Start an LLC in Pennsylvania: Department of State Steps and Fees

Pennsylvania creates LLCs through a Certificate of Organization filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations. The official Pennsylvania filing fee is $125, the form is DSCB:15-8821, and the governing statute is 15 Pa.C.S. § 8821. This guide walks the whole process in order, names every form, and lists each state fee before you pay it.

The Form Pennsylvania Actually Uses: DSCB:15-8821

Most states label their LLC formation document "Articles of Organization." Pennsylvania went another way. You file a Certificate of Organization (form DSCB:15-8821) together with a short companion filing, the New Entity Docketing Statement (form DSCB:15-134A). The $125 charge comes from the statutory fee schedule at 15 Pa.C.S. § 153.

Another Pennsylvania quirk: there is no Secretary of State office here. Business filings belong to the Department of State, and its Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations processes them. Online submissions run through Business Filing Services, the Department's official portal.

Seven Steps to a Pennsylvania LLC

1. Clear your name first. The name must include "Limited Liability Company" or an accepted abbreviation such as "LLC," and it has to be distinguishable from every entity already on the Department of State's records. Run a search of the state database before you fill out anything.
2. Settle the registered office question. Pennsylvania law never requires a registered agent. Instead, 15 Pa.C.S. § 8825 requires every LLC to continuously maintain a registered office in the Commonwealth, which may but need not be its place of business. You can list your own Pennsylvania street address, or you can name a Commercial Registered Office Provider (CROP) under 15 Pa.C.S. § 109 in lieu of an address. Our registered agent page explains both routes.
3. Complete the Certificate of Organization (DSCB:15-8821). It captures the company name, the registered office address (or the CROP you have contracted with), and the organizer information.
4. Attach the docketing statement (DSCB:15-134A). The certificate travels with this companion document, so prepare the two together.
5. File and pay the official $125 fee. Submit online at file.dos.pa.gov or send the paper forms to the Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations.
6. Write an operating agreement and get an EIN. Pennsylvania never sees your operating agreement, but banks and courts will ask for it. The EIN is free when you apply directly with the IRS.
7. Calendar the annual report. Every Pennsylvania LLC now files form DSCB:15-146 each year during the January 1 to September 30 window, with a $7 fee. Your first report comes due in the calendar year after the year you register.

Registered Office, Not Registered Agent

Because Pennsylvania has no agent mandate, nobody can honestly tell you the Commonwealth forces you to hire a registered agent. What the statute demands is a reliable in-state address where legal papers can reach the company. Listing your own address is perfectly legal; the address must be a street or rural route address rather than a PO box, and it becomes part of the public record. Naming a CROP keeps a home address out of the state database and puts a staffed office in charge of receiving service of process. Our $199 formation package includes a full year of registered office service, and it renews at $99 per year after that.

After Approval: The $7 Annual Report

Act 122 of 2022 scrapped Pennsylvania's old ten-year decennial report and replaced it with a true annual report beginning in 2025. The filing is form DSCB:15-146, made online at Business Filing Services, and the fee for a for-profit LLC is $7. There is no late fee for missing the September 30 deadline, but the Department can begin administrative dissolution roughly six months after it passes, with enforcement starting for reports due in 2027. Full details live on our annual requirements page.

File It Yourself or Hand It Off

Everything above can be done on your own through file.dos.pa.gov, and the only mandatory state charge is the $125 formation fee. If you would rather not touch the paperwork, we prepare the Certificate of Organization and docketing statement, file them with the Department of State, and cover your registered office for the first year.

Form Your Pennsylvania LLC