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

Class 1 · Virginia

Virginia LLC Formation Class (2026): 7 Assignments and the 2 Best LLC Services

Pop quiz answer for Virginia in 2026: Mainstay Filing ($199) and VA Registered Agent.org ($199) are the services to use for starting an LLC, best grade first. Starting the LLC means 7 assignments and $100 to the state, then the Annual Registration Fee every year.

Taught by the Formation Class faculty

Class overview

Fee to form$100Source for this: law.lis.virginia.gov, October 2026
Annual Registration Fee$50 a yearDue date as the state says it: last day of the LLC's anniversary month
Three-year state cost$200Filing plus the repeating state fees
Assignments in this class7One by one

Class goals

  • How starting an LLC works in Virginia
  • How to meet the registered agent rule
  • The state filing that recurs
  • The services at the top of the class

If you want someone else to file

Tuition over three years leads, then homework done, year-two tuition, Virginia fit and readable fees (grading page).
Top of the class

1. Mainstay Filing: best for having the annual registration fee filed by someone else

$199 a year, state fee on top ($299 due at checkout)

The class favorite is Mainstay Filing, because you hand in $199 each year and the formation, the registered agent and the annual registration fee are taken care of.

You pay $200 extra across three years compared with VA Registered Agent.org, and you keep less of the paperwork.

You never touch the Annual Registration Fee; the $50 state fee is passed through and nothing more.

Covered by the tuition

  • Filing made with the state
  • Registered agent for the whole year
  • Annual registration fee filed on time
  • EIN application included
  • State fee at cost

Strengths

  • No jump at renewal ($199)
  • It prepares your EIN application too
  • A flat $199 each year

Weak spots

  • VA Registered Agent.org renews for $100 less
Local choice

2. VA Registered Agent.org: best for Virginia LLCs with a small budget

Formation $199, renewal $99 yearly

Grade number 2 belongs to VA Registered Agent.org, where $199 above the state fee, with year one of the agent covered, then $99 a year.

Handing in the Annual Registration Fee every year stays on your homework list.

Covered by the tuition

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

Strengths

  • $199 and the state fee
  • A free first agent year
  • The agent renews at $99

Weak spots

  • It leaves the Annual Registration Fee for you to file
  • The EIN application is not included ($99)

2 services, side by side

#ServiceFirst yearFrom year twoThree-year total
1Mainstay Filing$199$199/yr$597Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2VA Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397Visit VA Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Company prices as listed on November 13, 2026. The $100 state fee is left out of these figures.

Starting a Virginia LLC, assignment by assignment

  1. Assignment
    1

    Check that nobody else has the name

    Your first assignment is a name search at the State Corporation Commission (SCC), so you do not file under a name that someone else uses.

    Have a runner-up name ready in case the first is taken.

  2. Assignment
    2

    Decide who will be a registered agent

    Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address. A Virginia resident who is a member, manager or officer of the LLC (or of an entity that manages it) or a member of the Virginia State Bar, or a corporation, LLC or registered LLP authorized in Virginia.

    The address has to be a registered office in Virginia that is the agent's business office. A P.O. box is accepted only in a town of under 2,000 people with no street address.

    Every class favorite here can be your registered agent.

    Textbook page: Source for this: law.lis.virginia.gov, October 2026

  3. Assignment
    3

    Choose how the filing gets made

    Filing on your own costs only the $100 state fee. A service adds $199 and does the forms; see the grades for the order.

  4. Assignment
    4

    Put together and mail the Articles of Organization of a Virginia Limited Liability Company

    Send the Articles of Organization of a Virginia Limited Liability Company (Form LLC-1011) to the State Corporation Commission (SCC) along with $100; the law behind it is Va. Code § 13.1-1010, and the LLC exists.

    Textbook page: Source for this: law.lis.virginia.gov, October 2026

  5. Assignment
    5

    Take care of the EIN

    Approval first, IRS number second. Mainstay Filing's yearly price includes this assignment.

  6. Assignment
    6

    Prepare the operating agreement

    Think of the operating agreement as the owners' rulebook. The company keeps it; the state never asks for a copy.

  7. Assignment
    7

    Handle Virginia's recurring filing

    To stay active, send in the Annual Registration Fee every year ($50) by last day of the LLC's anniversary month. Late filings bring $25.

    Textbook page: Source for this: scc.virginia.gov, October 2026

Costs, assignment by assignment

AssignmentPaid toPrice
The formation assignmentState agency$100
Annual Registration FeeState agency$50 every year
Penalty for filing lateState agency$25
Optional serviceYour service$199 at the start
State fees for the first three yearsState agency$200
Filing fee plus two later reports plus any minimum tax makes the state's three-year total. The pages listed below show where each figure came from.

Why Mainstay Filing is first

pulled ahead of on homework the price does, which counts for 34%.

Virginia wants the Annual Registration Fee every year, so a price that files it beat a cheaper one that leaves it to you.

What students ask

What will starting a Virginia LLC cost?

$100, paid to the state. Hire a service and add $199.

Which form creates the LLC?

Hand the Articles of Organization of a Virginia Limited Liability Company (Form LLC-1011) to the State Corporation Commission (SCC).

Is a registered agent required?

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

What does Virginia require each year?

Mark the Annual Registration Fee on your calendar: $50, every year, last day of the LLC's anniversary month.

Can I form the LLC without a service?

The state accepts filings straight from owners, so no service is needed. Expect $100 plus a registered agent.

Which LLC service should a first-time founder use?

Mainstay Filing, because $199 yearly covers the formation, the registered agent and the annual registration fee, and the renewal bill is $199. Behind it come VA Registered Agent.org.

Keep learning

Textbook pages and extra reading

  1. Class notes on Virginia yearly filing: Recurring filing, official source come straight from law.lis.virginia.gov (reread October 2026).
  2. Class notes on Virginia yearly filing: Recurring filing, official source come straight from scc.virginia.gov (reread October 2026).
  3. Class notes on Va come straight from law.lis.virginia.gov (reread August 2026).
  4. Class notes on Virginia formation fee: Filing fee, official source come straight from law.lis.virginia.gov (reread October 2026).
  5. Class notes on Virginia registered agent statute come straight from law.lis.virginia.gov (reread October 2026).
  6. Pulled November 13, 2026: Virginia service page from Mainstay Filing
  7. Pulled November 13, 2026: pricing page from VA Registered Agent.org