Vermont LLC annual report filing keeps your company in good standing with the Vermont Secretary of State, and the deadline trips up more owners than the fee. As of 2026, here’s what owners need to know, including anyone new to forming an LLC in Vermont.
Does Vermont Require an Annual Report for LLCs?
Yes, every Vermont LLC must file an annual report with the Vermont Secretary of State once a year, a requirement set out in 11 V.S.A. § 4033. The rule reaches both domestic LLCs formed in Vermont and foreign LLCs authorized to transact business in the state. The statutory heading reads “Annual report for Secretary of State,” and filings run through the agency’s Business Services Division.
It’s a yearly filing required by the Vermont Limited Liability Company Act, located in Title 11, Chapter 25 of the Vermont Statutes. Filing on time also keeps the LLC eligible for a certificate of good standing under 11 V.S.A. § 4028, the document banks and lenders routinely ask to see.
If you’re still setting things up, Boost Suite’s guide to Vermont LLC services covers the broader compliance calendar a Vermont company manages.
I see this confusion all the time with new Vermont LLC owners. Many assume the annual report is due on the company’s formation anniversary because that is how it works in plenty of other states. Vermont is different. Under 11 V.S.A. § 4033(c), the report is due within 3 months after the fiscal year ends.
Owners often track the anniversary of formation and expect that to control the filing date.
Vermont ties the annual report to the LLC’s fiscal year, not the formation date. For a calendar-year LLC, that means the filing deadline is March 31, not March 15.
I tell clients to set their reminder for early March. That gives enough time to review the filing and avoids a last-minute scramble.
Vermont LLC Annual Report Deadline: Three Months After Fiscal Year End
Vermont’s annual report deadline isn’t tied to your formation date, which is the single most common misunderstanding about this filing. The report is due within three months after the expiration of the LLC’s fiscal year. Most Vermont LLCs run on a calendar year, so their filing window opens January 1 and closes March 31.
That window matters for newly formed LLCs too. An LLC organized partway through 2026 with a December 31 fiscal year end files its first annual report by March 31, 2027, not within its opening months. If you’re still mapping out the setup, Boost Suite explains where that initial report lands in how long it takes to get a Vermont LLC.
How to Find Your Vermont LLC’s Fiscal Year and Business ID
Before filing, two details are worth confirming: your fiscal year end month and your Vermont Business ID. Both sit in the state’s public records and take a minute to pull up.
The state’s entity database makes this quick. Boost Suite’s walkthrough of the Vermont LLC business search shows how to read the results and locate the Business ID the filing portal will ask for.
Vermont LLC Annual Report Filing Fee: $45 Domestic, $170 Foreign (2026)
The Vermont LLC annual report fee depends only on whether the company is domestic or foreign. As of 2026, a domestic LLC pays $45 and a foreign LLC pays $170, both set by 11 V.S.A. § 4012. The fee is flat; it doesn’t scale with revenue or member count.
| Filing | Fee (2026) |
|---|---|
| Domestic LLC annual report | $45 |
| Foreign LLC annual report | $170 |
| LLC reinstatement | $35 |
Worth flagging: several older guides and a few cached snippets still list $35 for domestic and $140 for foreign LLCs. They’re outdated and predate the current fee schedule. For the full cost picture across an LLC’s life, Boost Suite breaks down the cost to start a Vermont LLC separately.
How to File the Vermont LLC Annual Report Step-by-Step
Most Vermont LLCs finish the annual report in under ten minutes. The state routes nearly all business filings through one portal, and the process reads the same whether you file in January or wait for late March.
Filing Online via the Vermont Online Business Filing System
The Vermont Online Business Filing System, also called the Online Business Service Center, handles annual reports start to finish. Here is the path most filers follow:
- Go to the Vermont Online Business Filing System and log in, or register for an account if this is your first filing.
- Open the Business or Filings area and select File Your Annual/Biennial Report.
- Search for your LLC by name or Business ID and select it from the results.
- Review the prefilled details, including the designated office address and the agent for service of process, and correct anything out of date.
- Pay the $45 domestic or $170 foreign fee by card, then save the confirmation and payment receipt.
Paper Filing and Payment by Check
Vermont steers nearly all filings through the online portal, so a mailed annual report is the slower exception rather than the norm. A paper filing goes to the Vermont Secretary of State, Business Services Division, 128 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05633, and takes longer to process than an online submission.
Here is a filing trap I see every season. The Vermont annual report asks for the LLC’s agent for service of process, so many owners assume they can simply edit that field and treat it as a registered agent change. I would not handle it that way.
Vermont treats a formal agent change as its own filing. If the agent has changed, the proper filing is a statement of change under 11 V.S.A. § 4008 and § 1655.
If you have switched agents, file the formal statement of change before you deal with the annual report.
After the agent record is updated properly, complete the annual report using the corrected information.
This order helps keep the state record consistent and lowers the chance of a kicked-back filing.
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What Information the Vermont Annual Report Requires Under § 4033(a)
The statutory list of required information is shorter than many online guides suggest. Under 11 V.S.A. § 4033(a), the annual report must set forth four items, current as of the date it is signed:
- The LLC’s name
- The state or country under whose law the LLC is organized
- The address of the designated office
- The name, email, and address of the agent for service of process
Those four fields connect to 11 V.S.A. § 4007, the section setting the designated office and agent rules every Vermont LLC keeps current.
The current version of § 4033 also calls for the agent’s email address, not just a mailing address. The same section lets the Secretary of State update an LLC’s purpose, email, address, or principal information when the report specifies a change.
Choosing the right agent for service of process before you file saves edits later. If you haven’t picked one, Boost Suite’s review of the best registered agent options in Vermont is a good place to start.
The online portal may ask for more than those four items, so it’s worth having a mailing address, fiscal year end month, and member or manager details on hand. Keeping those records consistent with your Vermont LLC operating agreement prevents portal confusion.
Late Filing and Involuntary Termination Under 11 V.S.A. § 4034
Vermont doesn’t charge a sliding-scale late fee for a missed annual report. The consequence is heavier than a penalty: failure to file leads to involuntary termination under 11 V.S.A. § 4034. A domestic LLC’s articles of organization terminate, and for a foreign LLC the certificate of authority terminates with notice from the Secretary of State.
Termination isn’t just a paperwork label. A terminated LLC can still face legal proceedings, but those proceedings may be dismissed unless the company reinstates.
The bigger catch sits in § 4034(c). If the report stays unfiled for more than five years after its due date, the LLC loses the right to keep its name, and another business can claim it.
How to Reinstate a Terminated Vermont LLC
Reinstating a terminated Vermont LLC isn’t complicated, at least on paper. The company files each missed annual report along with the annual report fee and a $35 reinstatement fee for every year it failed to file. Once the Secretary of State processes that, the articles of organization or certificate of authority are reinstated.
Reinstatement relates back under 11 V.S.A. § 4034(b), so the LLC is treated as if the termination never happened. The reinstatement runs through the Vermont Online Business Filing System, the same portal you’d use for the annual report.
Reinstatement is where a small missed filing becomes an expensive problem. I have seen a $45 annual report oversight turn into a much larger cleanup because the costs keep stacking while the LLC remains terminated.
- Each missed year adds another annual report fee.
- Each missed year also adds the $35 reinstatement fee.
- For a domestic Vermont LLC, 2 missed years can run $160 just to get current again.
Vermont LLC Annual Report: Deadline, Fee, and Reinstatement Questions
A handful of questions come up again and again once Vermont LLC owners sit down with the annual report. Here are clear answers to the ones that matter most for staying in good standing.
Is the Vermont LLC annual report due on the anniversary date?
No. Vermont ties the deadline to your fiscal year, not your formation date. The report is due within three months after the fiscal year ends, which means March 31 for calendar-year LLCs.
Does a single-member Vermont LLC have to file an annual report?
Yes. A single-member LLC files the same annual report and pays the same $45 domestic fee as a multi-member LLC.
Does a Vermont LLC with no income still need to file an annual report?
Yes. The annual report is a Secretary of State filing, not a tax return, so income doesn’t factor in. A no-activity LLC still files to stay in good standing and avoid involuntary termination.
What happens if I miss the Vermont LLC annual report deadline?
The LLC moves toward involuntary termination under 11 V.S.A. § 4034. There’s no daily late fee, but reinstating later costs the missed annual report fees plus a $35 reinstatement fee for each year skipped.
Can I change my registered agent on the Vermont annual report?
Not formally. The report lists your agent for service of process, but a true agent change is a separate statement of change under 11 V.S.A. § 4008, so file that one first.
Is Vermont’s $250 minimum entity tax the same as the annual report fee?
No. The $250 minimum entity tax is a Vermont Department of Taxes obligation tied to business income tax filings such as Form BI-471 or BI-476. The annual report fee is a separate Secretary of State charge. Two agencies, two filings.
Can someone else file the Vermont annual report for me?
Yes. A member, manager, attorney, or registered agent service can file on the LLC’s behalf. If you’d rather hand it off, Boost Suite’s comparison of Vermont LLC services covers providers that handle annual report filing.
Looking for an overview? See Vermont LLC Services
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Harbor Compliance helps Vermont LLC owners track annual report requirements, manage filing deadlines, and keep compliance tasks organized so their business stays in good standing.
