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Arizona LLC true cost (2026)

Research dated 2026-09-06 (Pacific/Honolulu). Fees from Arizona Corporation Commission, Corporations Division materials. Confidence: high. Re-verify before you file.

Arizona state side: $50 formation filing, $0 for No LLC annual report in the 3-year model, ~$50 state fees over three years (methodology below) — #2 of 51 on the cheapest-states ranking. Provider markup is separate — use the table for formation/RA path + state fees.

Not legal or tax advice. This page cites official SOS / revenue materials for filing costs and common gotchas. Where you operate can still create foreign-qualification and tax obligations outside Arizona.

Arizona state filing fees

These are state fees — not Northwest / ZenBusiness / Bizee / LegalZoom service fees. The collecting agency is Arizona Corporation Commission, Corporations Division. Filings go through ecorp.azcc.gov.

Item Amount Notes
Articles / Certificate of Formation $50 Articles of Organization — ACC Schedule of Fees LLCs: $50 regular / $85 expedited ($50+$35). FAQ notes online same-day path often priced at $85 with expedite. Base statutory formation fee used here is $50.
No LLC annual report $0 typical ACC FAQs: LLCs are not required to file annual reports. Attestation of Existence (Policy 3) is a periodic free electronic check-in for LLCs with no ACC filings in 2 years — not a paid annual report.
3-year state subtotal (model) $50 Articles $50 (regular) + $0 annual ACC report fees for years 1–3. Does not include optional expedite or county publication if required.

When Arizona actually bills you

Arizona's recurring filing is due N/A — corporations file annual reports; LLCs do not — put it in a calendar the day you form, because the state will not chase you before it penalises you.

Point in time What Arizona charges Amount Running total
At formationArticles / Certificate of Formation$50$50
Year 1 cycleNo LLC annual report (no charge in this model)$0$50
Year 2 cycleNo LLC annual report (no charge in this model)$0$50
Year 3 cycleNo LLC annual report (no charge in this model)$0$50

Arizona carries no modelled recurring SOS charge under the stated scenario, so the running total flattens after formation — but a required zero-fee filing can still exist, and missing it can still cost you standing.

Provider + Arizona state (3-year)

Provider totals from the national comparison (formation + RA Y1–Y3, state fees excluded there) plus the Arizona state subtotal of $50.

Provider Plan Provider 3-yr + state
northwest Formation $39 (RA Y1 included) $289 $339
zenbusiness Starter $0 + RA add-on $497 $547
bizee Basic $0 (RA Y1 free) $298 $348
legalzoom Basic $0 + RA $249/yr $747 $797

Partner link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices above are researched from public pages, not supplied by the provider. How this site makes money.

How Arizona ranks against the other 50 charters

Across the 51 jurisdictions covered on this site, Arizona sits at #2 — the 2nd cheapest three-year state charter — at $50 in Secretary of State and revenue-department dollars. That is $15 more than Montana, the cheapest charter in the ranking ($35), $230 below the $280 median, and $2,460 less than California at $2,510. In plain terms, Arizona lands in the cheaper half of the table.

Ranking basis for Arizona: Articles $50 (regular) + $0 annual ACC report fees for years 1–3. Does not include optional expedite or county publication if required.

Ranking caveat for Arizona: County newspaper publication when required is not a fixed statewide fee

Registered agent (Arizona)

  • Arizona statutory agent with physical Arizona address required; agent must accept appointment. Failure to maintain agent can lead to administrative dissolution.

Put the agent next to the state's own bill: three years of Arizona state fees is $50, while the cheapest provider path in our national 3-year comparison runs $289 (Formation $39 (RA Y1 included)) and the most expensive runs $747 (Basic $0 + RA $249/yr) — a $458 spread for the same statutory job. On the cheapest path the service, not Arizona, is about 85% of your three-year outlay. Choosing the agent well is usually a bigger lever than choosing the state.

Gotchas (fact-based)

  • Some counties require newspaper publication of Articles after approval — cost varies; ACC notifies if required
  • Attestation of Existence: non-response to ACC electronic notice can start administrative dissolution (portal rollout 2026)
  • Online expedited formation commonly $85 total — budget accordingly
  • No ACC annual report does not mean no Arizona Department of Revenue or local license obligations

Who Arizona is for / not for

Often a fit when…

  • Arizona operators wanting very low SOS/ACC formation cost and no recurring ACC annual report fee

Often a poor fit when…

  • Anyone assuming zero compliance forever — agent must stay current and Attestation responses matter

Orientation only — not legal advice.

Common questions about Arizona LLC cost

How much does it cost to form an LLC in Arizona?

$50 to Arizona Corporation Commission, Corporations Division for the formation filing. Articles of Organization — ACC Schedule of Fees LLCs: $50 regular / $85 expedited ($50+$35). FAQ notes online same-day path often priced at $85 with expedite. Base statutory formation fee used here is $50. That is the state charge only. A formation service is a separate bill on top: Formation $39 (RA Y1 included) works out to $39 in year one, versus $249 on the most expensive path we track.

What are the ongoing Arizona LLC fees after year one?

$0 in recurring No LLC annual report charges under the modelled scenario (N/A — corporations file annual reports; LLCs do not). ACC FAQs: LLCs are not required to file annual reports. Attestation of Existence (Policy 3) is a periodic free electronic check-in for LLCs with no ACC filings in 2 years — not a paid annual report. Recurring state charges are what make a low formation fee misleading — they are the reason this site models three years instead of one.

What does a Arizona LLC really cost over three years?

$50 in Arizona state fees, plus whatever your provider charges. With the cheapest tracked path that is $339 all-in over three years; with the most expensive it is $797 — a $458 difference that has nothing to do with Arizona.

Do I need a registered agent in Arizona?

Yes. Arizona statutory agent with physical Arizona address required; agent must accept appointment. Failure to maintain agent can lead to administrative dissolution. On the money side, the four providers tracked here charge $0–$249 in year one for formation plus the agent, then $125–$249 a year in agent renewal after that — separate from every Arizona figure above.

Is Arizona a cheap state to form an LLC?

On charter cost alone, Arizona ranks #2 of 51 at $50 over three years, against a $35 floor and a $2,510 ceiling. But cheapest charter is not the same as cheapest outcome: if you operate somewhere else you will likely foreign-qualify there and pay that state's fees and taxes too. See the full 3-year state fee ranking for the comparison.

How the Arizona three-year number is built

Articles $50 (regular) + $0 annual ACC report fees for years 1–3. Does not include optional expedite or county publication if required. Figures are re-derived from the cited Arizona sources rather than copied from other guides.

Deliberately excluded from the Arizona state subtotal:

Same exclusions are applied to every state so the ranking stays apples-to-apples.

Unverified / confirm before filing

Sources (official)

  1. Arizona Corporation Commission — Schedule of Fees (LLCs) Articles $50/$85
  2. Arizona Corporation Commission — Business Services FAQs (LLC annual reports: no)
  3. Arizona Corporation Commission — Notices/Alerts (Attestation of Existence)
  4. Arizona Business Center / eCorp

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