How to Form an LLC in Vermont: The Complete Breakdown
Vermont registered agent representation, billed at $99 per year. Includes the office address on your filings, same-day scanning of legal mail, and reminders for state deadlines.
Getting a Vermont LLC up and running involves one filing, a continuing agent requirement, and predictable yearly housekeeping. The state's share is $155, the Articles of Organization go in through the Secretary of State's online system, and the maintenance afterward is modest. Everything you need is below: the sequence, the numbers, and the part we handle.
Form Your Vermont LLC — $199
Pay $199 once and we manage the prep and submission through the Vermont Secretary of State, with the $155 state fee on its own line. Your registered agent coverage starts the moment the filing does.
Why Form an LLC in Vermont
Limited liability companies give business owners asset protection by treating the business as a separate legal person. Vermont small operators favor the LLC structure because it provides real liability protection without the paperwork demands of a corporation.
The $155 State Filing Fee for a Vermont LLC
Vermont charges $155 to file Articles of Organization. That is the current figure on the official fee schedule (11 V.S.A. § 4012); the $125 you will find on older sites predates the fee increase and is wrong. Full breakdown:
| Line item | What you pay |
|---|---|
| Our formation service | $199, once |
| Articles of Organization, Vermont state fee | $155, once |
| Registered agent, required continuously | $99/year |
| Vermont annual report, state fee | $45/year |
Our part is $199 for the filing service. The $155 goes straight to the state. RA service is its own line at $99/year, and the $45 report recurs annually once the LLC exists.
The Articles of Organization: Vermont's One Formation Form
The document that creates a Vermont LLC is the Articles of Organization under 11 V.S.A. § 4023. It has no form number, because there is no current paper form. Vermont retired its legacy application years ago and now routes formations through the Secretary of State's Online Business Service Center, described on the state's LLC formation page. Online is the filing method, full stop, and it carries no surcharge.
Required contents are short: the LLC's name, the address of its initial designated office, and the name and street address of its initial agent for service of process. The online workflow adds management structure and organizer details.
How Vermont LLC Formation Works: Six Steps
- Pick a name the state will accept. It needs an LLC suffix and must be clearly distinguishable from every entity already in Vermont's database. Search the state's records first, and avoid bank, insurance, trust, or government words unless you have separate authorization.
- Select your registered agent. Vermont requires an agent with an in-state street address on file at all times, available during business hours. The name and address you choose become public. Our RA service takes the slot for $99/year and keeps your own address off the record.
- Submit the Articles of Organization. File through the Online Business Service Center and pay the $155 fee. You will enter the entity name, designated office address, agent name and address, whether members or managers run the company, and the organizers. The state does not promise a turnaround; the portal reports your filing status as it processes.
- Create your operating agreement. Vermont never sees this document, but your bank and your co-owners will. It sets ownership shares, distributions, decision rights, and what happens when someone leaves. Without one, the statute's default rules apply, and they rarely match what owners actually intended.
- Grab your EIN. Free from the IRS at IRS.gov, issued as soon as the application is submitted. Never pay a third party for one.
- Handle the recurring items. Keep the agent current, file the $45 annual report within three months of your fiscal year end, keep business and personal finances separated, and stay square with federal and state taxes.
Let it slide and the Secretary of State can administratively dissolve the LLC, which suspends your liability shield until reinstatement. Done with paperwork? Pay $199 and our team handles the Vermont formation filing.
Why the Registered Agent Rule Matters
There's no way around the agent requirement in Vermont — every LLC, regardless of size, needs one. The agent's job is to:
- Keep an actual Vermont location with a street address (post office box-only setups don't work)
- Be available during the workday each weekday to handle legal service
- Relay legal mail and state notices the same business day they arrive
Listing yourself as the agent puts your personal address on the public filings. Once it's listed, anyone running a Vermont entity search can find it.
Our Vermont office handles this for $99 a year. Our address takes the public-record slot on your formation paperwork.
FAQs
How much does it cost to form an LLC in Vermont?
Vermont's official filing fee is $155 for the Articles of Organization. Then it is $45 per year for the annual report, plus whatever you spend on a registered agent.
How long does it take to form an LLC in Vermont?
No guaranteed timeline is published. Formations run through the state's online system, and the portal shows where your filing stands while it processes.
Does Vermont require an annual report?
Yes, every year. The state fee is $45, and the deadline falls three months after your fiscal year ends rather than on a fixed date.
Do I need a registered agent for my Vermont LLC?
Yes. Vermont's LLC statute requires an agent based at an in-state street address, on file every day the LLC exists.
Can I form an LLC in Vermont if I live in another state?
Yes. You don't need to live in Vermont to form an LLC there. An in-state agent is the one requirement, and the $99/year agent product takes care of that.
Begin Your Vermont LLC
Filing the Vermont LLC yourself through the Secretary of State's online system is entirely doable, with $155 as the official state filing fee. The agent requirement still applies regardless.
We're the agent you list on the form. For $99/year, you get our address on the filing, scans the day mail arrives, and a heads-up before every state deadline.
Just want the registered agent role? The separate registered agent plan is $99/year.
Curious about other parts of Vermont LLC formation or how the agent role works? Visit our FAQ page or reach out any weekday.
Ready to get started?
Lock in agent representation for the annual rate — address, scans, deadline reminders.