Skip to content
Founder Primer

LLC paperwork, boiled down for founders.

Primer 1 · Missouri

LLC Formation in Missouri (2026): 7 Moves and the 3 Best LLC Services

Our 2026 marks for starting an LLC in Missouri: Missouri Registered Agent.co ($199), Mainstay Filing ($199) and MO Registered Agent.org ($199), highest first. 7 moves, $50 to the state, then your first year of upkeep.
From the Founder Primer desk

At a glance

Filing fee
$50
Source page sos.mo.gov, October 2026
Yearly filing
None
None here
Three-year state cost
$50
State charges only
Primer moves
7
First to last

After this primer

  • The Missouri formation form, its price and where it goes
  • What the agent rule says
  • The recurring state filing
  • Our picks and the reasoning

If you want someone else to file

Three-year cost and to-dos cleared weigh the most. How we score lists all five criteria.

Our pick $199 plus state fee, $99/yr after

1. Missouri Registered Agent.co: best for a bootstrapped formation

Missouri Registered Agent.co leads the list, since forming costs $199 beyond the state fee; the agent renews at $99.

Cost settles it: three years total less here than at Mainstay Filing.

Inside the price
  • The filing is made for you
  • Agent service for year one
In its favor
  • A low $99 renewal
  • First agent year included
  • $199 to form
Against it
  • Help with the EIN is $99 more
Upkeep included $199/yr and the $50 state fee

2. Mainstay Filing: best for a single yearly price

Number 2 is Mainstay Filing, where $199 a year to form the LLC and keep a registered agent (EIN application included).

Over three years it sits $200 behind Missouri Registered Agent.co.

Inside the price
  • Filing with the state
  • Registered agent all year
  • EIN application included
  • State fee at cost
In its favor
  • EIN application included
  • $199 each year
  • $199 yearly, all in
Against it
  • $100 a year over Missouri Registered Agent.co at renewal
  • Little upkeep to roll into the price in this state
Local option $199 plus state fee, $99/yr after

3. MO Registered Agent.org: best for founders who file their own reports

Third place is MO Registered Agent.org, because forming costs $199 beyond the state fee; the agent renews at $99.

Its prices match Missouri Registered Agent.co's, so either one works.

Inside the price
  • The filing is made for you
  • Agent service for year one
In its favor
  • A low $99 renewal
  • First agent year included
  • $199 to form
Against it
  • Help with the EIN is $99 more

Comparing the services

# Service First year From year two Three-year total
1 Missouri Registered Agent.co $199 $99/yr $397 Visit Missouri Registered Agent.co Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2 Mainstay Filing $199 $199/yr $597 Visit Mainstay Filing Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3 MO Registered Agent.org $199 $99/yr $397 Visit MO Registered Agent.org Partner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Each company's listed price on November 13, 2026. Each row still needs Missouri's $50 fee.

The primer, move by move

  1. Move 1

    Check the name is free

    Search the Missouri Secretary of State first. If the name is already on the Missouri register, you will need another.

    Look up the matching domain at the same time.

  2. Move 2

    Put a registered agent in place

    Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address. A Missouri resident, or a corporation authorized in Missouri, whose business office is the registered office.

    The address has to be a physical street address in Missouri. A P.O. box can be listed only together with a street address.

    Any service we rank here can serve as your registered agent.

    Where this comes from: Source page revisor.mo.gov, October 2026

  3. Move 3

    Do it yourself, or not

    File it yourself for $50, or add $199 and let a service do it. The picks are above.

  4. Move 4

    Fill in and send the Articles of Organization

    Send the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) and $50 to the Missouri Secretary of State. That brings the LLC into being.

    Where this comes from: Source page sos.mo.gov, October 2026

  5. Move 5

    Sort out the EIN

    Approval first. Then the IRS. The Mainstay Filing package already includes this move.

  6. Move 6

    Draft the operating agreement

    A single-owner Missouri LLC still benefits from a written operating agreement in the files.

  7. Move 7

    Stay in good standing in Missouri

    Nothing to file yearly in Missouri. The one standing duty is a current registered agent.

Costs, move by move

Item Pay to Amount
Filing fee To the state $50
Filing service (optional) Your service $199 in the first year
State fees, years one to three To the state $50

We get the three-year state number by adding the filing, the reports due in years two and three and any yearly minimum tax. Service fees stay separate.

The logic behind the order

Founder outlay over three years decided first place in Missouri. It is 27% of the mark; the rest is to-dos the price takes off you, year-two price, fit with the state's rules and pricing you can read at once.

Missouri Registered Agent.co totals $397 across three years, saving $200 next to Mainstay Filing.

Short answers

Which Missouri fees apply to a new LLC?

The state fee is $50. A service adds $199 the first year.

Which form creates the LLC?

Move 4 shows how to fill out the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) and where it goes: the Missouri Secretary of State.

Is a registered agent required?

Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

What does Missouri require each year?

No annual LLC report is required.

Can I form the LLC without a service?

Allowed. File yourself for $50 and arrange a registered agent.

Which LLC service should a first-time founder use?

Missouri Registered Agent.co, since $199 on top of the state fee, agent free in year one, then $99 a year. Then Mainstay Filing and MO Registered Agent.org.

See also

Sources, so you can check us

  1. For RSMo 347.037 the primer cites revisor.mo.gov, a page we went back to in August 2026.
  2. For Missouri formation fee: Filing fee, official source the primer cites sos.mo.gov, a page we went back to in October 2026.
  3. For Missouri registered agent statute the primer cites revisor.mo.gov, a page we went back to in October 2026.
  4. Pricing from Missouri Registered Agent.co (pricing page), November 13, 2026
  5. Pricing from Mainstay Filing (Missouri service page), November 13, 2026
  6. Pricing from MO Registered Agent.org (pricing page), November 13, 2026