How to form an LLC in Georgia (2026)

What are the steps to form an LLC in Georgia?

Forming a Georgia LLC takes a name, an agent, one filing with the Corporations Division and then a yearly registration. The list shows each step with its form and fee.

1. Check that your LLC name is available with the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division. You can reserve a name for $35 for 30 days ($25 + $10 service charge).
2. Name a registered agent in Georgia: a person or company with a Georgia address who accepts legal papers for the LLC.
3. File the Articles of Organization (Form CD 030), filed with Transmittal Form CD 231 by mail with the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division. The state fee is $110 ($100 filing fee + $10 service charge), online or by mail. Filing methods: Online or by mail.
4. Wait for approval: About 7 business days online (paper online about 10-14, mail about 15 business days); varies with workload. Faster options: Two business days +$120; same day +$275; one hour +$1,200 (added to the filing fee).
5. Recurring filing: Annual Registration ($60), due January 1 to April 1 each year, fee $60 ($50 filing fee + $10 service charge).

Most of the work comes before filing, in choosing a name and a registered agent. The first annual registration is due in the calendar year after formation.¹

If you would rather pay a service to prepare the filing, the ranked list of LLC services in Georgia shows each one's total here, with the state fee added.

How do you check and reserve a Georgia LLC name?

Search the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division business records for the name, and reserve it if you need time before filing. A reservation costs $35 and lasts 30 days.²

Because the hold is short, reserve close to the date you plan to file. A reservation is optional; you can go straight to the articles if the name is free.

Who can be a registered agent for a Georgia LLC?

Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-209) lets the agent be an individual resident of this state, a corporation, another limited liability company, or a foreign corporation or LLC having a certificate of authority to transact business in this state. You can serve for your own LLC if you live in Georgia.⁴

The registered agent is the person or company that receives lawsuits and state notices for the LLC. Georgia ties the agent to one place: the agent's business office address shall be the same as the address of the registered office. The annual registration is where that office is kept current, since it updates officers/managers, registered agent and address information.^{4, 5}

An owner who serves from home puts the home address in that field. A registered agent service lists its own Georgia office there instead. Prices differ. Northwest Registered Agent sells its agent service for $125 per year, Bizee (formerly Incfile) gives one year of Registered Agent Service for free with its formation packages and then charges $149/year, and Inc Authority renews its included agent at $249/year. See Northwest's prices, Bizee's prices and Inc Authority's profile for the terms.^{6, 7, 8, 9}

How do you file Georgia's Articles of Organization, and how long does it take?

You can file the articles online or by mail, and online is quicker: about 7 business days online, against about 15 business days by mail. The state adds that timing varies with workload.¹

Georgia gives you three ways in.

• Online, filling in the form on the state's portal
• "Paper online", which means uploading your own articles through the portal¹
• By mail, sending Articles of Organization (Form CD 030) together with Transmittal Form CD 231¹

The state's reinstatement guide also mentions hand delivery for paper filings.¹

Georgia's expedite tiers

Georgia charges for faster review on top of the $110 filing fee. The expedited fee is in addition to the regular filing fee, so a rushed filing costs both.^{2, 3}

1. Two business days +$120³
2. same day +$275³
3. one hour +$1,200³

One detail is easy to miss. The state's domestic-entity guide lists the one-hour option only in its mail-filing section, so check the filing method before you plan around it.³

A service's stated speed covers its own work, not the state's review. The LLC timeline guide explains the difference, and the fastest stated filing list compares providers on their published times.

What does a Georgia LLC cost in the first and second year?

The state's share is $110 in the first year and $60 for the annual registration in the second. A service adds its plan price, and some plans renew each year.^{1, 2}

The table shows each provider's first- and second-year total in Georgia with the plan we compare. Rows follow our rating; ties keep the editorial order explained in how we rate.

First year: state filing fee plus the provider's compared plan. Second year: the recurring state fee plus the plan's renewal, if it renews.

Totals are our arithmetic on the published figures. Registered agent renewals are extra unless a plan includes the agent. Try other plans in the calculator.

Georgia's yearly fee is a fixed, published amount, so a second-year figure can be worked out. That makes the gap between one-time plans and yearly plans easy to see.

Inc Authority's Free LLC plan costs nothing beyond the state, so it comes to $110 in year one and $60 in year two. Its year-two figure leaves out the agent, which then renews at $249/year. Northwest Registered Agent totals $149 and then $60, though its included registered agent renews at $125/yr after year 1. Plans that bill yearly keep costing more: Tailor Brands Elite is $309 in year two and ZenBusiness Premium is $359. Their profiles, Tailor Brands and ZenBusiness, list what that renewal pays for.^{9, 10}

The LLC cost calculator works out other plans and expedite choices, and the national LLC cost guide compares Georgia's fees with other states.

What does a Georgia LLC file after it is formed?

A Georgia LLC files an annual registration with the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division from January 1 to April 1 each year, for $60. The first annual registration is due in the calendar year after formation, and each filing confirms the LLC still exists and updates officers/managers, registered agent and address information.^{1, 5}

The annual registration is also the routine way to change an agent or address, with no extra form.

Missing the window costs a $25 penalty on top of the fee. An LLC that the state has administratively dissolved can come back through reinstatement for $260, but it must apply within 5 years of administrative dissolution.^{2, 11}

Some plans include this filing. Tailor Brands lists mandatory report filing on Essential and Elite, and ZenBusiness covers state-required annual reports on Pro and Premium. Others charge per filing, with Northwest Registered Agent at $100 + state fees and LegalZoom at $99 + state filing fees. A reminder email is a different thing from a filing, and the package contents guide explains which is which.^{12, 13, 14, 15}

How do you change a Georgia registered agent later?

You change a Georgia registered agent on the annual registration, or on an amended annual registration during the year. The amended filing costs $30; done on the regular registration, there is no separate fee.²

The state FAQ says an amended annual registration can be filed through the online portal, so the change can be done without paper. File it before you cancel the old agent. Being without a registered agent or office for 60 days or more is a ground for administrative dissolution, and the LLC has 60 days after notice to correct the ground.^{5, 16}

An agent can also resign. It must notify the LLC in writing on or before filing, and its appointment ends on the earlier of the LLC's annual registration filing or the 31st day after the resignation is filed. Use that window to name the replacement.¹⁷

What if your LLC was formed in another state?

An LLC formed elsewhere registers in Georgia with a Certificate of Authority, which costs $235. That is more than the $110 a new Georgia LLC pays to form.²

A foreign LLC also loses one safety net. Foreign entities cannot reinstate, so the reinstatement path described above isn't open to it. Whether to register an existing company or form a new Georgia one is a question for an accountant or lawyer. The state fees table compares costs across states, including neighbors Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina.¹¹