Free LLC cost calculator · all 50 states + DC

Ohio LLC Cost Calculator

How much it costs to start and keep an LLC in Ohio: every state fee, line by line, with official sources.

Reviewed by Alejandro Amador · State fees verified October 2026

Calculate your LLC costs

State

State fees verified October 2026 · official source

Quick fit check

Four taps for a recommendation based on your situation.

Where will you run the business?

Is someone there every business day, 9–5?

Who'll handle the yearly state filings?

When do you want to form it?

Show totals for

First year total

$138–$198

Ohio LLC, with a formation service ·

Each year after: $125–$199
3-year total: $388–$596

Ohio approves online filings in about 3–7 business days · rush: 2 business days after receipt for $100

#12 of 51 states for lowest first-year state fees

Our pick

Northwest Registered Agent

Answer the fit check for a recommendation based on your situation.

Northwest Registered Agent: $39 + state fees, a year of registered agent included ($39 more than filing yourself).

File with Northwest Compare with other services

Affiliate link: we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Commissions don't change our numbers or picks.

What you get

Your home address off public records. They list their business address on your filings instead of yours, automatically.
1 year of registered agent included. Then $125/yr, a price they say they haven't raised in 20 years. Cancel online, no fee.
Lawsuits and state notices within the hour. Legal documents are scanned to your account within an hour (24 hours max on busy days).
Annual report reminders. They remind you before each deadline, and can file it for you for $100 + state fees (you can opt out).

3 more + fine print

✓ Real people, same-day email replies. A person answers calls and emails; they say all emails get a same-day reply.
✓ Business phone line, email and domain. A local-number phone line, an email inbox and a domain are included.
✓ Your data isn't sold. They state they don't sell customer data.
· EIN not included ($50 if you want them to get it; it's free from the IRS).
· Mail scanning covers 5 non-legal items a year, then $15 per document.
· Purchases are non-refundable after 90 days; state fees are never refunded.
Source: northwestregisteredagent.com, Oct 2026.

Your Ohio LLC, done for you

Do it yourself

$99 first year

Pro: Lowest cost: state fees only
Con: You research and fill in the Ohio forms
Con: Your home address goes on the public record
Con: You track annual reports and deadlines yourself

See everything filing yourself involves ↓Official Ohio filing site

Have it done for you

from $138 first year

Only $39 more than doing it yourself, private address included

Pro: You answer a short questionnaire; they prepare and file
Pro: Their registered agent address, not your home

Northwest Registered Agent$138 yr 1 · $125/yr after
- · 1 year of registered agent included
- · Their address on the public record, not yours
File with Northwest
ZenBusiness$198 yr 1 · $199/yr after
- · $0 formation, submitted within 7–10 business days
- · 1 year of annual report filing
Go with ZenBusiness

Disclosure: affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no cost to you. It never changes the numbers above. Service prices exclude add-ons and were checked Northwest northwestregisteredagent.com, Oct 2026; ZenBusiness zenbusiness.com, Oct 2026. Confirm at checkout.

What filing yourself in Ohio actually involves

The state fee is the easy part. Here's everything else, and what a formation service takes off your plate.

1
Check your name is available
Easy
Yourself: Search the Ohio business database and make sure the name follows state naming rules.
No rejected names
With a service: They check availability and naming rules before filing.
2
File your formation document ($99 state fee)
Some work
Yourself: Create an account on the Ohio filing site, fill in the form and pay. If something's wrong it gets rejected and you refile.
Saves time, fewer mistakes
With a service: You answer a short questionnaire; they prepare and submit it.
3
Name a registered agent
Ongoing hassle
Yourself: List an address in the state where someone is available every business day to accept lawsuits and state notices. If it's your home, it becomes public.
Keeps your home address private
With a service: Their address goes on the public record; they receive legal mail and forward it to you.
4
Get an EIN from the IRS
Easy
Yourself: Free on irs.gov; the online form takes about 15 minutes.
Small convenience
With a service: Some plans include it, but it's free to do yourself.
5
Write an operating agreement
Some work
Yourself: Find a template and adapt it. Banks often ask for one when you open a business account.
Ready-made document
With a service: Included in some plans.
6
Every year: file on time to keep your LLC
Ongoing hassle
Yourself: Track each deadline yourself. If you miss them: no annual-report risk.
No missed deadlines
With a service: Deadline reminders, or the filing itself, depending on the plan.

Ohio deadlines you'd be tracking

Ohio Commercial Activity Tax (only if taxable gross receipts exceed $6M, the exclusion for 2025 and later): Quarterly returns only. The annual CAT return and the annual minimum tax were eliminated starting with 2024 tax periods. Quarterly returns are due by the 10th day of the second month after quarter-end (May 10, Aug 10, Nov 10, Feb 10).
If you're late: None for the entity filing.
If you ignore it: No annual-report risk. An LLC can be cancelled for failing to keep a statutory agent, or for tax reasons.
Getting reinstated: $25 state fee, plus any back reports, taxes and penalties

Compiled October 2026; some details come from secondary sources. Confirm with the state. Source

Doing it yourself makes sense if…

· You don't mind your address on the public record
· Someone is at that address every business day
· You're comfortable with government forms
· You'll set reminders for every annual deadline

A service makes sense if…

· You work from home or rent, and want your address private
· You travel or aren't reliably available during business hours
· You'd rather not learn the state's forms and rules
· You want reminders so you never miss a filing

See Northwest's LLC service

Affiliate link; we may earn a commission at no cost to you.

Line item	Year 1	Per year after
State filing fee	$99	$0
Formation service + registered agentoptional Details Northwest or ZenBusiness. Northwest: $39 formation, agent included year 1, then $125/yr; ZenBusiness: $0 formation, agent $99/yr, then $199/yr.	$39–$99	$125–$199
Total	$138–$198	$125–$199

Recurring fees are counted in year 1 to be safe; some states first bill in year 2. Biennial fees count as half per year; the 3-year total uses exact payment counts. An EIN from the IRS is free.

Ready to form your Ohio LLC?

A formation service files it and keeps your home address off the public record. Affiliate links; we may earn a commission.

File with Northwest ZenBusiness

Compare states

Add up to two states to see them side by side with the same options.

Thinking of forming in another state?

If you operate in Ohio but form elsewhere, you also register in Ohio as a “foreign” LLC and pay both states every year.

Form inand operate in Ohio

Form in Ohio

$399–$1,298

3-year total

Form in Delaware

$2,009–$3,508

3-year total, both states

Forming in Delaware costs about $1,610–$2,210 more over 3 years, with no tax savings for a business that operates in Ohio.

See the Delaware + Ohio breakdown

Line item	Year 1	Per year after
Delaware: State filing fee	$110	$0
Delaware: Annual LLC Tax Details Raised from $300 to $400 by HB 400 (2026), effective for the 2026 tax year (first $400 payment due June 1, 2027; the June 1, 2026 payment for tax year 2025 was $300). Due June 1 for the prior year; $200 late penalty + 1.5%/month interest on tax and penalty.	$400	$400
Delaware: Formation service feeoptional	$0–$299	$0
Delaware: registered agent (required)	$100–$300	$100–$300
Ohio: foreign registration	$99	$0
Ohio: registered agent serviceoptional	$100–$300	$100–$300

Includes a commercial registered agent in Delaware, since you won't have an address there. Delaware or Wyoming mainly make sense for venture-funded startups or specific legal needs.

First-year cost by state

Filing yourself, state fees only. Click a state.

Ohio: $99 first year · $0/yr after

$0–$79
$80–$154
$155–$199
$200–$324
$325+

All 50 states and DC

Filing yourself and acting as your own registered agent. Click a column to sort. ● = fees changed in 2025–2026.


Arizona	$50	$50	$0	$50
Mississippi	$50	$50	$0	$50
Missouri	$50	$50	$0	$50
New Mexico	$50	$50	$0	$50
Kentucky	$40	$55	$15	$115
Montana●	$35	$55	$20	$135
Hawaii	$51	$66	$15	$126
Colorado	$50	$75	$25	$175
Michigan	$50	$75	$25	$175
Utah	$59	$77	$18	$149
Iowa	$50	$80	$15	$140
Ohio	$99	$99	$0	$99
Idaho	$100	$100	$0	$100
South Carolina	$110	$110	$0	$110
Oklahoma	$100	$125	$25	$225
West Virginia	$100	$125	$25	$225
Indiana	$95	$127	$16	$191
Pennsylvania	$125	$132	$7	$160
Virginia	$100	$150	$50	$350
Minnesota	$155	$155	$0	$155
Wisconsin	$130	$155	$25	$255
Louisiana●	$125	$160	$35	$300
Wyoming●	$100	$160	$60	$400
Georgia●	$110	$170	$60	$410
Kansas●	$85	$175	$45	$355
Nebraska	$100	$175	$13	$225
New Jersey●	$100	$175	$75+	$475
North Dakota	$135	$185	$50	$385
Arkansas	$45	$195	$150	$795
Alabama	$200	$200	$0+	$200
Connecticut	$120	$200	$80	$520
New Hampshire	$100	$200	$100+	$600
Oregon	$100	$200	$100	$600
Vermont	$155	$200	$45	$380
South Dakota	$150	$205	$55	$425
Illinois	$150	$225	$75	$525
Washington	$180	$250	$70	$530
Maine	$175	$260	$85	$600
Florida	$125	$264	$139	$819
Texas●	$300	$300	$0+	$300
North Carolina	$125	$325	$200	$1,125
District of Columbia	$99	$399	$150	$999
Alaska	$250	$400	$100	$800
Maryland	$100	$400	$300	$1,600
New York	$200	$409	$5+	$427
Nevada	$75	$425	$350+	$1,825
Delaware●	$110	$510	$400	$2,110
Rhode Island	$150	$600	$450	$2,400
Tennessee	$300	$700	$400+	$2,300
California●	$70	$890	$810+	$4,130
Massachusetts	$500	$1,000	$500	$3,000

+ = plus taxes that depend on income or ownership (see the state page).

Ohio LLC fees explained

Filing directly with the state, a Ohio LLC costs $99 in the first year and $0 a year after that. That's $76 less than the median state ($175), ranking #12 of 51 for lowest first-year cost.

Articles of organization: $99
Name reservation (optional): $39
Annual report: none required
Newspaper publication: not required
Expedited filing: Level 1 (about 2 business days) $100; Level 2 (1 business day) $200; Level 3 (4 hours, received by 1 p.m.) $300; optional preclearance $50

Form 610 (rev. 09/2025): $99 whether filed online or on paper. Name reservation is Form 534B, $39 for 180 days. Commercial Activity Tax applies only above $6M in Ohio gross receipts (from 2025), so it does not apply to an ordinary small LLC. Sources disagree on whether Level 3 expedite must be filed in person.

Sources

Compiled October 2026. Formation and recurring fees confirmed on official state sources.

How this calculator works

State fees come from each state's Secretary of State (or equivalent) fee schedule, compiled in October 2026. Each state page lists the sources used. Where an official page couldn't be confirmed, the page says so.

Filing fee: the standard online fee for a domestic LLC's articles of organization (or certificate of formation).
Recurring state costs: annual or biennial reports, franchise or privilege taxes and required state licenses. They're counted in the first year to be conservative.
Publication: a few states require you to publish a notice in local newspapers. Cost varies by county, so it's shown as a range.
Services: prices come from the providers' own sites (Northwest Registered Agent, ZenBusiness), checked October 2026. Ranges span real offers, for example a $39 formation with a year of registered agent included versus a $0 formation plus a $199/yr agent.

Not included: federal and state income taxes, local business licenses, professional licenses and sales tax permits, which depend on your business and city.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay for an EIN?

No. An Employer Identification Number is free directly from the IRS. Services that charge for it are only filling in the form for you.

Can I be my own registered agent?

Usually yes, if you have a physical address in the state and are available during business hours. That address becomes part of the public record, which is why many owners use a service.

Should I form my LLC in Delaware or Wyoming instead?

For most small businesses, no. If you operate in your home state you'll typically have to register there as a foreign LLC anyway, paying both states' fees.