How to Form an LLC in Texas

Getting a Texas LLC up and running involves one main paperwork moment, a continuing agent requirement, and predictable annual housekeeping. Budget $300 for the state, allow several business days for processing, and account for the ongoing items in your operating budget. Up next: the formation steps, the cost table, and where our $199 service plugs in.

File Your Texas LLC — $199

$199, paid once, covers preparation and filing through Texas Secretary of State. Approval comes back in about several business days.

File Your Texas LLC — $199

What A Texas LLC Is (and Why People Form One)

The LLC is a business form designed to give owners personal asset protection without corporate-level paperwork. Throughout Texas, the LLC is the entity of choice for solo founders, real estate investors, contractors, and independent contractors because the format combines real protection with low overhead.

What It Costs in Texas

Item	Cost
Our LLC formation service	$199 one-time
State filing fee (Texas Secretary of State)	$300 one-time
Registered agent (required for every Texas LLC)	$99/year
State annual report fee	Franchise Tax (varies; $0 below threshold)

$199 is our filing service. The state fee is collected by Texas Secretary of State. Statutory agent plan is a separate $99 per year line.

Step-by-Step: Forming Your Texas LLC

1. Name Your Texas LLC

An LLC name in Texas must signal its entity type with an approved designator and must be visibly different from any name already on the state's records. Run any candidate name through the state's entity search first. Texas Secretary of State maintains a public database for exactly this purpose.

Words implying banking, insurance, or government affiliation are restricted in entity names. Skip them unless you've already cleared the relevant authority.

2. Assign a Texas Registered Agent

The registered agent requirement applies to each LLC in Texas: a real Texas address (not a post office box alone) and presence during the regular workday. What you list as agent and address becomes public information through Texas Secretary of State. Process servers, marketers, and anybody interested can see it.

We act as the agent in Texas for $99/year. We handle the public side of the agent role for you.

3. File Articles of Organization with Texas Secretary of State

This is the moment the LLC becomes real: submit the formation paperwork to Texas Secretary of State with $300 for the state's share. The document includes the LLC's name, the primary business address, the agent's name and street address, management type (members vs. Managers), and the organizers.

Online filing through the Texas Secretary of State website is the standard channel and usually moves faster than paper submissions.

Allow several business days for standard processing. Rush processing is often available at a higher fee.

4. Write the Operating Agreement

The state doesn't make you file an operating agreement, but you need one anyway: it's the internal rulebook for the LLC. It sets ownership percentages, decides how profits flow, defines who can make decisions, and specifies the exit process for members. No operating agreement means Texas's LLC statute fills the gaps, often in ways that don't fit how you wanted the LLC to operate.

5. Register for the LLC's EIN

An EIN (Employer Identification Number) acts as the federal-level tax identifier for the LLC. Banking, payroll, and federal taxes all need it. Get the EIN at IRS.gov — the form is brief — ten-ish minutes, and the number is issued immediately.

Paid services for EINs are a poor use of money: EINs are free from the IRS via a brief form.

6. Keep Up With Ongoing Obligations

After Texas Secretary of State approves your formation, the maintenance work begins:

• Hold the agent of record at a Texas location without interruption
• Deliver the yearly annual filing by its due date every year
• Adhere to a hard separation between business records and personal records (its own accounts and its own bookkeeping)
• Take care of federal and Texas tax deadlines throughout the year

If any of these are neglected, Texas Secretary of State can dissolve the entity. A dissolved LLC offers no asset protection.

Want us to handle it? One $199 payment and we file the Texas LLC for you.

Launch My Texas LLC — $199

Why the Registered Agent Rule Matters

Every LLC formed in Texas carries a continuous registered agent obligation — no carve-outs. Agent obligations:

• Hold Texas street-address coverage (P.O. Boxes alone won't qualify)
• Be present all through normal business hours to handle legal service
• Forward incoming legal and state correspondence fast enough that the LLC can respond before deadlines

Using your home address as agent address makes it part of the state record. It then appears in Texas Secretary of State's public-record entries, searchable by anyone.

Our agent product in Texas is $99 a year. You list us on the form; your address never enters the public database.

Common Questions

How much does it cost to form an LLC in Texas?

The state's filing fee is $300. That's well above the national average. Beyond formation, the annual filing comes to Franchise Tax (varies; $0 below threshold).

How long does it take to form an LLC in Texas?

Several business days is the usual processing window in Texas.

Does Texas require an annual report?

Yes. The annual report fee is Franchise Tax (varies; $0 below threshold).

Do I need a registered agent for my Texas LLC?

Yes, the agent rule applies to every Texas LLC: a registered agent located in Texas. The requirement begins at formation and lasts for the time the LLC exists.

Can I form an LLC in Texas if I live in another state?

Yes — Texas doesn't restrict LLC ownership to residents. What you do need is an in-state agent — we fulfill that requirement at $99/year.

Begin Your Texas LLC

You're free to file directly through Texas Secretary of State via the Texas Secretary of State website. An agent is still mandatory — $300 is the state's portion.

Sign up for our agent plan and list us on your Texas LLC's filing. For $99 a year, puts our Texas address on the public-record entry, sends scans the day documents arrive, and emails you before every filing deadline.

Set Up Your Texas LLC — $199

Just want the registered agent role? The registered agent option carries a $99/year price.

Questions about Texas LLC formation or how the agent service works? Our FAQ handles most questions; the contact form is open for the rest.