Learn the paperwork

Move-by-move LLC primers for all 50 states

Three primers for every state, built on official sources and written for founders doing this the first time.

From the Founder Primer desk Primer updated November 13, 2026

Pick a state

Start with a primer

1 50 lessons

A short primer on forming an LLC, with a separate page for every state.

Choose your state

2 50 lessons

Every state's registered agent rules, explained in plain moves.

Choose your state

3 50 lessons

Expanding to a second state: a page for each one.

Choose your state

1

Name the LLC

Make sure no other company in the state uses it.
2

Pick the agent

That can be you, if you qualify, or a service.
3

File the formation document

Each state publishes its own form and sets its own fee.
4

Secure your EIN

Banks ask for it.
5

Put the rules on paper

Worth doing even with one owner.
6

Watch the deadlines

Reports, fees and any minimum tax depend on the state.

The rubric

Founder outlay over three years (27%): Everything the service bills in years one, two and three, built from the first-year and renewal prices on its own site.
To-dos the price takes off you (38%): The number of to-dos the price clears: filing the formation or the registration, serving as registered agent, delivering the recurring state report and handling the EIN application.
Year-two price (10%): What the founder pays from the second year on, and whether that number moves.
Fit with the state's rules (15%): How closely the plan lines up with the state's own routine: report timing, the cost of lateness, the agent address rule and room for a second state.
Pricing you can read at once (10%): Whether the whole price is visible up front, the state fee separated out and billed at what the state charges.

How scoring works