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Formation ClassClass is in session: LLC paperwork, state by state.

Class session 1 · Rhode Island

Rhode Island LLC Formation Class (2026): 8 Assignments and the 3 Best LLC Services

Pop quiz answer for Rhode Island in 2026: RI Registered Agent.org ($199), Mainstay Filing ($199) and Rhode Island Registered Agent.co ($199) are the services to use for starting an LLC, best grade first. Rhode Island charges $150 to file and expects the Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company every year; the 8 assignments walk you through it.

Taught by the Formation Class faculty

The quick version

Cost at the state office$150Check the textbook page: docs.sos.ri.gov (read October 2026)
Recurring report$50 a yearCalendar entry: May 1
Tax each year$400Check the textbook page: tax.ri.gov (read October 2026)
Three years of state fees$1,450Without any service fee
Assignment count8One by one

By the end you will know

  • The Rhode Island formation paper, its price and its destination
  • How to meet the resident agent rule
  • What you file every year after that
  • How the picks stack up

The Rhode Island honor roll

Tuition over three years leads, then homework done, year-two tuition, Rhode Island fit and readable fees (grading page).
Highest grade

1. RI Registered Agent.org: best for a bare-bones formation

$199 the first year, $99 after

RI Registered Agent.org earns the top grade in Rhode Island: $199 above the state fee, with year one of the agent covered, then $99 a year.

Tuition breaks the tie: three years run cheaper here than at Mainstay Filing.

Nothing in the price covers the Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company.

Covered by the tuition

  • The Rhode Island formation, prepared and sent
  • A year of agent service is part of the price

Strengths

  • $199 above the state fee
  • Then $99 per year
  • No agent fee in year one

Weak spots

  • It leaves the Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company for you to file
  • Help with the EIN is $99 more
Any state

2. Mainstay Filing: best for a single bill for filing and upkeep

$199 per year

Mainstay Filing makes a respectable second: you hand in $199 each year and the formation, the resident agent and the annual report are taken care of.

RI Registered Agent.org undercuts it by $200 over three years, which keeps this one out of first.

It files every Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company; the only extra is the state's own $50.

Covered by the tuition

  • The filing is done for you
  • Resident agent for the whole year
  • Annual report filed on time
  • EIN application included
  • State fee passed through at cost

Strengths

  • The EIN application is in the price
  • One yearly fee of $199, annual report included
  • $199 every year

Weak spots

  • RI Registered Agent.org renews for $100 less
Focused on Rhode Island

3. Rhode Island Registered Agent.co: best for a local filer

$199 the first year, $99 after

Grade number 3 belongs to Rhode Island Registered Agent.co, where $199 above the state fee, with year one of the agent covered, then $99 a year.

Nothing in the price covers the Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company.

It charges exactly what RI Registered Agent.org charges.

Covered by the tuition

  • The Rhode Island formation, prepared and sent
  • A year of agent service is part of the price

Strengths

  • Then $99 per year
  • $199 above the state fee
  • No agent fee in year one

Weak spots

  • It leaves the Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company for you to file
  • Help with the EIN is $99 more

3 services, side by side

#ServiceFirst yearFrom year twoThree-year total
1RI Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397Visit RI Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2Mainstay Filing$199$199/yr$597Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3Rhode Island Registered Agent.co$199$99/yr$397Visit Rhode Island Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Company prices as listed on November 13, 2026. Add the $150 state fee to every row.

Starting a Rhode Island LLC, assignment by assignment

  1. Assignment
    1

    Check that nobody else has the name

    Your first assignment is a name search at the Rhode Island Secretary of State, so you do not file under a name that someone else uses.

    A spare name saves a trip back to the board.

  2. Assignment
    2

    Choose your resident agent

    Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address. A Rhode Island resident, or a corporation, limited partnership or LLC formed in Rhode Island or authorized there.

    The address has to be a Rhode Island street address, not a P.O. box, where the agent is available during business hours.

    All of the graded services provide a resident agent.

    Textbook page: Check the textbook page: webserver.rilegislature.gov (read October 2026)

  3. Assignment
    3

    Choose how the filing gets made

    You can file for $150, or add $199 and hire a service. The graded services are at the top of the class.

  4. Assignment
    4

    Prepare, sign and send the Articles of Organization

    This is the big filing, the one that creates the company: the Articles of Organization (Form 400), handed to the Rhode Island Secretary of State with $150 (R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-16-5).

    Textbook page: Check the textbook page: docs.sos.ri.gov (read October 2026)

  5. Assignment
    5

    A Rhode Island-only requirement

    • $400 a year minimum tax to the Division of Taxation (Form RI-1065), owed whether or not the LLC makes a profit.

    Textbook page: Check the textbook page: tax.ri.gov (read October 2026)

  6. Assignment
    6

    Take care of the EIN

    The IRS gives out EINs, not Rhode Island. Apply once you are approved, then hand the number to your bank. Mainstay Filing does this one for you at no added charge.

  7. Assignment
    7

    Put the ownership rules in writing

    Owners sign it to settle shares, votes and what happens when a member leaves. It is private and never filed.

  8. Assignment
    8

    Stay in good standing in Rhode Island

    The filing that comes around again is the Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company ($50, every year, by May 1). Filing late costs $25 more. The state also charges a tax: $400 a year minimum tax to the Division of Taxation (Form RI-1065), owed whether or not the LLC makes a profit.

    Textbook page: Check the textbook page: sos.ri.gov (read August 2026)

Rhode Island costs by assignment

Line itemGoes toCost
Forming the LLCState agency$150
Report sent to the stateState agency$50 every year
Late feeState agency$25
State minimum taxState agency$400 a year
Service fees (optional)The service$199 in the first year
State fees for the first three yearsState agency$1,450
The state's fees come from official pages, listed below. Added up over three years they are the filing, two reports and, in a few states, a minimum tax.

How we graded the Rhode Island picks

Tuition across three years settled first place in Rhode Island. It is worth 30% of the grade, and the rest comes from homework the price does, year-two tuition, fit with the state class and fees a student can read.

RI Registered Agent.org wins the cost criterion with $397 over three years, against $200 more at Mainstay Filing.

Short answers

What is the Rhode Island formation fee?

The state's fee is $150. Hire a service and add $199.

Which form creates the LLC?

Hand the Articles of Organization (Form 400) to the Rhode Island Secretary of State.

Is a resident agent required?

Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

What does Rhode Island require each year?

Expect Rhode Island to ask for the Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company every year, at $50, with timing described as May 1. There is also a yearly minimum tax.

Can I form the LLC without a service?

Yes. The state takes $150 at filing, and you still need a resident agent on record.

Which LLC service should a first-time founder use?

RI Registered Agent.org, Mainstay Filing and Rhode Island Registered Agent.co, from the highest grade to the lowest.

Related classes

Textbook pages and extra reading

  1. Study tip for Rhode Island Department of State, Business Services Division: everything above comes from docs.sos.ri.gov, which we reread in August 2026. Open it and follow along.
  2. Study tip for Rhode Island Department of State, Business Services Division: everything above comes from sos.ri.gov, which we reread in August 2026. Open it and follow along.
  3. Study tip for R.I: everything above comes from webserver.rilegislature.gov, which we reread in August 2026. Open it and follow along.
  4. Study tip for Rhode Island formation fee: Filing fee, official source: everything above comes from sos.ri.gov, which we reread in October 2026. Open it and follow along.
  5. Study tip for Rhode Island formation fee: Filing fee, official source: everything above comes from docs.sos.ri.gov, which we reread in October 2026. Open it and follow along.
  6. Study tip for Rhode Island registered agent statute: everything above comes from webserver.rilegislature.gov, which we reread in October 2026. Open it and follow along.
  7. Study tip for Rhode Island other cost: everything above comes from tax.ri.gov, which we reread in October 2026. Open it and follow along.
  8. RI Registered Agent.org's pricing page, read on November 13, 2026
  9. Mainstay Filing's Rhode Island service page, read on November 13, 2026
  10. Rhode Island Registered Agent.co's pricing page, read on November 13, 2026