HOW TO REGISTER YOUR BUSINESS YOURSELF, FOR FREE
By FREE I mean you don’t have to PAY anyone else to do it for you. But you still have to pay the filing fee to your Secretary of State.
Ok, so you’ve decided to start a business, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Now it’s time to register that business!!! And guess what? You can actually register your business for FREE yourself. By FREE, I mean you don’t have to hire ANYONE to do it for you. The process of registering a business is super simple.
The first thing you want to do is choose a business structure. Choose a business structure will also affect the way you do your business taxes. So definitely do your research on the different structures.
I recently did an Instagram post about the importance of registering your business and I was really surprised to see the number of people with businesses but no LLC or any type of structure. So I decided to do this post with how much it cost to register your business in ANY state and the direct link to each state’s Secretary of State website. And oh, after you get your LLC back from the Secretary of State, go to IRS.GOV and apply for your business EIN; EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER for free.
- Alabama: LLC Filing fee $100… Direct Link: Alabama Secretary of State. I actually can’t find the exact form to register online but I’ll let you do your due diligence sis.
- Alaska LLC Filing fee $250… Go to Alaska Secretary of State, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page, and click on PROCEED TO ONLINE FILING.
- Arizona: LLC Filing fee $50. Direct link Arizona Secretary of State. Click on REGISTER and create an account to get started.
- Arkansas: LLC Filing fee $45 online, $50 paper. Go to Arkansas Secretary of State and click on START FORM.
- California: LLC Filing fee $70. Go to California Secretary of State and click on START to get started.
- Colorado: LLC Filing fee $50. Go to Colorado Secretary of State and click on Limited liability company (LLC) under LLCs, Corporations & Trade Names.
- Connecticut: LLC Filing fee $120. Go to Connecticut Secretary of State, click on File Forms Online under Business Filings.
- Delaware: LLC Filing fee $90. Go to Delaware Secretary of State, select “My business is a new sole proprietorship or partnership in Delaware” and click on START.
- Florida: LLC Filing fee $125. Go to Florida Secretary of State, click on File or correct Florida LLC Articles of Organization, then click on start filing.
- Georgia: LLC Filing fee $100. Go to Georgia Secretary of State, click on CORPORATIONS from the menu, click on file online from the right sidebar, then click on ANNUAL REGISTRATION WITH CHANGES, select “create a user account” and once in, click on “create or register a business”.
- Hawaii: LLC Filing fee $50. Go to Hawaii Secretary of State, click “GET STARTED” from the START box and create an account.
- Idaho: LLC Filing fee $100. Go to Idaho Georgia Secretary of State and click on Articles of Incorporation (General Business Corporation) and FILE ONLINE.
- Illinois: LLC Filing fee $150. Go to Illinois Secretary of State and click on START… Illinois actually has a Guide of how to register the LLC, check it out HERE and please read it and apply as needed.
- Indiana: LLC Filing fee $85 online. Go Indiana to Secretary of State
- Iowa: LLC Filing fee $50. Go to Iowa Secretary of State.
- Kansas: LLC Filing fee $165. Go to Kansas Secretary of State
- Kentucky: LLC Filing fee $40. Go to Kentucky Secretary of State
- Louisiana: LLC Filing fee $100. Go to Louisiana Secretary of State
- Maine: LLC Filing fee $175. Go to Maine Secretary of State (I couldn’t find the exact form, my Maine entrepreneurs yall need a better Secretary of State website)
- Maryland: LLC Filing fee $100. Go to Maryland Secretary of State and create an account to get started.
- Massachusetts: LLC Filing fee $500 Go to Massachusetts Secretary of State, click on “Certificate of Organization” under Domestic Limited Liability Company (LLC) and file away.
- Michigan: LLC Filing fee $50. Go to Michigan Secretary of State, look for the part that says If you are forming a new entity, click here. Got to 700 – ARTICLES OF ORGANIZATION under DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY and fill out the form.
- Minnesota: LLC Filing fee $155. Go to Minnesota Secretary of State and create an account to get started.
- Mississippi: LLC Filing fee $50 Go to Mississippi Secretary of State
- Missouri LLC Filing fee $50. Go to Missouri Secretary of State
- Montana LLC Filing fee $70. Go to Montana Secretary of State
- Nebraska LLC Filing fee $100. Go to Nebraska Secretary of State
- Nevada LLC Filing fee $75. Go to Nevada Secretary of State and create your account to start filing.
- New Hampshire LLC Filing fee $100. Go to New Hampshire Secretary of State.
- New Jersey: LLC Filing fee $125. Go to New Jersey Secretary of State
- New Mexico: LLC Filing fee $50 Go to New Mexico Secretary of State
- New York: LLC Filing fee $200. Go to New York Secretary of State
- North Carolina LLC Filing fee $125. Go to North Carolina Secretary of State
- North Dakota LLC Filing fee $135. Go to North Dakota Secretary of State . You have to search the site for the actual link to register online.
- Ohio LLC Filing fee $100 Go to Ohio Secretary of State
- Oklahoma LLC Filing fee $100. Go to Oklahoma Secretary of State
- Oregon LLC Filing fee $100. Go to Oregon Secretary of State and click on Register online
- Pennsylvania LLC Filing fee $125. Go to Pennsylvania Secretary of State
- Rhode Island LLC Filing fee $10. Go to Rhode Island Secretary of State
- South Carolina LLC Filing fee $110. Go to South Carolina Secretary of State
- South Dakota LLC Filing fee $150 Go to South Dakota Secretary of State
- Tennessee LLC Filing fee $50-$300. Go to Tennessee Secretary of State
- Texas LLC Filing fee up to $300 Go to Texas Secretary of State . Texas SOS website is not the best so you have to search the site for the exact link.
- Utah LLC Filing fee $70. Go to Utah Secretary of State
- Vermont LLC Filing fee $125 Go to Vermont Secretary of State click on Limited Liability Companies and click on File Online.
- Virginia LLC Filing fee $10. Go to Virginia Secretary of State
- Washington LLC Filing fee $200 Go to Washington Secretary of State
- West Virginia LLC Filing fee $100 Go to West Virginia Secretary of State
- Wisconsin LLC Filing fee $130. Go to Wisconsin Secretary of State
- Wyoming LLC Filing fee $100. Go to Wyoming Secretary of State
I know this is a longgggg post but I really wanted to show you how easy it to register your business. So if you find the post helpful please share it with your peers.
As always, thank you so much for stopping by. Keep up with me on the gram HERE and of course check out more of my Business Content, HERE.