departing-member valuations — routinely run $25,000+ in legal fees to resolve. The retainer is not insurance against every bad outcome, but it removes the avoidable causes of the most common disputes.
6. Year 2 and beyond
Most LLC owners forget that LLCs have ongoing costs.
| Item | Annual cost |
|---|---|
| Annual registration with GA SOS | $50 |
| Registered agent (commercial) | $100–$300 |
| Local business license renewal | $50–$500 |
| Tax preparation | $400–$1,500 |
| Bookkeeping (DIY or service) | $360–$1,080 |
| Possible state board licensing renewals | Varies |
Plan on $500–$2,500 per year in routine compliance costs after formation.
Bottom line
The state of Georgia charges $100 to form an LLC. That number is real, but it’s the smallest line item in any honest cost comparison.
The cost differences among DIY, online services, and attorney-assisted formation are not really about state fees. They’re about which decisions get made well — operating agreement, tax classification, capital structure, member rights — and which get postponed until a problem forces them.
For solo, simple LLCs, DIY is often fine. For everything else, the math usually favors attorney involvement.
Related reading:
- Georgia LLC Formation Guide
- Georgia LLC vs. Corporation: Which Should You Form?
- What Belongs in a Georgia LLC Operating Agreement: Attorney’s Checklist
Citations
- O.C.G.A. § 14-11-100 et seq. (Georgia Limited Liability Company Act)
- O.C.G.A. § 14-11-204 (Articles of Organization content)
- O.C.G.A. § 14-11-209 (Registered office and agent — LLC)
- Georgia Secretary of State Corporations Division fee schedule, https://sos.ga.gov/
- 31 C.F.R. § 1010.380 (FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Information reporting)
- IRS Form SS-4 (Application for Employer Identification Number)
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