LLC STATES

A state filing ledger · 50 states + DC

record 49 of 51 · /llc/west-virginia/

West Virginia LLC

oldest record on this page verified 2026-07-17

sources: linked on each field, listed in full below

West Virginia sells speed down to the hour

West Virginia prices its speed ladder from a modest in-person same day fee up to premium lanes measured in hours, above a stated standard range of business days. Its annual report is owed inside the first half of the calendar year. No recurring entity tax appears, a verified absence.

the rest of this note

The trade name registers once and does not expire, is screened on the way in, and confers notice rather than exclusive rights; a business wanting exclusivity registers a trademark instead. The LLC cannot hold its own agent seat here, a researched refusal, while a resident individual can. A name reservation is renewable exactly once.

every claim above is a line below

Annual report

$25

Due Jan 1 - June 30, printed as the state writes it.

last verified 2026-07-17

sos.wv.gov

Franchise tax

none

No recurring state-level tax on an LLC here. The absence is verified against the state, not missing data.

verified absent 2026-08-07

tax.wv.gov

Anonymous LLC

no

Member or organizer names reach the public formation record here.

dataset revision 2026-08-06

no source in the snapshot

Processing time

published, not as a range

The state publishes a processing time in prose rather than as a range, so this sheet links it instead of restating it. Expedited formation starts at $25.

as observed on 2026-08-07

sos.wv.gov

Name designators

Must contain the words "limited liability company" or "limited company," or the abbreviations "L.L.C.," "LLC," "L.C.," or "LC." The word "Limited" may be abbreviated "Ltd." and "Company" may be abbreviated "Co."

Statute: W. Va. Code § 31B-1-105(a).

last verified 2026-08-05

code.wvlegislature.gov

Name reservation

$15

Optional filing that holds the name for 120 days, renewable once for one additional 120 days before you form.

last verified 2026-08-05

sos.wv.gov

DBA

trade name

One statewide register; the filing costs $25.

last verified 2026-08-05

sos.wv.gov

field 05 carries the date it was observed, not a promise: of the two halves beside it, only the expedited tiers are prices the state commits to

What are the West Virginia trade name rules?

West Virginia calls it the trade name, and keeps one statewide register for it. The state filing costs $25.

Where an LLC files

sos.wv.gov

How long it lasts

Perpetual (no expiration)

A trade name registration stays in effect until the owner files a certificate of withdrawal on discontinuing use of the name (W. Va. Code § 47-8-4(c)); there is no periodic renewal.

Newspaper publication

not required

What the filing protects

no exclusive right

A trade name registration is notice rather than a trademark and confers no exclusive right; a business that wants exclusive rights registers a trademark or service mark. It is screened on the way in, though: W. Va. Code § 47-8-4(a)(2) requires the trade name to be distinguishable from the name of every other registered entity and from every reserved or registered name, and the Secretary of State applies a second filter on top of that, refusing a name that shows a "likelihood of confusion" with a name already on record.

Where to search existing names

apps.wv.gov

Registered trade names appear in the Secretary of State's Business Organizations Search. The office also offers an informal availability check by telephone through the Business Division before filing.

one record, verified 2026-08-05 · W. Va. Code § 47-8-4

code.wvlegislature.gov

What does it take to register an out-of-state LLC in West Virginia?

Registering an LLC formed elsewhere is its own filing in West Virginia. The registration costs $150. That price belongs to a separate filing event, so it enters no cost total on this site.

Registration fee

$150

Flat $150.00 registration fee for a foreign Limited Liability Company (LLC/PLLC), stated on the registration fee table and on Form LLF-1; veteran-owned entities are exempt.

sos.wv.gov

The official form

Application for Certificate of Authority of Limited Liability Company (Form LLF-1)

sos.wv.gov

Filed with

West Virginia Secretary of State, Business & Licensing Division

sos.wv.gov

After registration

File the annual report between January 1 and June 30 ($25.00) and maintain a registered agent in West Virginia.

sos.wv.gov

one record, verified 2026-08-08

The same fee for every other jurisdiction sits on one page: foreign qualification fees for every jurisdiction.

Who may serve as the registered agent in West Virginia?

Who may serve as an LLC's registered agent is its own rule in West Virginia. West Virginia lets a natural person serve, so no commercial agent is required. The LLC itself may not hold the seat, which is a separate question.

An individual as the agent

Allowed

in the state's words An agent shall be an individual resident of this state

code.wvlegislature.gov

The LLC as its own agent

Not allowed

code.wvlegislature.gov

A mailbox service as the address

not read at this pin

Address rule

An office, which need not be a place of its business in this state; and An agent and address of the agent for service of process on the company.

code.wvlegislature.gov

one record, verified 2026-08-09

The same four answers for every other jurisdiction sit on one page: registered agent rules for every jurisdiction.

Where do these figures come from?

Every figure on this sheet renders from the pinned dataset snapshot, and each card links the page its own figure came from. This list collects those pages in one place, with the duplicates removed and the agency named.

The rule behind every figure here, and what a card does when one cannot be verified, sits on how a figure gets verified.

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