Learning how to start an LLC in Texas comes down to one filing: the Certificate of Formation, sent to the Texas Secretary of State for $300 as of 2026. Texas doesn’t call it Articles of Organization, and it runs no yearly Secretary of State report. What it does have is a Comptroller deadline every May 15 that catches new owners off guard. Here’s the full process.
Where you file in Texas, the $300 fee, and what’s due each May
You form a Texas LLC by filing one document with the Texas Secretary of State. Here’s the short version:
- Where: file the Certificate of Formation (Form 205) online through SOSDirect.
- Cost: $300, plus a 2.7% surcharge on card payments.
- Speed: standard service, or Texas Express expedited service from $50 up to $750 same-day.
- Every year: a Comptroller filing is due May 15, including the Public Information Report, plus franchise tax if your LLC is above the threshold.
- Who it’s for: anyone setting up a single-member or multi-member LLC in Texas.
- Contacts: Texas Secretary of State, Business and Public Filings; SOSDirect at direct.sos.state.tx.us; Corporations Section at (512) 463-5555.
Why people form an LLC in Texas (and the catch)
Texas charges no personal state income tax, and the franchise tax only kicks in above a high threshold, so a lot of small LLCs owe nothing.
Two more pulls: Texas runs no separate Secretary of State annual report, and it allows the series LLC, so you can hold several ventures under one parent. The trade-off is the $300 filing fee, higher than many states, and a Comptroller information report due every May even when you owe no tax.
When clients ask me whether Texas is worth it, I tell them the draw is real. There is no personal state income tax, and most small LLCs sit under the franchise-tax threshold and owe nothing.
How to Form a Texas LLC in 6 Steps
Forming a Texas LLC is one state filing, with five smaller decisions around it. Here’s the full path, office and fee at each stop.
Step 1: Name your Texas LLC and check it on SOSDirect
Texas naming rules live in the Business Organizations Code. Your name must be distinguishable from other entities on the Secretary of State’s records and end with an LLC designator like LLC or Limited Liability Company. Run it through the Texas business-name search before you commit.
Not ready to file yet? You can reserve a name for 120 days with Form 501 for $40. The SOSDirect name search itself costs $1 per search.
Step 2: Appoint a Texas registered agent
Every Texas LLC must keep a registered agent and a registered office in the state. The agent can be a Texas resident, a Texas entity, or a registered foreign entity. The LLC can’t serve as its own agent, and the agent has to consent.
The registered office must be a Texas street address where the agent can be served in person during normal business hours, not solely a mailbox or answering service. You can be your own agent with a qualifying address, or use a Texas registered agent service to keep your address private.
Step 3: File the Certificate of Formation (Form 205) with the Secretary of State
This filing creates the company. You submit the Certificate of Formation on Form 205; the fee is $300, per the Secretary of State’s Form 205 instructions.
File online through SOSDirect, or use SOSUpload, mail, in person, or courier; fax stopped being accepted on September 15, 2025. Card payments add a 2.7% convenience fee. You’ll also name the governing authority and whether the LLC is member-managed or manager-managed.
The $300 you pay the Secretary of State is the same $300 whether you file it yourself on SOSDirect or pay a service $200 to click the same buttons. I have filed in 25-plus states, and Texas is one of the easier ones to do direct.
Step 4: Put your Texas company agreement in writing
Texas calls the operating agreement a company agreement, and you don’t file it with the Secretary of State. It stays internal, but it sets members, managers, voting, profit splits, and transfers.
Single-member owners need one too. It keeps the liability line clean, so don’t skip it just because nobody checks. See how to draft a Texas company agreement for a starting point.
Step 5: Get your EIN from the IRS
Once the LLC legally exists, get an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. It’s free and issued right away online. Most LLCs need one to open a bank account, hire, or file certain taxes, though a single-member LLC with no employees can sometimes use the owner’s SSN. Here’s how to get an EIN step by step.
Step 6: Open a business bank account and handle licenses
With your stamped Certificate of Formation and EIN in hand, open a business bank account to keep personal and company money apart. Texas has no single statewide business license, but your city, county, or industry may require permits, so check locally first.
Use Northwest if you want the Texas LLC filing bundled with registered agent coverage.
Form 205 is not hard to file yourself. Northwest makes more sense when you want the filing handled together with a Texas registered agent, privacy support, and a business address instead of listing your own street address.
What you need before you file your Texas Certificate of Formation
Line up four things before you open SOSDirect to register an LLC in Texas without a rejected filing.
- A name that clears the SOSDirect search and ends in a valid LLC designator.
- A Texas registered agent who has consented, plus a Texas street-address registered office.
- Your governing-authority details: member-managed or manager-managed, with names and addresses.
- A payment method for the $300 fee, and don’t forget the 2.7% surcharge on cards.
How much does a Texas LLC cost?
The state filing fee answers most of how much does an LLC cost in Texas. It’s $300 to file the Certificate of Formation as of 2026, plus the 2.7% surcharge if you pay by card. Name reservation, if you use it, adds $40.
You can file directly with the state for that $300; a paid service just adds a markup. For anything that can push the total higher, see our full Texas LLC cost breakdown, and our review of Texas formation services if you’re comparing providers.
Texas LLC ongoing obligations: the franchise tax and Public Information Report
Here’s where Texas works differently. With no yearly Secretary of State report, the annual cost of a Texas LLC lives at the Comptroller.
Every Texas LLC has an annual filing with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, due May 15. The no-tax-due threshold is $2,650,000 for the 2026 report; above it you file a franchise tax report, at or below it you don’t.
Either way, your LLC still files the Public Information Report (Form 05-102) through the Comptroller’s Webfile system. Texas retired the separate No Tax Due Report in 2024, so even an LLC that owes nothing has this yearly filing; here’s how Texas annual reporting works.
Worth flagging: Texas is a community-property state, so a married couple who co-own their LLC may have federal tax options. The qualified-joint-venture rule usually doesn’t apply to a state-law LLC, so confirm treatment with a tax pro.
Texas owners hear no income tax and assume nothing is due all year. Then the Comptroller’s May 15 deadline lands, with the Public Information Report due at a minimum, even when no franchise tax is owed.
Most of my Texas clients owe zero, but I have watched good standing slip because someone skipped the report, not the tax. The day you form, I would drop May 15 into your calendar as a yearly repeat, tax due or not.
Mistakes that trip up new Texas LLC owners
In Aaron Kra’s experience filing in 25-plus states, the same Texas slip-ups repeat. Most cost nothing to avoid once you know they’re coming.
- Calling it Articles of Organization: Texas uses the Certificate of Formation (Form 205), and searching for the wrong document just wastes your time.
- Using a PO box as the registered office: it has to be a Texas street address for in-person service, not a mailbox or answering service.
- Confusing the filing fee with the franchise tax: the $300 is one-time at formation, while the annual Comptroller filing comes back every May.
- Missing the May 15 deadline: good standing can lapse over a skipped report, not just a tax you didn’t pay.
- Expecting anonymity: the governing authority’s names and addresses appear on the public Certificate of Formation.
Common questions about forming a Texas LLC
These are the questions Texas founders ask most, answered with the real 2026 figures. Each points to the official source where the number matters.
How much does it cost to start an LLC in Texas?
The state charges $300 to file the Certificate of Formation, and that’s the only fee required to create the LLC. Card payments add a 2.7% surcharge, and reserving a name first is an optional $40.
What’s the cheapest way to start an LLC in Texas?
The cheapest way to start an LLC in Texas is to file the Certificate of Formation yourself on SOSDirect and pay the state’s $300 directly. No service makes that fee smaller; they charge the same $300 and add a markup. The only paid help worth it is a registered agent, and only if you lack a Texas street address.
What’s the annual cost of a Texas LLC?
There’s no annual report fee at the Secretary of State, which trips up people who expect one. An LLC at or below the 2026 no-tax-due threshold of $2,650,000 owes no franchise tax and files no franchise tax report. It still files the Public Information Report by May 15, so plan for the deadline, not a bill.
How long does it take to get an LLC in Texas?
Texas doesn’t publish a fixed standard turnaround, so check the Secretary of State’s current processing times. If you need certainty, Texas Express expedited runs $50 for standard expedited, $500 next-day, or $750 same-day, each on top of the $300. Next-day and same-day are handled in person. For the current timeline, see how long a Texas LLC takes.
Can I be my own registered agent in Texas?
Yes, and plenty of owners do. You qualify if you’re a Texas resident with a street address where you can be served during business hours. The rule people miss: the LLC can’t be its own agent, and a PO box won’t count.
Do I need a company agreement for a Texas LLC?
Texas doesn’t require you to file one, and the Secretary of State won’t even accept it. Every Texas LLC should still keep a written company agreement covering ownership, management, voting, and profit splits. It’s what banks, partners, and a court will look to if ownership is ever disputed.
Can someone who lives outside Texas form a Texas LLC?
Yes. Texas puts no residency requirement on the organizer, so you can form here from another state or country. You’ll still need a Texas registered agent with a physical Texas address. Forming here also doesn’t excuse you from registering in the state where you actually do business.
Does Texas allow a series LLC?
Yes. Texas recognizes both protected series and registered series under one parent, each able to hold assets and shield liability on its own. A registered series files its own Certificate of Registered Series for $300. The required series language has to sit in both your certificate and company agreement to hold up.
- IRS, business entities and married-couple businesses
- Texas Secretary of State, Form 205 Certificate of Formation instructions
- Texas Secretary of State, SOSDirect online business filing
- Texas Secretary of State, Texas Express expedited business filings
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Texas franchise tax
- Texas Comptroller, Public Information and Ownership Information Reports
- Texas Comptroller, 2026 Franchise Tax Report forms and no-tax-due threshold
Looking for an overview? See Texas LLC Services
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