How to Form an LLC in Virginia (2026 Guide)

Step 1Pick a name the SCC will accept

Your LLC’s name must include “limited company” or “limited liability company,” or one of the abbreviations LC, L.C., LLC or L.L.C. It cannot contain “corporation,” “incorporated,” “Corp.” or “Inc.,” or anything else suggesting the business is a corporation or limited partnership. Names that suggest banking or trust services are restricted unless the company actually does that business.

The name also has to be distinguishable from names already on the SCC’s records. The SCC compares a “core name,” ignoring the entity designator and small words like articles and prepositions, so “Blue Ridge Bakery LLC” and “The Blue Ridge Bakery, L.L.C.” would likely be treated as the same. Check with the Name Availability search in the SCC’s Clerk’s Information System (CIS), explained on the SCC Business Entity Names page.

Not ready to file? You can reserve a name for 120 days for a $10 fee, and renew it during the 45 days before the reservation expires.

Step 2Name a Virginia registered agent

Every Virginia LLC must continuously keep a registered agent and a registered office in Virginia. The agent receives lawsuits and official notices and forwards them to the company. Under Virginia law, the agent can be:

• a Virginia resident who is a member or manager of the LLC, an officer (a designated employee) of the LLC, or a member of the Virginia State Bar, and whose business office is the same as the registered office; or
• a business entity authorized to transact business in Virginia, such as a commercial registered agent company.

That means you can only be your own agent if you live in Virginia and are a member or manager whose office matches the registered office address.

Step 3File your Articles of Organization

The Articles are short. Virginia law requires three items: the LLC’s name, the initial registered agent and registered office, and the principal office address (which does not have to be in Virginia). You may add other provisions, but most owners keep internal rules in an operating agreement instead.

You can file online through the SCC’s Clerk’s Information System or submit the paper Form LLC-1011. The fee is $100 either way, and the SCC accepts credit cards, business checks and personal checks. Your LLC legally exists once the SCC issues its certificate of organization, unless you ask for a later effective date.

Timing: the SCC says LLC organizational documents that have not been rejected before are usually processed within 3 to 5 business days. For an extra fee, the Clerk’s Office offers Same Day service for organizational documents received by noon and Next Day service for documents received by 4:00 p.m. The SCC also notes that a basic LLC formation can be completed in real time through SCC eFile Express without paying an expedite fee.

If your business provides licensed professional services, use the professional LLC form (LLC-1103) instead; it carries the same fee.

Step 4Pay the annual registration fee every year

Instead of an annual report, Virginia charges each LLC an annual registration fee of $50. The SCC sends an assessment, and payment is due by the last day of the month the LLC was organized or registered. Your first payment is due at the end of the twelfth month after the month you formed, so an LLC organized in March first pays by the end of the following March. You can prepay two or three years at once.

If you pay late, the SCC adds a $25 penalty. If the fee is still unpaid on the last day of the third month after the due date, the LLC’s existence is automatically canceled on that day, even if no notice reached you. A canceled LLC can apply for reinstatement within five years, but it must pay a $100 reinstatement fee plus every back fee and penalty.