How to Start an LLC in Virginia (2026)

How to Start an LLC in Virginia (2026)

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The short answer: Starting an LLC in Virginia costs $100 in state fees — the filing fee for Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1011) with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC). The process is 6 steps: (1) choose a compliant name, (2) appoint a Virginia registered agent, (3) file your Articles of Organization, (4) get an EIN from the IRS, (5) sign an operating agreement, and (6) set up a business bank account. Virginia has no publication requirement, a $50 annual registration fee, and allows foreign nationals to own a Virginia LLC with no US address, no Social Security Number, and no US citizenship.

As of October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Table of Contents

How Much Does It Cost to Start an LLC in Virginia?

Virginia is a straightforward, mid-cost state: one filing fee at formation and one modest annual fee. Here is the full breakdown, verified against the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s fee schedule and the Code of Virginia as of October 2026:

Fee Amount When it’s due
Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1011) $100 At formation
Annual registration fee $50 Every year, due by the last day of the twelfth month after the month you organized
Total first-year state cost $100
Late penalty (missed annual fee) $25 Added to the overdue registration fee

There is no publication requirement in Virginia, so there is no newspaper notice fee (unlike New York, where publication alone can cost hundreds of dollars). Check your Virginia locality for any local business license requirement if you will physically operate there.

If you would rather have a professional service handle the paperwork, Registered Agents Inc offers Business Formation for $100 + state fee — for Virginia that means $100 + the $100 state filing fee. The bundle includes the state filing, a domain name, a website, and 1 year of free registered agent service. (Add-on tools like their website, phone, and email products are $5/month each — check current pricing before adding extras.)

Form your Virginia LLC with Registered Agents Inc →

For a broader look at formation costs across all states, see our guide on how much it costs to form an LLC.

Virginia LLC at a Glance (2026 Facts)

  • Formation fee: $100 (Articles of Organization, Form LLC-1011)
  • Annual cost: $50 annual registration fee (no separate annual report document for LLCs)
  • Processing time: Online filings through the SCC’s CIS portal are typically processed within a few business days; mailed filings take longer. Processing times vary — confirm on the SCC site before planning around a date.
  • State income tax: Virginia taxes individual income at 2%–5.75%, but a standard LLC is pass-through — it pays no entity-level Virginia income tax. No LLC franchise tax.
  • Publication requirement: None.
  • Registered agent: Required — a physical street address in Virginia, not a P.O. box.
  • Operating agreement: Recommended, but not filed with the state and not required by Virginia law.
  • Foreign ownership: Fully allowed — no US citizenship, US address, or SSN required to own a Virginia LLC.

Step 1: Choose Your LLC Name

Your Virginia LLC name must contain one of these designators: “Limited Company,” “Limited Liability Company,” “L.C.,” “LC,” “L.L.C.,” or “LLC.” It must also be distinguishable from every other business name already on record with the SCC — an exact or confusingly similar name will get your filing rejected.

Run a name search on the SCC’s business entity search at scc.virginia.gov before you file. Per the SCC’s filing instructions, the name also cannot imply you are a different type of business entity (don’t call an LLC a “Corporation”) and cannot suggest services you are not licensed to provide (don’t use “Bank” or “Trust”).

Step 2: Appoint a Virginia Registered Agent

Virginia law requires every LLC to maintain a registered agent with a physical street address in Virginia (a P.O. box doesn’t qualify). The registered agent receives lawsuits, tax notices, and official SCC correspondence on your behalf — including the annual registration fee notices that keep your LLC in good standing.

Your options:

  • Act as your own agent — allowed only if you have a physical address in Virginia where you can reliably receive mail. Not an option if you live outside the US (or outside Virginia), since you need a Virginia street address.
  • Ask someone in Virginia — a friend or partner who lives there and agrees to be available. The risk: if they move or forget to forward a notice, your LLC can lose good standing.
  • Hire a commercial registered agent service — the standard choice for non-residents. You get a compliant Virginia address, legal mail forwarding, and usually reminders when the $50 annual registration fee is due.

Without a Virginia street address of your own, you cannot complete your Articles of Organization without a commercial agent — and the SCC will administratively cancel LLCs that fail to maintain one. Read our guide on whether you need a registered agent before deciding.

Step 3: File the Articles of Organization

The Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1011) is the document that legally creates your Virginia LLC. File it with the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission — online through the SCC’s CIS portal at cis.scc.virginia.gov, by mail to P.O. Box 1197, Richmond, VA 23218-1197, or in person at 1300 East Main Street, Tyler Building, 1st Floor, Richmond, VA 23219.

The form asks for:

  1. The LLC name — with the required designator (LLC, L.L.C., Limited Liability Company, etc.).
  2. The registered agent’s name and registered office address — the Virginia street address from Step 2.
  3. The principal office address — the location of your principal executive offices. Non-residents without a US office should confirm with the SCC or a professional which address to use before filing.
  4. The organizer’s signature — one or more organizers must sign. Signing a document you know to be false for filing with the SCC is a Class 1 misdemeanor under Virginia law — keep every detail accurate.

Attach the $100 filing fee, payable to the State Corporation Commission (check only — do not send cash). Online filers pay electronically through the CIS portal.

Once approved, the SCC returns a certificate of organization. Keep this document — banks, payment processors, and the IRS will ask for proof that your LLC exists.

Step 4: Get Your EIN from the IRS

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is your LLC’s US tax ID. You need one to open a US business bank account, hire employees, or file US tax returns. It is free directly from the IRS — never pay a third party for an EIN.

  • US residents with an SSN can apply online at irs.gov and receive the EIN immediately.
  • Non-US founders without an SSN or ITIN cannot use the online application. You must apply by fax or mail using Form SS-4. Fax is typically faster (about a week); mailed applications take several weeks. You can leave the SSN/ITIN fields blank and write “Foreign” where appropriate.

One important tax point for foreign-owned single-member LLCs: if your LLC has at least 25% foreign ownership, you generally must file Form 5472 (with a pro-forma Form 1120) with the IRS each year, even if the LLC earned nothing. This is an information return, not a tax bill, but the penalties for missing it are steep. For the full walkthrough, see our Form 5472 guide for single-member LLCs and our step-by-step guide on how to get an EIN as a foreigner.

Step 5: Sign an Operating Agreement

Virginia does not require an LLC operating agreement, and you never file it with the state. Sign one anyway. It defines who owns what percentage, how profits are distributed, how decisions get made, and what happens if a member leaves or dies. For a single-member LLC owned from abroad, it is also useful evidence — banks and payment processors sometimes ask for it during onboarding.

Step 6: Open a Business Bank Account

Keep business money strictly separate from personal money from day one — commingling funds is the fastest way to undermine your LLC’s liability protection. To open a US business bank account you will typically need your approved Articles of Organization (or certificate of organization), your EIN confirmation letter, your operating agreement, and your passport. Many traditional banks require an in-person visit, but fintech accounts designed for non-residents (such as Mercury or Wise) open remotely with your LLC documents.

Once the account is open, fund it, and run all business income and expenses through it. If you plan to sell physical goods in Virginia, register for a Virginia sales tax account with the Virginia Department of Taxation — the statewide sales tax is 5.3% (higher in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads).

Annual Compliance: Keeping Your Virginia LLC in Good Standing

Virginia’s ongoing compliance is light — one payment, no separate annual report:

  • Annual registration fee: $50. Under the Code of Virginia (§ 13.1-1062), every domestic and foreign LLC must pay this fee into the state treasury on or before the last day of the twelfth month after the month it was organized, and by that date each year after. Example: an LLC organized in October 2026 pays its first $50 fee by the end of September 2027.
  • Late penalty: $25. Miss the deadline and § 13.1-1064 adds a $25 penalty to the fee owed. The SCC sends a notice of the penalty and of impending cancellation — an LLC that stays delinquent can have its existence administratively canceled.
  • No annual report filing. Unlike states such as Florida or Illinois, Virginia LLCs don’t file a separate annual report document — the fee payment through the SCC’s CIS portal is the recurring obligation.

Also file Articles of Amendment ($25) if you change your LLC’s name or other core details, and update your registered agent promptly if you switch services — your agent is the SCC’s only reliable channel to reach you.

Virginia Taxes: What Non-US Founders Need to Know

  • No entity-level income tax for standard LLCs. Virginia LLCs are pass-through by default. Virginia’s individual income tax runs 2%–5.75%, and nonresident owners with Virginia-source income may have a Virginia filing obligation — check with a tax professional if your LLC earns income connected to Virginia.
  • No LLC franchise tax. Virginia does not impose a franchise tax on LLCs.
  • Federal taxes still apply. A foreign-owned single-member LLC files Form 5472 + pro-forma 1120 annually with the IRS, and the owner may owe US tax on effectively connected income — see our Form 5472 guide linked in Step 4.
  • No BOI filing for US-formed LLCs. Under FinCEN’s final rule of August 11, 2026 (effective August 14, 2026), US-formed companies — including Virginia LLCs, even when foreign-owned — are permanently exempt from Corporate Transparency Act beneficial ownership reporting.

Virginia vs. Wyoming vs. Delaware for Non-US Founders

Virginia is a solid choice if you actually live or operate in Virginia — or if your customers, contractors, or office are there. Forming where you operate avoids paying for a second state registration (foreign qualification) on top of your home state. At $100 formation and $50/year, Virginia is also cheaper to maintain than Delaware, whose LLC annual tax is $400/year from tax year 2026.

That said, if you are a non-US founder with no physical footprint in any US state, Wyoming is usually the better pick: $100 formation, a $60 annual license tax, no state income tax, and stronger privacy (member names aren’t on the public record). Delaware makes sense mainly for startups planning to raise venture capital and convert to a C-Corp. Choose Virginia when Virginia is where the business actually happens — not as a default.

Methodology note: The comparison above uses only each state’s published statutory fees (Virginia Code §§ 13.1-1005, 13.1-1062; Wyoming and Delaware state fee schedules) and publicly documented filing requirements as of October 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to start an LLC in Virginia?

The state filing fee is $100 for the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1011), and the ongoing cost is a $50 annual registration fee. There is no publication requirement and no state-level business license fee, so your first-year state cost is genuinely $100. If you use a formation service, budget the service fee on top — Registered Agents Inc charges $100 + state fee for its formation bundle, which also covers your first year of registered agent service.

Can a non-US resident start an LLC in Virginia?

Yes. Virginia imposes no citizenship, residency, or Social Security Number requirement on LLC owners. You can own 100% of a Virginia LLC from anywhere in the world. You will need a Virginia registered agent with a physical in-state address (a commercial service if you don’t live there), and you must apply for your EIN by fax or mail on Form SS-4 since the IRS online EIN application requires an SSN or ITIN.

Do I need a Virginia address to form a Virginia LLC?

You personally do not need a Virginia address to own the LLC, but the LLC itself must have a registered agent with a physical Virginia street address where legal documents can be served. Non-residents satisfy this by hiring a commercial registered agent service. Your own home-country address can be used as the principal office address — but confirm the exact requirements with the SCC or a professional before filing.

How long does it take to form a Virginia LLC?

Online filings through the SCC’s CIS portal are typically processed within a few business days, while mailed filings take longer plus mailing time. Processing times fluctuate with SCC workload, so confirm current turnaround on the SCC site if you are working against a deadline — and file online rather than by mail whenever speed matters.

Does Virginia require an operating agreement?

No. Virginia law does not require an LLC to have an operating agreement, and you never file one with the SCC. However, every LLC — especially single-member LLCs owned from abroad — should still sign one. It documents ownership, profit distribution, and decision-making authority, which protects your limited liability status and smooths bank and payment-processor onboarding.

Is there an annual report for a Virginia LLC?

Virginia LLCs do not file a separate annual report document. Instead, you pay a $50 annual registration fee to the SCC, due by the last day of the twelfth month after your organization month, each year. Miss the deadline and a $25 late penalty applies; prolonged nonpayment can lead to administrative cancellation of your LLC. Pay through the SCC’s CIS online portal and keep the confirmation.

Conclusion

Virginia gives you a clean, affordable formation path: $100 to file, $50 a year to maintain, no publication requirement, and no residency barrier for foreign owners. The whole process — name, registered agent, Articles of Organization, EIN, operating agreement, bank account — can be completed remotely in about a week if you file online and apply for your EIN by fax.

If you’d rather skip the paperwork, form your Virginia LLC with Registered Agents Inc — their $100 + state fee formation bundle covers the state filing, a domain name, a website, and your first year of registered agent service.

Sources

  • Virginia State Corporation Commission — LLC forms and fees, online filing (CIS portal): scc.virginia.gov (Form LLC-1011 instructions; $100 Articles of Organization filing fee; CIS online filing at cis.scc.virginia.gov).
  • Code of Virginia §§ 13.1-1005, 13.1-1062, 13.1-1064 — SCC filing fees ($100 for Articles of Organization; $25 for amendments), $50 LLC annual registration fee, and $25 late penalty: law.lis.virginia.gov.
  • IRS — Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number (EIN application by fax/mail for applicants without an SSN or ITIN): irs.gov.
  • Virginia Department of Taxation — sales tax registration and individual income tax rates: tax.virginia.gov.
  • FinCEN final rule, August 11, 2026 (effective August 14, 2026) — US-formed companies permanently exempt from BOI reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act.
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