State hub · Georgia

Georgia LLC true cost (2026)

Research dated 2026-09-06 (Pacific/Honolulu). Fees from Georgia Secretary of State — Corporations Division materials. Confidence: high. Re-verify before you file.

Georgia state side: $100 formation filing, $60 for Annual Registration in the 3-year model, ~$280 state fees over three years (methodology below) — #26 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 Georgia.

Georgia state filing fees

These are state fees — not Northwest / ZenBusiness / Bizee / LegalZoom service fees. The collecting agency is Georgia Secretary of State — Corporations Division. Filings go through ecorp.sos.ga.gov.

Item Amount Notes
Articles / Certificate of Formation $100 Official georgia.gov register-LLC guidance (updated June 2026): online Articles of Organization via eCorp — pay $100 filing fee by credit card. Mail or in-person filings: $110 (articles + transmittal Form 231). Optional expedites commonly +$100 (2 business days), +$250 (same day), +$1,000 (1 hour). Prefer online $100 for true-cost baseline.
Annual Registration $60 Georgia SOS How to File Annual Registration lists Annual Registration for LLC (and profit corps, LP, etc.) at $60.00 online and $60.00 paper. Late filing penalty $25. Entities may prepay up to three calendar years. Administrative dissolution for failure to file.
3-year state subtotal (model) $280 Online Articles $100 + three Annual Registrations at $60 each ($180) = $280. If filing articles by mail/in person at $110, subtotal would be $290. Excludes expedites and commercial RA.

When Georgia actually bills you

Georgia's recurring filing is due Between January 1 and April 1 each year; newly formed domestic LLCs file between Jan 1 and Apr 1 of the year following the calendar year of formation — put it in a calendar the day you form, because the state will not chase you before it penalises you.

Point in time What Georgia charges Amount Running total
At formationArticles / Certificate of Formation$100$100
Year 1 cycleAnnual Registration$60$160
Year 2 cycleAnnual Registration$60$220
Year 3 cycleAnnual Registration$60$280

Every Georgia anniversary adds $60, which is why the three-year figure ($280) is 2.8× the headline $100 formation fee.

Provider + Georgia state (3-year)

Provider totals from the national comparison (formation + RA Y1–Y3, state fees excluded there) plus the Georgia state subtotal of $280.

Provider Plan Provider 3-yr + state
northwest Formation $39 (RA Y1 included) $289 $569
zenbusiness Starter $0 + RA add-on $497 $777
bizee Basic $0 (RA Y1 free) $298 $578
legalzoom Basic $0 + RA $249/yr $747 $1,027

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 Georgia ranks against the other 50 charters

Across the 51 jurisdictions covered on this site, Georgia sits at #26 — the 26th cheapest three-year state charter — at $280 in Secretary of State and revenue-department dollars. That is $245 more than Montana, the cheapest charter in the ranking ($35), exactly the median charter cost across all 51 jurisdictions, and $2,230 less than California at $2,510. In plain terms, Georgia lands in the cheaper half of the table.

Ranking basis for Georgia: Online Articles $100 + three Annual Registrations at $60 each ($180) = $280. If filing articles by mail/in person at $110, subtotal would be $290. Excludes expedites and commercial RA.

Ranking caveat for Georgia: Whether any separate service-charge line item still appears beyond the published $100/$110/$60 totals on some channels — use portal checkout totals.

Registered agent (Georgia)

  • Georgia LLC must maintain a registered agent with a physical Georgia street address (registered office). Commercial RA common for non-residents.

Put the agent next to the state's own bill: three years of Georgia state fees is $280, 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 Georgia, is about 51% of your three-year outlay. Choosing the agent well is usually a bigger lever than choosing the state.

Gotchas (fact-based)

  • Online formation $100 vs mail/in-person $110 — totals differ by filing channel.
  • First annual registration is due the calendar year after formation, not the formation year — still count three annual cycles in the 3-year SOS math.
  • Missing April 1 deadline: $25 late penalty, then administrative dissolution risk.

Who Georgia is for / not for

Often a fit when…

  • Georgia-based operators wanting straightforward SOS fees with a moderate $60/year annual registration.

Often a poor fit when…

  • Founders shopping purely for cheapest multi-year SOS cost (Ohio/PA-style lower recurring) without Georgia nexus.

Orientation only — not legal advice.

Common questions about Georgia LLC cost

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

$100 to Georgia Secretary of State — Corporations Division for the formation filing. Official georgia.gov register-LLC guidance (updated June 2026): online Articles of Organization via eCorp — pay $100 filing fee by credit card. Mail or in-person filings: $110 (articles + transmittal Form 231). Optional expedites commonly +$100 (2 business days), +$250 (same day), +$1,000 (1 hour). Prefer online $100 for true-cost baseline. 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 Georgia LLC fees after year one?

$60 for the Annual Registration, due Between January 1 and April 1 each year; newly formed domestic LLCs file between Jan 1 and Apr 1 of the year following the calendar year of formation. Georgia SOS How to File Annual Registration lists Annual Registration for LLC (and profit corps, LP, etc.) at $60.00 online and $60.00 paper. Late filing penalty $25. Entities may prepay up to three calendar years. Administrative dissolution for failure to file. 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 Georgia LLC really cost over three years?

$280 in Georgia state fees, plus whatever your provider charges. With the cheapest tracked path that is $569 all-in over three years; with the most expensive it is $1,027 — a $458 difference that has nothing to do with Georgia.

Do I need a registered agent in Georgia?

Yes. Georgia LLC must maintain a registered agent with a physical Georgia street address (registered office). Commercial RA common for non-residents. 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 Georgia figure above.

Is Georgia a cheap state to form an LLC?

On charter cost alone, Georgia ranks #26 of 51 at $280 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 Georgia three-year number is built

Online Articles $100 + three Annual Registrations at $60 each ($180) = $280. If filing articles by mail/in person at $110, subtotal would be $290. Excludes expedites and commercial RA. Figures are re-derived from the cited Georgia sources rather than copied from other guides.

Deliberately excluded from the Georgia state subtotal:

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

Unverified / confirm before filing

Sources (official)

  1. Georgia.gov — Register an LLC ($100 online; $110 mail/in-person; annual registration window)
  2. Georgia SOS — How to File Annual Registration (LLC annual registration $60)
  3. Georgia SOS — Filing Fees and Expedited Processing
  4. Georgia eCorp portal
  5. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 590-7-22 — LLC annual registrations

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