How to form an LLC in Massachusetts (2026)

What are the steps to form an LLC in Massachusetts?

Forming the LLC takes five steps, and four of them run through the Corporations Division, the office within the Secretary of the Commonwealth that keeps business records. The fifth, the Annual Report, comes back every year.

1. Check that your LLC name is available with the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Corporations Division. You can reserve a name for $30 for 60 days (renewable for another $30).
2. Name a resident agent in Massachusetts: a person or company with a Massachusetts address who accepts legal papers for the LLC.
3. File the Certificate of Organization with the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Corporations Division. The state fee is $500. Filing methods: Online, by fax, by mail or walk-in.
4. Wait for approval: Fax filings: generally same business day, no later than the next business day. No published time for mail or online filings.. Faster options: No separate expedite option. Fax and online filings carry a sliding 'expedited service fee' ($20 on a $500 filing; 4.5% over $500).
5. Recurring filing: Annual Report ($500; due on or before the anniversary of the original certificate of organization), fee $500.

Massachusetts sets the Certificate of Organization fee by statute at $500, and the same section puts the yearly Annual Report at $500. Budget for that amount once when you file and again when the first report comes due. The state fees table sets the pairing beside every other state's formation and report fees.¹

Who signs is simple. The Corporations Division's LLC page says one or more persons must execute a certificate of organization, so one founder can file alone. If you would rather have a service prepare and submit the paperwork, the ranked list of LLC services in Massachusetts shows each provider's first-year total here.⁴

How do you reserve an LLC name in Massachusetts?

Search the Corporations Division business records first, then reserve the name if you need time before filing. A reservation costs $30 and holds the name for 60 days, renewable for another $30.⁵

The reservation is optional. It helps when partners are still agreeing on terms or a lease isn't signed yet, and you don't want the name taken in the meantime. It does not form the company.

The hold runs out quickly, so file the certificate itself as soon as you can once the name is held. A second reservation period costs the same again.

What is a resident agent, and who can serve in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts calls the registered agent a "resident agent". It is the person or company that receives lawsuits and official notices for the LLC, and the state law (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 156C, § 5) limits who can do it.⁶

The agent must be one of these three.

• an individual resident of the commonwealth⁶
• a domestic corporation⁶
• a foreign corporation authorized to do business in the commonwealth⁶

The Certificate of Organization asks for "The name and street address, of the resident agent in the commonwealth", so the agent's name and street address are part of the filing. A member who lives in Massachusetts can serve, and then that member's address is the one on the certificate.⁴

Massachusetts also asks for a second address, an office in the commonwealth where records are kept. The law says this office may but need not be a place of its business in the commonwealth, so it can sit somewhere other than where you work day to day. When you hire a resident agent service, its Massachusetts street address goes in the agent field in place of yours. As examples, Northwest Registered Agent lists its agent at $125 per year and Bizee (formerly Incfile) renews its agent at $149/year. The registered agent included list shows which plans bundle one, and Northwest's pricing page gives the full terms for one of them.^{6, 7, 8}

How do you file, and how long does approval take?

The Corporations Division accepts the Certificate of Organization by several routes (Online, by fax, by mail or walk-in), and only fax filings come with a published turnaround: generally same business day, no later than the next business day. The state publishes no processing time for online or mailed filings.^{9, 10}

Each method has a trade-off.

1. Fax gets the only stated turnaround, but it carries the expedited service fee.²
2. Online filing carries the same expedited service fee, with no published time.²
3. Mail or walk-in filing has no expedited service fee listed and no published time.²

Massachusetts has no separate expedite option. There is no next-day or same-day tier to buy. Instead, the Filing Fees page charges a sliding fee on fax and online orders: $20 on an order of the $500 filing fee, and 4.5% of the subtotal on larger orders. It works more like a convenience charge than an upgrade. Fax is the only route with a published turnaround, and it carries the same charge as online filing.^{1, 2}

A formation service's stated speed is a separate clock from the state's review. A provider that says it submits in a day still waits on the Corporations Division afterwards. The guide to how long LLC formation takes explains both clocks, and the list ranked by stated speed compares providers on their published times.

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

A Massachusetts LLC costs $500 to form and then $500 each year for the Annual Report, so the state's share alone doesn't drop after the first year. Plan fees, agent renewals and the small fax or online charge come on top.¹

The table shows each provider's compared plan with the Massachusetts fees added, in the order of our rating (ties follow 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.

Because the report fee matches the formation fee, no second-year figure in the table falls below $500. Take Inc Authority: its Free LLC plan totals $500 in year one, the filing fee alone, and $500 in year two, which is the Annual Report fee. Its included agent then renews at $249/year, and that renewal is not in the second-year figure. Tailor Brands Elite shows $749 and $749, because its plan bills yearly on top of the state fee. Northwest Registered Agent comes to $539 at the start and $500 the following year.^{1, 11}

The totals do not include the expedited service fee for fax or online filing. Add $20 if you or your provider files that way. For your own mix of plan, agent and filing method, try the LLC cost calculator, and see the national guide to what an LLC costs for how Massachusetts compares.²

What does a Massachusetts LLC file each year?

Every Massachusetts LLC files an Annual Report with the Corporations Division, due on or before the anniversary date of the filing of its original certificate of organization. The fee is $500, and the deadline follows your own filing date, not a single statewide date.^{1, 3}

The report repeats all of the information included in its certificate of organization, updated for any changes.³

Massachusetts has no late fee listed for LLCs; its Filing Fees page shows a late charge only for corporation annual reports, not for LLCs. What the law does set is a dissolution ground: failing to file for 2 consecutive years is grounds for administrative dissolution. An LLC dissolved that way can file an Application for Reinstatement Following Administrative Dissolution for $100, and the state says it may apply at any time.^{3, 12}

Several formation services sell help with this report. Where a provider says so, as Northwest and LegalZoom do, the state's $500 is paid on top of its price. Tailor Brands lists mandatory report filing in Elite, and ZenBusiness lists filing of state-required annual reports in its higher plans. Sold on its own, ZenBusiness lists its report filing at $100 per report, Northwest Registered Agent charges $100 + state fees, and LegalZoom lists $99 + state filing fees. The package contents guide separates plans that file the report from plans that only send a reminder.^{1, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17}

How do you change your resident agent in Massachusetts?

You file a Statement of Change of Resident Agent/Resident Office with the Corporations Division. The fee is $25 by paper or fax, and $0 if filed electronically, so filing online costs nothing.^{3, 18}

Name the new agent before ending the old service. If you cancel first, the LLC can be left with no one to accept legal papers.

An agent can also quit. A resigning agent must furnish a copy of such statement to the limited liability company, and the appointment ends on the 31st day after filing. That leaves a window to file the change and name someone new.¹⁹

What if your LLC was formed outside Massachusetts?

An LLC formed in another state registers here with a Foreign Registration, and the fee is $500.²

That is the same as the $500 cost of forming a new Massachusetts LLC, so the price doesn't favor one route over the other. Which route fits depends on where the business is based and taxed, which is a question for an accountant or lawyer. The state fees table lines up formation and foreign registration costs, including for New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut.¹