Cheapest Delaware LLC Formation Service: The Real Totals

The cheapest option is not a service

We sell a formation service, so it is worth being direct: the cheapest way to get a Delaware LLC is to file it yourself. The Certificate of Formation costs $110 paid straight to the Delaware Division of Corporations. Add a budget registered agent at around $50 a year and you have a legally formed, compliant entity for roughly $160.

Nothing any service offers beats that on price, because the state fee is fixed and everything else is margin. The honest question is not which service is cheapest but whether you need what services actually sell — which is help with the parts that come after filing.

What every option really costs

These totals include the Delaware $110 state fee even where a provider advertises without it, so they are comparable across the row. They exclude the franchise tax, which everybody pays.

The spread between the cheapest and most expensive two-year path is nearly $800 for what is, at the filing level, the same document lodged with the same state office. Pricing changes frequently across this market, so confirm current figures before committing.

Why entry prices mislead

Two mechanisms do most of the work. The first is excluding the state fee, which makes a $79 package look like it undercuts a $189 one when the real gap is smaller. The second, and larger, is the renewal: an agent bundled cheaply in year one at $199 to $299 afterwards.

That second mechanism is invisible at purchase and automatic at renewal, which is exactly why it works. It is the same pattern documented on our cheapest registered agent page, and it is the single most reliable way to overpay in this market.

When DIY is the right call

If you hold a US Social Security Number, DIY is genuinely strong. You can get an EIN from the IRS online in minutes at no cost, file the Certificate of Formation yourself, and appoint a budget agent. The hardest part of forming a US company simply does not apply to you.

What you take on is the calendar. The flat $300 franchise tax is due every June 1, and missing it costs a $200 penalty plus 1.5% monthly interest and your good standing. Delaware LLCs file no annual report, so that single date is most of the compliance burden.

When cheap becomes expensive

For non-residents, the calculation inverts. Without a US SSN, the EIN requires Form SS-4 and a 2 to 4 week IRS wait, and a rejected form restarts that clock. Then a US bank has to approve an entity owned by someone with no US address or credit history, and approval rates vary sharply by country.

A budget service that files your entity and stops has left you at exactly the point where the difficulty begins. Saving $200 to end up with a company that cannot receive money is not a saving — it is a deferred problem. The non-resident guide and EIN guide set out what those stages actually involve.

The cost nobody can discount

Whatever you pay to form the company, the recurring bill is largely fixed. Delaware charges every LLC a flat $300 franchise tax annually, and you need a registered agent every year you exist. Over five years the franchise tax alone is $1,500 — more than any formation fee on this page.

Which reframes the decision usefully. The formation fee is a one-off you will have forgotten in a year; the agent renewal is the number that compounds. Optimising the recurring line matters more than winning the entry price. Our full breakdown is on the Delaware LLC cost page.

How to file a Delaware LLC yourself

If you have decided the DIY route fits, the process is genuinely short. This is the whole thing, and no part of it requires a lawyer.

1. Check your name is available.It must be distinguishable from every existing Delaware entity and end with “LLC” or a permitted variant. Our free business name search checks this before you pay anything.
2. Appoint a registered agent. You need one with a physical Delaware address before filing, because the Certificate of Formation asks for their name and address.
3. File the Certificate of Formation. Submit to the Delaware Division of Corporations with the $110fee. It asks for the LLC name, the agent's details, and an authorised signature.
4. Write an operating agreement. Not filed with the state, but banks require it. It sets out ownership percentages and how decisions get made.
5. Get an EIN. With a US SSN, apply online at irs.gov and receive it in minutes, free. Without one, file Form SS-4 and wait 2 to 4 weeks.

Steps one to four are the easy part and are what formation services mostly charge for. Step five is where the difficulty concentrates for anyone without a Social Security Number, and it is the reason the DIY route is excellent advice for US residents and much weaker advice for everyone else.

What you give up by going cheap

The two high-difficulty rows are the entire argument for paying someone. If both are easy for you — which is true for most US residents — the cheapest route is genuinely the best route and you should take it.

So what should you actually do?

If you have a US SSN and some patience, file it yourself and appoint a cheap agent. If you are outside the US, pick on whether the provider will file Form SS-4 for a non-SSN applicant and stay with you through the bank application — and treat everything else as secondary.

Our flat $397 covers the state fee, agent, operating agreement, EIN, and banking help, renewing at about $99. It is not the cheapest number on this page and is not meant to be. For the field ranked by fit rather than price, see best Delaware LLC service, or go straight to pricing.