How to Start an LLC in Pennsylvania (2026)

To start an LLC in Pennsylvania, you file a Certificate of Organization (form DSCB:15-8821) with the Pennsylvania Department of State's Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations. The state filing fee is $125, and the filing is normally made online through Business Filing Services. After that, the only recurring state filing is an annual report that costs $7 a year. This guide walks through each step with the official sources.

Check that your LLC name is available

Start with the name, because the Bureau will reject a Certificate of Organization whose name is already taken. Search the Department's Business Entity Search in Business Filing Services for your proposed name and close variations of it. Our Pennsylvania business search guide explains how that search works: it finds records only by entity name or entity number, so search the distinctive words of your name on their own as well.

Pennsylvania's naming rules, as summarized in the DSCB:15-8821 form instructions, are:

• Designator. The name must contain "company," "limited" or "limited liability company," or an abbreviation of one of those terms.
• No corporate words. The name may not contain words that imply a business corporation, such as "corporation" or "incorporated" or their abbreviations.
• Not the same as an existing name. Generally, the name may not be the same as the name of another association already on the Department's records. If the other business agrees, its written consent is filed on form DSCB:19-17.2 (Consent to Appropriation of Name).
• Restricted words. Words restricted by statute or regulation, such as terms controlled by professional licensing boards, the Department of Banking and Securities or the Insurance Department, need the approval of that agency.

If you are not ready to file, you can reserve a name. According to the Department's Guide to Business Registration in Pennsylvania, the Name Reservation/Transfer of Reservation form (DSCB:15-208) holds an available name for 120 days. It is a one-time reservation; after 120 days the name becomes available to anyone again. The fee schedule lists a name reservation at $70 and a name availability check of up to three names at $15. Neither is required: filing the Certificate of Organization puts your name through the same review.

A name the state accepts is not a trademark. Search the USPTO trademark database before you invest in a brand. For the general process, see how to check LLC name availability.

Choose a registered office

Pennsylvania asks for a registered office rather than naming a registered agent. The Certificate of Organization gives you two options:

• A Pennsylvania street address. The address must be in Pennsylvania and include a street and number. A post office box alone is not acceptable.
• A Commercial Registered Office Provider (CROP). Instead of an address, you can list the name of a CROP and the county of venue. Under 15 Pa.C.S. § 109, a business may contract for a CROP's services and list it in place of a registered address. This is the usual choice for owners without a physical address in Pennsylvania.

The business guide warns that listing a CROP without having a contract with it could expose the filer to civil and criminal penalties, and that only providers on the Department's list may be named. If you use a formation or registered agent service, it will typically act as your CROP. For background, see what a registered agent does.

File the Certificate of Organization

The formation document is the Certificate of Organization, Domestic Limited Liability Company (DSCB:15-8821), filed under 15 Pa.C.S. § 8821. It asks for:

1. the LLC's name, with a permitted designator;
2. the registered office address, or the name of the CROP and the county of venue;
3. the name of each organizer (every organizer must sign);
4. the effective date: on filing, or a later date and time you specify; and
5. for restricted professional companies and benefit companies only, the extra statements those subtypes require.

Members and managers are not required items. LLCs that provide restricted professional services, such as law, medicine or public accounting, must say so on the certificate.

How to file. The Department's forms page says new entity forms are on the "Initial Forms" tab of Business Filing Services, that an account is required for online filing, and that the Bureau "highly encourages online filing as the easiest and fastest way" to get documents processed. Online filings are paid by credit card. A paper filing is mailed with a $125 check and a Docketing Statement (DSCB:15-134A), as the form instructions explain.

Fee and timing. The filing fee is $125 and is nonrefundable, even if the filing is rejected. The Bureau processes documents in the order received, with the sole exception of expedited requests. The fee schedule lists three expedited services, charged on top of the filing fee and available for online filings:

• same-day service (received before 10:00 a.m.): $100;
• 3-hour service (received before 2:00 p.m.): $300;
• 1-hour service (received before 4:00 p.m.): $1,000.

Veteran-owned and reservist-owned small businesses may qualify for a fee exemption under Act 135 of 2016; the form instructions say to attach proof of the veteran's or reservist's status.

After your LLC is formed

Annual report ($7)

Since 2025, Pennsylvania requires an annual report from most filing entities. The Department's annual reports page says the report (DSCB:15-146) for LLCs is due between January 1 and September 30, the fee is $7, and the first report is due in the year after the company is formed. File it online at Business Filing Services. The Department also warns that some third parties charge $100 to $200 for a filing you can make yourself for $7 in a few minutes.

Pennsylvania gave businesses a transition period. Beginning with reports due in 2027, an LLC that does not file becomes subject to administrative dissolution six months after the due date, and its name becomes available to other businesses. A dissolved domestic LLC can reinstate; the fee schedule lists $35 for an electronic reinstatement plus $15 for each annual report not previously filed.

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. Be wary of sites that charge for this. See what an EIN is.

Operating agreement

Pennsylvania's Certificate of Organization does not include the LLC's internal rules, and an operating agreement is not filed with the state. Even for a single-member LLC, a written agreement records who owns the company and how decisions are made, which banks and partners often ask to see.

Licenses, taxes and registrations

Depending on what you do and where, you may need state tax registrations, professional licenses or local permits. The business guide points new owners to the Department of Community and Economic Development's PA Business One-Stop Shop, which consolidates registration and permitting information from Commonwealth agencies. The SBA's licenses and permits guide covers federal, state and local requirements in general.

Pennsylvania LLC costs at a glance

Item	State fee	Source
Certificate of Organization (DSCB:15-8821)	$125	PA Department of State fees
Name reservation, 120 days (optional)	$70	PA Department of State fees
Same-day expedited service (optional)	$100	PA Department of State fees
Annual report, due by September 30 each year	$7	PA annual reports
Subsistence certificate (good standing, optional)	$40	PA Department of State fees
EIN from the IRS	Free	IRS

The minimum state cost to form a Pennsylvania LLC is the $125 filing fee, then $7 a year starting the year after formation. A CROP, if you use one, is a private service with its own price.

Do it yourself or use a formation service

You can form a Pennsylvania LLC entirely on your own. The Certificate of Organization is short, Business Filing Services walks you through it, and the only required cost is the state's $125 fee. Doing it yourself makes sense if you have a Pennsylvania street address for the registered office and are comfortable keeping track of the annual report.

A formation service charges its own fee on top of the state fee. In return it files the paperwork, can act as your Commercial Registered Office Provider, and usually sends annual report reminders. That helps if you live outside Pennsylvania or want your home address off the public record. The state fees are the same either way.