Start your Texas LLC
Our service fee and the Texas filing & processing are itemized on the checkout review screen before you pay.
Start your Texas LLCWhat's included
- Name availability check before we file
- Certificate of Formation prepared and filed with Texas
- Submitted within 3 business days, or the same day as an option
- Approved documents emailed, plus a private order page
- Texas's after-formation deadlines in writing
- A real person by email
What registering an LLC in Texas means
Texas keeps the register of companies formed under its law. Your LLC is on it the moment the Texas Secretary of State files a Certificate of Formation (Form 205). From that day the company can open a bank account, sign contracts and be sued in its own name rather than yours. The registration does not include a federal tax number, a Texas tax account or a local business license; those come after and are separate registrations with other offices.
People use "register", "form" and "file" for the same act. In Texas the act is one document, a Certificate of Formation (Form 205), and one fee, $300. The step-by-step for everything around it, from the operating agreement to the bank account, is in how to start an LLC in Texas; this page is about the registration itself.
- Texas
- Certificate of Formation (Form 205)
- Texas
- The Texas Secretary of State, online through SOSPortal or by mail
- Texas
- $300
- Texas
- Required; Texas street address
- Texas
- Not published by the state
- Texas
- Expedite $50; next day $500; same day $750.
- Texas
- free Public Information Report required yearly, due may 15; required even when no tax is owed
What it costs to register an LLC in Texas
The filing fee is set by Texas and is the same whether you file it yourself or a service files it for you. Texas charges $300 for the Certificate of Formation.
- Amount
- $300
- Notes
- Paid once, to the state
- Amount
- Expedite $50; next day $500; same day $750.
- Notes
- Optional, set by the state
- Amount
- free Public Information Report required yearly
- Notes
- Due may 15; required even when no tax is owed
- Amount
- No flat late fee published; a missed report still risks loss of good standing.
State fees verified October 2026 and set by the state, not by us. Online filing prices. Yearly costs, the five-year total and how Texas compares are in Texas LLC cost.
Step 1: Confirm Texas is the state to register in
Register where the company will actually operate. An LLC that does business in Texas but registers elsewhere has to register in Texas anyway, as a foreign LLC, and pay two states.
Wyoming, Delaware and Nevada come up because of privacy, case law or taxes. They make sense for a holding company or a business with no fixed location. A company that operates in Texas and registers somewhere else ends up registered in both. The comparison is in cheapest states to form an LLC.
Step 2: Clear the name with Texas
Texas requires a name distinguishable from every company on its records, with an LLC designator. Search the state's business records at sos.state.tx.us before you file.
Rules on designators, restricted words and the distinguishability test are in LLC name rules. A rejection for a name conflict costs days and, in some states, a second fee.
Step 3: Name a Texas registered agent
Texas requires a registered agent with a Texas street address, available in business hours. On the filing: The agent does not sign, but the organizer must affirm on the certificate that the agent consented. Consent itself must exist (BOC 5.2011), so the customer must attest to it for a self-appointed agent.
Who may serve, whether the agent signs, and what becomes public: Texas registered agent requirements.
Step 4: Prepare a Certificate of Formation (Form 205)
The Texas form asks for the company name with its LLC designator, the registered agent and its Texas street address, the principal or mailing address, and the organizer who signs. Organizer: name and address plus signature certifying under penalty of perjury. Everything on it becomes a public record; what Texas shows is listed below.
The document itself, and what every state's version asks for, is explained in articles of organization.
Step 5: File a Certificate of Formation (Form 205) and pay the $300 fee
Filed with the Texas Secretary of State, online through SOSPortal or by mail. The state fee is $300, paid once. Texas does not publish a standard processing time for LLC filings that we could verify; the filing portal shows the current turnaround when you file.
Faster review: Expedite $50; next day $500; same day $750.
Texas takes the filing from the public at sos.state.tx.us. Ready to file? The Certificate of Formation prepared and filed for you, with the state fee on its own line: form your Texas LLC at america-llc-filing.com, or start on Standard Filings.
Step 6: Complete the Texas registrations that follow
3 registrations follow in Texas: (1) Franchise tax account with the Comptroller; (2) Sales tax permit; (3) Assumed name certificate. Then the federal tax number and the operating agreement.
The order and the deadlines are in what to do after forming an LLC. The recurring state report is the one owners forget.
What becomes public when you register in Texas
Everything on a Certificate of Formation (Form 205) is a public record once Texas files it; anyone can pull it from the state's business search. On the Texas filing: Name and address of every initial governing person: all managers, or all members if no managers. Organizer name and address. Registered agent name/address.
Organizer: name and address plus signature certifying under penalty of perjury. The operating agreement, the ownership split and the tax election are not filed with Texas and stay private. Do you need an operating agreement?
How long Texas takes to register an LLC
Texas does not publish a standard processing time for LLC filings that we could verify; the filing portal shows the current turnaround when you file. Paid faster review is offered: Expedite $50; next day $500; same day $750. The figures are the state's own and move with its workload; a rejection for a name conflict or a missing agent consent restarts the clock. Every state's published time is in how long it takes to form an LLC.
Register your Texas LLC, filed for you
Our service fee and the Texas filing & processing are itemized on the checkout review screen before you pay. Name checked, Certificate of Formation prepared and submitted, approved copy emailed.
After registration in Texas
The state registration is the first of several. These are the ones Texas owners run into, in the order they usually come up.
- Franchise tax account with the Comptroller. Every Texas LLC is in the franchise tax system from the day it is formed. Most small companies owe no tax but still file a Public Information Report each May 15, starting the year after registration.
- Sales tax permit. Required before selling taxable goods or services in Texas. Free from the Comptroller.
- Assumed name certificate. Only if the company will trade under a name other than the one registered. Filed with the Secretary of State for an LLC.
- Federal tax number (EIN). Issued by the IRS after the state registration, at no charge; the bank asks for it. How to get one: Texas EIN number.
- Operating agreement. Not filed with Texas, but the document that says who owns the company and who can sign for it.
The recurring report is where most companies lose good standing. When it is due, the Texas LLC annual report page has the due date, fee, late penalty and portal.
Before you file in Texas
From Texas's published forms and filing instructions:
- Texas does not check your name until it reviews the filing, so a name conflict shows up as a rejection days later. Search the SOSPortal records before you register.
- Addresses for every governing person (each member if member-managed, the manager if manager-managed).
Sources
The Texas facts on this page come from the state's own forms, fee schedules and statutes, read for the October 2026 fee audit. Fees change; the state's page is the final word.
Standard Filings is a filing service, not a law firm. This page is general information from Texas's published filing rules and fee schedules, not legal or tax advice.
Texas LLC registration FAQ
How much does it cost to register an LLC in Texas?+
Texas charges $300, paid once. If you have us file it, our service fee and the Texas filing & processing are itemized on the checkout review screen before you pay. Full breakdown: Texas LLC cost.
Where do I register an LLC in Texas?+
With the Texas Secretary of State, online through SOSPortal or by mail. That is the only office that creates the company. Tax accounts, the registrations listed above and local licenses are registered separately afterwards.
How long does Texas take to register an LLC?+
Texas does not publish a standard processing time for LLC filings that we could verify; the filing portal shows the current turnaround when you file. Paid faster review is offered: Expedite $50; next day $500; same day $750. We submit standard orders within three business days, or the same day with same-day submission.
Do I need a Texas registered agent?+
Yes. Texas requires a registered agent with a Texas street address, available in business hours. On the filing: The agent does not sign, but the organizer must affirm on the certificate that the agent consented. Consent itself must exist (BOC 5.2011), so the customer must attest to it for a self-appointed agent. Who may serve and what becomes public is in Texas registered agent requirements.
Can I register a Texas LLC from out of state?+
Yes. Texas takes filings from anyone, but the registered agent must have a Texas street address, so an out-of-state owner names a Texas resident or a registered agent company. If the company does business where you live, it registers there too, as a foreign LLC.
What do I file in Texas every year?+
Texas's recurring requirement: free Public Information Report required yearly, due May 15; required even when no tax is owed. Late: No flat late fee published; a missed report still risks loss of good standing. Also recurring: Comptroller sales tax permit if selling taxable goods/services.
More on Texas
Register in a nearby state