Comparison

Mississippi vs South Carolina vs Virginia LLC (2026)

Research dated Sep 14, 2026. Figures copied from the matching state hubs. Tonight’s re-check: Mississippi still $50 / $0 domestic annual; South Carolina still $110 Articles / $0 SOS annual for pass-through; Virginia still $100 / $50 annual registration — no fee drift.

This is the Southeast operating-state ladder founders actually compare when they live, hire, or sell in Mississippi, South Carolina, or Virginia. Mississippi is the SOS-cash lean pick (~$50 over three years) because the domestic annual report is free. South Carolina sits next (~$110) with a one-time Articles fee and no SOS annual for a default pass-through LLC. Virginia is the recurring-cost heavyweight in this trio: $100 to form, then a $50 annual registration fee → ~$250.

Form where you operate. Picking another state’s charter does not erase nexus where you actually sell, hire, or hold inventory — you may still need to foreign-qualify and pay that state’s fees/taxes. Full 51-state ranking: cheapest states (3-year).

At a glance — SOS / SCC only

State	Articles	Typical recurring	~3-yr state	Rank / 51
Mississippi	$50	$0 (Annual Report, domestic)	$50	#3
South Carolina	$110	$0 (No SOS annual, pass-through)	$110	#10
Virginia	$100	$50 (Annual Registration Fee)	$250	#24

Gap Mississippi → Virginia over ~3 years: $200 in SOS/SCC cash alone (before registered-agent fees or operating taxes). South Carolina sits $60 above Mississippi and $140 below Virginia.

Same three + professional RA (Northwest path)

State fees are identical whichever formation company you use. Adding the national provider table’s Northwest path ($289 over 3 years: $39 formation with RA year 1, then $125 RA years 2–3) shows how RA spend sits on top of each charter.

State	State 3-yr	+ Northwest path
Mississippi	$50	$339
South Carolina	$110	$399
Virginia	$250	$539

Provider math from the 3-year provider comparison. DIY RA needs an in-state physical street address — most remote founders pay for commercial RA.

Mississippi — $50 to form, $0 domestic annual report

The Mississippi SOS fee schedule lists Certificate of Formation (F0100) at $50 and the domestic LLC Annual Report (F0108) at $0. The report is still mandatory: file online any time from January 1 through the April 15 due date. Formation + three free reports → $50. Foreign LLCs pay $250 for the same annual report — that path is not modeled here. A $0 fee is easy to forget; missing the report can still lead to administrative dissolution, and reinstatement is not free.

~3-year state fees: $50
Watch: Third-party mailers sometimes pitch paid “help” for the free report. File on the SOS portal yourself. Watch for scam solicitations that look official.
Sources: MS SOS Fee Schedule PDF · MS SOS — Annual Reports · Full Mississippi hub

South Carolina — $110 Articles, no SOS annual for pass-through

South Carolina’s Business Entities Online forms list prices Articles of Organization at $110 (statutory). A default pass-through LLC generally owes no SOS annual report, so the three-year SOS baseline stays $110. Online filings are often quoted around $125 because of an electronic records access surcharge (~$15) — that surcharge is excluded from this ranking so the statutory fee stays comparable across states. LLCs that elect C-corp or S-corp taxation can pick up Department of Revenue CL-1 / corporate license-fee obligations that are also outside the baseline.

~3-year state fees: $110
Watch: City and county business licenses are often the real recurring cost in South Carolina — price every jurisdiction you operate in. Keep a South Carolina street-address registered agent current.
Sources: SC SOS — Downloadable forms · SC DOR Corporate FAQs · Full South Carolina hub

Virginia — $100 Articles, $50 annual registration fee

Virginia SCC forms list “Form a new Virginia LLC” (LLC1011) at $100. Virginia LLCs do not file a traditional annual report; the SCC instead assesses a flat $50 annual registration fee each year after the year of formation, due by the last day of the month in which the LLC was organized. Articles + three on-time $50 fees → $250. Late payment carries a $25 penalty; if unpaid through the last day of the third month after the due date, the LLC is automatically canceled by operation of law.

~3-year state fees: $250
Watch: “No annual report” does not mean no annual payment — calendar the anniversary-month registration fee. Assessment notices go to the registered agent.
Sources: VA SCC — LLC forms and fees · Annual Registration Fees FAQ · Maintaining Your Business · Full Virginia hub

Who each state is for (orientation only)

Mississippi — Mississippi-nexus businesses that want very low SOS formation and a free (but still mandatory) domestic annual report.
South Carolina — Pass-through LLC owners who want a one-time SOS formation fee and no SOS annual report, and who will budget local business licenses separately.
Virginia — Virginia-nexus operators comfortable paying a flat $50/year registration fee without a lengthy annual report form — and who will not miss the anniversary-month due date.

None of these charters is a nexus shield for the other two states — or for anywhere else you actually do business.

How this page is built

Source of truth: Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia hubs — same numbers as those pages.
Re-check (2026-09-14): MS FeeSchedule still $50 / $0; SC forms list still $110 Articles; VA SCC still $100 formation / $50 annual registration — no fee drift.
Excludes: professional RA (except the optional Northwest add-on table), expedites, SC online access surcharge, SC DOR corp-election fees, VA late penalties/reinstatement, card processor surcharges, foreign qualification, local licenses, and operating taxes.
Virginia wording note: three-year total uses the annual registration fee (not an “annual report” filing) at $50×3 after $100 Articles.

Form lean, then pick the charter on purpose

Form with Northwest Registered Agent — Northwest

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