How to Start an LLC in West Virginia With One Filing for Three Agencies

By Boost Suite Editorial Team|Updated October 20, 2026

You start an LLC in West Virginia with one form, LLD-1, filed on the One Stop Business Portal: $100 plus $1 online, then $30 for the business registration certificate. Filed online, it reaches three agencies at once.

EIN first or Articles first? The portal and the IRS disagree

The One Stop page: “You must first register with the IRS to obtain a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) before registering your business online through the One Stop Business Portal.”

The IRS, on its EIN page: “If you are creating a corporation or LLC, form your entity through the secretary of state before you apply for an EIN.” The state doesn’t say how an LLC that doesn’t exist yet gets one.

• Paper route: mail LLD-1, then apply for the EIN. This follows the IRS order, but reaches only the Secretary of State; the tax and WorkForce registrations are separate steps.
• Online route: all three agencies at once, with a One Stop account and a debit or credit card. Ask the One Stop Business Center which order it accepts before you start.

Form LLD‑1: how to start an LLC in West Virginia on paper or online

LLD-1, the Articles of Organization (revised September 2026), runs to 19 items. Settle these before you fill it in:

• A name with “limited liability company,” “limited company,” LLC, L.L.C., LC or L.C.
• The principal office, which can be outside West Virginia, and a designated office at a physical address, each with its county.
• An email for correspondence.
• Member-managed or manager-managed, and the names and addresses of all members or all managers.
• For a professional LLC (PLLC), a board verification form and proof of $1 million in insurance.
• An effective date, if it isn’t the filing date (90 days at most).

The member or manager list is the item that gets filings rejected: “required; the application will be rejected if the information is not provided.” It’s also public, since “this form is a public document.” Don’t enter a Social Security number.

Under the state’s name requirements, a suffix, “the,” “a,” “and,” “&,” a hyphen, a plural, an apostrophe or words run together don’t make a name different, so search the distinctive word in a West Virginia business search first.

LLD-1 calls filing without a reservation “at your own risk”; a name reservation (Form NR‑1) holds one for 120 days for $15.

LLD-1 records who the members are, not their shares, votes or exit rules. Those terms belong in a West Virginia LLC operating agreement; LLD-1 has no item for one.

Is a registered agent required by law in West Virginia?

No. LLD-1 asks for an agent for service of process “if any,” and W. Va. Code § 31B-1-108 says an LLC “may” maintain one. The Secretary of State is attorney-in-fact for service of process on every LLC.

Naming an agent adds a person in the state who gets papers directly. A member who lives in West Virginia can do it, as can another resident or a corporation authorized in the state.

West Virginia LLC filing fee, waivers and expedite tiers

$100 for LLD-1 plus the $1 online fee. The West Virginia Secretary of State’s fee page lists only those two; the $30 goes to the State Tax Department.

Expedite fees are the only turnaround figures on the Secretary of State’s pages, and they cover its own filing only:

Two official pages describe expedited service differently: pick it during the online filing, or email a Customer Order Request to eFilings@wvsos.gov after paying.

Does a fee waiver apply?

The $30 certificate is West Virginia’s business license

“Every individual or business entity must obtain a West Virginia business registration certificate,” says the West Virginia State Tax Department: one per location, posted where the business operates.

“Everyone is required to pay the $30 business registration tax for the issuance of their license, unless exempt,” and the certificate waits for that payment. It lasts until the legal name, location or ownership changes; a revoked one costs a $100 penalty plus a new $30.

Occupational and professional licenses and permits come on top, from the agency that regulates the trade; the One Stop page names the Division of Labor among them.

The state’s property tax calendar also sets September 1 as the due date for the property return of commercial businesses.

WorkForce West Virginia gets the registration too, and “the agency will determine if your business meets the liability requirements” for unemployment compensation.

The annual report, January 1 to June 30, and closing the LLC

From the year after formation, the West Virginia annual report costs $25 (plus $1 online) between January 1 and June 30, and $75 after June 30.

Dissolving is filed on the same portal for $25. A trade name (DBA) costs $25 with the Secretary of State. An LLC formed elsewhere registers with a Certificate of Authority for $150, with a good standing certificate from its home state.

Short answers for West Virginia filers