District of Columbia LLC Cost

The minimum state cost to start an LLC in District of Columbia is $99. Keeping it in good standing then costs $300 every two years in report fees, plus any entity-level tax. Here is the full breakdown.

One-time formation costs

Recurring costs

Total over five years

Assuming you file every required report on time, act as your own registered agent, and exclude entity-level taxes and optional extras, five years of state fees in District of Columbia add up to about $999: $99 to form plus $900 in report fees. First-year state fees alone are about $99.

Optional professional services

• Formation services: many charge $0 to $299 on top of the state fee, and some upsell items you can do free
• Operating agreement: free to write yourself, or a few hundred dollars for an attorney-drafted version
• Registered agent: about $50 to $300 per year if you do not serve yourself
• Accounting and tax preparation: depends on complexity and is often the largest ongoing cost

How District of Columbia compares

District of Columbia's LLC filing fee is $99, $1 below the national median of $100. 14 of the 51 jurisdictions (50 states and DC) charge less to file. Filing fees are only part of the picture, so the table below sets District of Columbia beside five states founders often consider.

Forming outside the state where you live and work rarely saves money. A business operating in District of Columbia that forms elsewhere generally still has to register as a foreign LLC in District of Columbia and pay both states' fees. Our best states for an LLC guide explains when an out-of-state filing makes sense.

District of Columbia specific notes

DC is unusual: LLCs file with the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection rather than a Secretary of State, and the biennial report carries one of the higher fees in the country.