Updated August 10, 2026. Quick answer. Forming an LLC in West Virginia costs $100 to file, and an ongoing report requirement ($25). Five-year total: $225 over five years, every component verified.
What it actually costs
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Formation filing fee | $100 |
| Annual/biennial report | $25 |
| Franchise / minimum tax | none — repealed |
| Publication requirement | No newspaper publication requirement was found. |
Five-year cost of ownership: $225 over five years, every component verified. Publication cost is excluded from this figure — it’s county-driven where it applies, not state-driven, so a single number would be wrong for most filers.
Expedited filing: $25 24-hour; $250 2-hour; $500 1-hour
The trap worth knowing before you file
West Virginia fixes its filing fees in the Code, so the statute was used as the controlling source; the SOS’s own annual-report page (https://sos.wv.gov/business/updates-and-changes/annual-reports) quotes the same $25 and the same January 1 – June 30 window, so statute and agency agree. Expedite tiers are agency-published (https://sos.wv.gov/business/general-information/expedite-service). Access note: sos.wv.gov/business/Pages/*.aspx and /FormSearch paths 404 — the live structure is flat (/business/, /start-WV-business, /business/general-information/…). tax.wv.gov’s business-franchise-tax and bus
Source
W. Va. Code sec. 59-1-2 (formation fees); W. Va. Code sec. 59-1-2a (annual report fee and $50 late fee); W. Va. Code sec. 11-12-3(b) ($30 business registration tax); W. Va. Code sec. 11-23-6 (business franchise tax, no tax due after 1/1/2015). Read 2026-08-06 from statute. Formation-service sites were not used as a source for this figure.
Once the LLC exists, an operating agreement is what actually runs it
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If the LLC already exists somewhere else
Everything above prices forming a new West Virginia LLC. A company that already exists in another state cannot become a West Virginia one: West Virginia is one of the eight jurisdictions with no jurisdiction-change route in either direction, and there is no section to cite, because nothing in the code read permits it. The substitute is a merger — form a West Virginia LLC, then merge the older company into it, under W. Va. Code § 31B-9-904, articles of merger under § 31B-9-905. A merger produces a surviving entity rather than a continuation, so it is genuinely not the same thing as domestication, but it keeps far more alive than dissolving and re-forming does.
How to Move an LLC to Another State · LLC Domestication by State: All 51 Jurisdictions, With the Statute
What letting it lapse costs in West Virginia. The catch-up bill is only half the story — in West Virginia an ordinary two-year window that the Secretary of State cannot close alone — it needs a certificate from the State Tax Commissioner. The figures, and the statute they come from, are on reinstating a West Virginia LLC.
Looking for the annual-report due date and fee instead? See West Virginia LLC annual report.
Related: West Virginia’s registered agent requirements, including who can serve and what happens if you don’t have one.
Related: West Virginia’s LLC Certificate of Good Standing cost, including who issues it and how fast you can get one.