How to Start an LLC in Georgia (2026)

To start an LLC in Georgia, you file Articles of Organization with the Corporations Division of the Georgia Secretary of State, usually online through the eCorp system. Under the Division's current fee schedule, effective September 6, 2025, the filing costs $110: a $100 filing fee plus a $10 service charge, whether you file online or on paper. After that, a Georgia LLC files an annual registration between January 1 and April 1 each year, for $60. This guide covers each step with the official sources.

Check that your LLC name is available

Search the Division's eCorp Business Search for your proposed name and close variations. Our Georgia business search guide explains the search and Georgia's status labels. The Division does not confirm name availability by phone; according to its Business FAQs, names are reviewed only in response to online or mail requests.

The FAQs set out Georgia's name availability standards. An LLC name must be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records from the names of other corporations, LLCs and limited partnerships. The Division gives examples of names that are not distinguishable from an existing name when the only difference is:

• "a," "an" or "the" ("The Auto Store, Inc." versus "Auto Store, Inc.");
• the entity type ("The Auto Store, LLC" versus "The Auto Store, Inc.");
• "&" versus "and," or punctuation;
• a plural, a suffix or another form of the same word;
• an abbreviation ("Ga. Auto Store" versus "Georgia Auto Store"); or
• a phonetic spelling ("Boyz" versus "Boys").

Some words need another agency's written approval, which you submit with the filing. The FAQs list, among others, "insurance," "surety" and similar terms (Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner), "bank," "trust," "credit union" and related terms (Department of Banking and Finance), and "college" or "university" (Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission). The name also has to meet the LLC naming statute, O.C.G.A. § 14-11-207, as the Division's Form CD 030 instructions point out; the Division's own sample articles use the ending "LLC."

Name reservation. Georgia's reservation is short. The FAQs say a reservation lasts 30 days from approval, or until the formation filing with that name is submitted, whichever is sooner, and most online requests get a response within 5 to 7 business days. The fee schedule lists a 30-day name reservation at $35 ($25 plus a $10 service charge). A reservation is not required, but the FAQs note it may save time and money and could reduce processing time for your filing.

A name the Division accepts is not a trademark. Search the USPTO trademark database as well, and see how to check LLC name availability for the general process.

Appoint a registered agent

Each Georgia entity must continuously maintain a registered agent and registered office in Georgia. According to the Business FAQs, the registered agent of a domestic LLC may be an individual resident of Georgia, a domestic corporation, another domestic LLC, or a foreign corporation or LLC authorized to do business in Georgia. An entity cannot be its own registered agent, and the agent's business office must be the registered office address. The Division's transmittal form (CD 231) for paper filings states that the registered office must be a street address, not a post office box or mail drop. For background, see what a registered agent does.

File the Articles of Organization

Georgia's articles are short. The Division's filing procedures for forming a Georgia LLC say the articles must contain the exact name of the LLC. They may also state that management is vested in one or more managers, and any other provisions consistent with law. The registered agent, registered office, principal office mailing address and each organizer's name and address are supplied on the online form, or on the Transmittal Information Form (CD 231) for a paper filing. The optional Form CD 030 can serve as the articles themselves.

• Who signs. An organizer, member, manager or attorney-in-fact, stating the capacity in which they sign. No notarization is needed.
• Effective date. The articles take effect when the Division receives them, unless you specify a delayed effective date of no more than 90 days after filing.
• How to file. The CD 030 instructions say articles may be filed online at eCorp or on paper by mail or delivery to the Corporations Division in Atlanta.

Fee. The Division's Corporations Division Filing Fees schedule, effective September 6, 2025, lists Articles of Organization (LLC) at $110 online and $110 on paper: a $100 fee plus a $10 service charge. An older procedures document still quotes a lower online service charge, so go by the current schedule. Fees are non-refundable.

Processing time and expedite fees. The Business FAQs say online filings are generally processed within 7 to 10 business days and paper filings within 15 business days, with longer waits in late December through January and at the end of each quarter. The fee schedule offers two expedited services on top of the filing fee:

• two-business-day service: $120;
• same-day service: $275, for requests the Division receives by noon on a business day.

After your LLC is formed

Annual registration ($60, January 1 to April 1)

According to the Business FAQs, an LLC files its first annual registration between January 1 and April 1 of the year after it is formed, and between January 1 and April 1 every year after that. The fee schedule lists the annual registration at $60 ($50 plus a $10 service charge) and a $25 penalty for late filing. The annual registration is also how you change the LLC's principal office address or registered agent. An LLC that does not file is subject to administrative dissolution; our Georgia page explains the "Active/Noncompliance" status and reinstatement.

EIN

Most LLCs need an Employer Identification Number for taxes, banking and hiring. The IRS issues EINs free; its online application issues the number immediately once approved. See what an EIN is.

Operating agreement

Georgia's rules say the Secretary of State will not accept an LLC's operating agreement for filing (Rule 590-7-21). Keep a written agreement with the company's records. Because Georgia lists only an LLC's registered agent, not its members or managers, the operating agreement is the document that shows who owns and runs the company.

Licenses, taxes and registrations

Depending on your business and location, you may need state tax registrations, professional licenses or local business licenses. The SBA's licenses and permits guide explains how federal, state and local requirements fit together.

Georgia LLC costs at a glance

Item	State fee	Source
Articles of Organization (incl. $10 service charge)	$110	Georgia filing fees
Name reservation, 30 days (optional)	$35	Georgia filing fees
Two-business-day expedite (optional)	$120	Georgia filing fees
Same-day expedite (optional)	$275	Georgia filing fees
Annual registration	$60	Georgia filing fees
Late annual registration penalty	$25	Georgia filing fees
EIN from the IRS	Free	IRS

The minimum state cost to form a Georgia LLC is $110, then $60 a year from the year after formation.

Do it yourself or use a formation service

When you form a Georgia LLC yourself, the articles need little more than the name, and eCorp collects the rest. The only required cost is the $110 state fee. DIY suits owners who live in Georgia and can be their own registered agent, and who will remember the April 1 annual registration deadline.

A formation service charges its own fee on top of the state fees. It prepares and files the paperwork, can serve as your registered agent, and typically sends reminders before each annual registration. That is most useful if you live outside Georgia or want the agent's address, not your own, as the registered office address. The state fees are the same either way.