How to start an LLC in Georgia

How much does it cost to start an LLC in Georgia?

The $100 filing fee always carries a $10 service charge, so every standard filing costs $110, online, by mail or in person. Expedite fees are paid on top of the $110, run on business days only, and are not refundable. Without one, online filings generally take 7 to 10 business days and paper filings about 15, and longer in late December through January and at the end of each quarter.

Sources: Georgia filing fee and Georgia filing office, reviewed September 24, 2026.

What are the steps to form an LLC in Georgia?

You file online through eCorp, which needs a free account before you can file. Filing online through eCorp requires creating a user account first, and online payment is by Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover only. You can skip the account by filing on paper: mail or hand-deliver the Articles of Organization with the Transmittal Information Form and a check or money order to the Corporations Division, 2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SE, Suite 313 West Tower, Atlanta, Georgia 30334. The fee is the same $110 either way, but paper is slower: about 15 business days against about 7 to 10 online.

1. Look up the name in the business search. Free. What you need: A full or partial business name, a control number, or a registered agent name.

   What you get: A list of Georgia entities already on file with similar names. How long it takes: Instant

   The search page itself says it is not a name availability search. The Corporations Division decides whether a name is distinguishable only when it reviews a name reservation or your Articles of Organization, and it will not confirm availability by phone. A name that differs from an existing one only by LLC versus Inc., by the, by and versus &, by punctuation, or by a plural is treated as the same name.

   Where to do this

2. Reserve the name (optional). Costs $35. What you need: Up to three names in order of preference, without the LLC ending, and your contact details. Online requests need an eCorp account; a paper Name Reservation Request form can be mailed instead with a check or money order.

   What you get: A name reservation number that holds the first available name for 30 days or until you file, whichever is sooner. You enter the number when you file. How long it takes: About 5 to 7 business days online; about 15 business days by mail.

   The $35 is $25 plus the $10 service charge and is kept even if no name is approved; the rejection notice explains how to submit new choices without paying again. A reservation cannot be renewed; after 30 days you must apply and pay again. Reserving is not required to file.

   Where to do this

3. Create an eCorp account. Free. What you need: A user ID and password for the person filing. The sign-up screens are behind the account page and were not read for this record.

   What you get: A login that lets you file, pay by card, and see your filings and receipts in a dashboard.

   Only needed for filing online. Paper filers skip this step.

   Where to do this. This step is described from Georgia's published instructions, because the screens are only visible after signing in.

4. File the Articles of Organization online. Costs $110. What you need: The LLC name or a name reservation number, the filer's name, address and email, the principal office mailing address (a post office box is allowed), the registered agent's name and Georgia street address and county, the name and address of each organizer, and any optional provisions. Members and managers are not listed.

   What you get: Articles of Organization generated by the system, and after approval a Certificate of Organization. How long it takes: About 7 to 10 business days at standard speed. Uploading your own drafted articles through the paper-online option takes about 10 to 14.

   Choose create or register a business, then Domestic Limited Liability Company. The registered agent must have a physical Georgia street address where they can be served in person; a post office box or mail drop is refused, and the LLC cannot be its own agent. The agent's consent is not required by the filing office. These screens sit behind the eCorp login, so this step is described from the Division's published instructions.

   Where to do this. This step is described from Georgia's published instructions, because the screens are only visible after signing in.

5. Or file on paper instead. Costs $110. What you need: Your own Articles of Organization (the Division publishes a template, form CD 030), plus the Transmittal Information Form CD 231, which asks for the entity email, any name reservation number, the LLC name, the filer, the principal office mailing address, the registered agent and registered office with county and agent email, each organizer, and a signature.

   What you get: The same Certificate of Organization, sent by email if you gave an email address, otherwise by mail. How long it takes: About 15 business days from receipt.

   By mail, pay the $110 by check or money order payable to Secretary of State; in person you may also pay by credit card. Cash is not accepted, and counter or starter checks are rejected. The transmittal form is required with paper articles only; online filers do not fill it in.

   Where to do this

6. Receive the Certificate of Organization. Free.

   What you get: A Certificate of Organization and the filed articles, emailed to the filer (or mailed if no email was given), and a public record you can look up by name or control number.

   If the filing is marked deficient, fix and return it within 30 days to keep the original filing date. After 60 days it is treated as abandoned and you must file and pay again.

   Where to do this

What does an LLC name need to include in Georgia?

The name must include one of these: Limited Liability Company, Limited Company, LLC, L.L.C., LC, L.C.. Insurance, assurance, surety, fidelity, reinsurance, reassurance or indemnity need written approval from the Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner. Bank and its variations (such as banc, banker, bancorp, bancshares), bankruptcy, credit union, savings and loan, trust or trust company need written approval from the Department of Banking and Finance. College or university need written approval from the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission. Send the approval letter with the filing. Check a name with the Georgia name search.

What is due after you form an LLC in Georgia?

Federal EIN. The IRS issues an EIN free and immediately online when the responsible party has a Social Security number or ITIN. The online application must be finished in one session and is limited to one EIN per responsible party per day. Any site that charges for an EIN is not the IRS. Source.

Georgia state tax registration. Registration is online through the Georgia Tax Center, which asks for your NAICS industry code and usually emails the tax account number within 15 minutes. The Department of Revenue says some tax types carry registration fees or taxes, so the cost depends on what you register for. Unemployment insurance is a separate registration with the Georgia Department of Labor; this site's state tax and employer pages carry the rates and thresholds. Source.

Annual registration. The $60 is a $50 fee plus the $10 service charge. Filing late adds a $25 penalty. You may pay for one, two or three years at once. If you change nothing, the One Click option files it without logging in. An LLC that does not file can be administratively dissolved; it gets 60 days from the notice to respond, and reinstatement within 5 years costs $260. Source.

Corporate net worth tax (only if the LLC elects to be taxed as a corporation). Georgia has no tax called an LLC franchise tax. Its corporate net worth tax is $0 for net worth of $100,000 or less, though a return is still required, and tops out at $5,000 above $22 million. The Department of Revenue page describes the tax for corporations and does not say in so many words how it treats an LLC that elects corporate status, so check with the Department if you make that election. Source.

Federal beneficial ownership information (BOI) report. FinCEN issued a final rule on August 11, 2026, effective August 14, 2026, that makes permanent the exemption first adopted in March 2025: U.S. companies do not file BOI reports, and U.S. persons do not have to provide or update beneficial ownership information. The rule has changed several times since 2024, so check FinCEN directly before relying on this later. Source.

Where is the official Georgia guidance wrong or incomplete?

Official help pages are often the last thing an agency updates. Where one disagrees with the statute or the current form, the statute or form is what applies.

• The Division's own pages disagree on standard processing time. The filing-fees page and the Business FAQ say online filings take 7 to 10 business days, while the how-to guide for forming an LLC says about 7. For name reservations, the FAQ and one part of the reservation guide say 5 to 7 business days and another part of the same guide says 7. This record gives the ranges. Source.
• The filing-fees page and the fee schedule offer one-hour expedited review ($1,200) for any LLC filing, but the how-to guide for forming an LLC lists the one-hour option only under filing by mail. Whether eCorp offers it for online filings could not be seen without signing in. Source.
• The two official lists of banking words that need approval differ. The name reservation guide includes trusted and trusting; the Business FAQ does not. Source.
• The eCorp business search is often described as a name availability check, but the search page itself says it is not one. Only a name reservation or the filing itself gets a ruling on availability. Source.
• The Department of Revenue's summary page gives only the floor ($0 at $100,000 or less) and ceiling ($5,000 above $22 million) of the corporate net worth tax, not the brackets in between, so they are not reproduced here. Source.

What else trips people up when forming an LLC in Georgia?

Georgia's real cost to form an LLC is $110, not the $100 headline fee, because a $10 service charge is added to every filing; the yearly registration is $60 for the same reason. Georgia's LLC filing does not list members or managers, only organizers and a registered agent, and the agent must be a real person or company at a Georgia street address. The first annual registration is not due in the formation year but between January 1 and April 1 of the next year, and missing it can lead to administrative dissolution, not just a late fee. Most Georgia LLCs owe no net worth tax because it only reaches LLCs taxed as corporations. Federal beneficial ownership reporting does not apply to LLCs formed in the United States as of September 24, 2026.

Does Georgia have a franchise tax on an LLC?

No. Georgia does not impose a separate LLC 'franchise tax' by that name. LLCs taxed as partnerships (the default) owe no net worth tax. LLCs that elect corporate taxation are subject to Georgia's corporate net worth tax: $0 for net worth of $100,000 or less (return still required), scaling up to a maximum of $5,000 for net worth over $22 million (confirmed on dor.georgia.gov's Corporate Income and Net Worth Tax page).

How is an LLC taxed in Georgia?

By default, an LLC is a pass-through entity: it pays no income tax itself, and the profits flow to the owners' personal returns. Georgia has a state individual income tax with a top rate of 4.99% (flat brackets), so those profits are taxed on your Georgia return on top of federal tax. Flat 4.99% on all taxable income for tax year 2026 (reduced from 5.19% by HB 463, signed May 11, 2026). Standard deduction $15,000 single/head of household/married filing separately, $30,000 married filing jointly. Further reductions of 0.125 percentage points are scheduled to begin January 1, 2027, continuing annually toward a 3.99% floor, but each year's cut is contingent on the state meeting statutory revenue-growth triggers (evaluated by the Office of Planning and Budget by Dec. 1); a missed trigger delays that year's cut by one year.

An LLC can also elect to be taxed as an S-corp, which changes how owners pay self-employment tax. See LLC vs S-corp vs sole proprietorship and how self-employment tax works.