How long does an LLC filing take?
That is two questions, and the states answer them differently. 27 jurisdictions will sell you a guaranteed turnaround at a published price, and those prices hold still for years; only 21 publish anything at all about their ordinary queue.
So the table below ranks what can be bought, cheapest first, and the band under it lists what each state says about its ordinary queue with the date that reading was taken. The second is never ranked against the first, because an observation of a backlog is not a commitment.
oldest expedite record on this page verified 2026-08-06
| State | Cheapest expedite | What that buys | Tiers sold | Fee on a rejection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa queued | $15 | Five Business Days | 2 tiers | refunded if rejected |
| Minnesota queued | $20 | expedited and processed while you wait | 2 tiers | not read |
| Hawaii queued | $25 | turnaround not published | 1 tier | not read |
| New Hampshire queued | $25 | turnaround not published | 1 tier | not read |
| New Jersey queued | $25 | turnaround not published | 4 tiers | not read |
| New York | $25 | Within 24 hours of the request (not counting weekends, holidays, or any other days on which the Department of State is not open for business) | 3 tiers | kept if rejected |
| Oklahoma queued | $25 | filed same day | 1 tier | not read |
| West Virginia queued | $25 | In-Person Same Day | 4 tiers | not read |
| Louisiana | $30 | Documents processed within 24 hours available for pick-up or mail. | 2 tiers | not read |
| Arizona queued | $35 | the estimated processing time is typically 3-5 days | 4 tiers | kept if rejected |
| Idaho queued | $40 | within eight (8) working hours after the entity filing is delivered | 2 tiers | not read |
| Maine queued | $50 | next business day | 2 tiers | not read |
| Michigan queued | $50 | 24 Hours | 4 tiers | not read |
| South Dakota queued | $50 | completion sooner than the normal course of business upon request | 1 tier | not read |
| Texas | $50 | Filings are processed before regular submissions, typically within 2-3 business days. | 3 tiers | not read |
| Virginia queued | $50 | receive a filing response by 4:00PM EST the following business day | 2 tiers | not read |
| Washington queued | $50 | turnaround not published | 4 tiers | not read |
| District of Columbia queued | $50 | 3-day | 2 tiers | not read |
| Illinois queued | $100 | services rendered within the same day, or within 24 hours from the time, the request therefor is submitted | 1 tier | not read |
| North Carolina queued | $100 | for the filing of a document within 24 hours after receipt, excluding weekends and holidays | 2 tiers | kept if rejected |
| Ohio queued | $100 | 2 business days after receipt | 3 tiers | not read |
| Pennsylvania queued | $100 | Same-day service | 3 tiers | not read |
| Wisconsin queued | $100 | by close of business the first business day following the date of receipt | 3 tiers | not read |
| Georgia queued | $120 | Review completed and a response sent to the filer within two business days after receipt. | 3 tiers | kept if rejected |
| Nevada | $125 | Each filing submitted receives same day filing date and may be picked up within 24 hours | 3 tiers | not read |
| Alaska queued | $150 | given priority over those received in the regular course of business | 1 tier | not read |
| California | $350 | Filing response guaranteed within 24 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. | 3 tiers | not read |
27 of 51 jurisdictions · pin @586e079
sorted by the cheapest tier, ascending
The cheapest tier is not the fastest one. Iowa's floor buys five business days and its next tier buys two, so the price column ranks what speed costs rather than how fast a state is.
sells expedited service, and not for this filing
- Colorado priced tiers exist, formation filings are excluded
- Wyoming priced tiers exist, formation filings are excluded
- Connecticut whether it sells expedited service is not read
- Delaware tiers published, coverage of a formation filing not read
- Maryland tiers published, coverage of a formation filing not read
- Montana tiers published, coverage of a formation filing not read
- Oregon whether it sells expedited service is not read
- Utah tiers published, coverage of a formation filing not read
verified: sells no expedited service
Alabama · Arkansas · Florida · Indiana · Kansas · Kentucky · Massachusetts · Mississippi · Missouri · Nebraska · New Mexico · North Dakota · Rhode Island · South Carolina · Tennessee · Vermont
16 jurisdictions, checked against the state's own fee schedule. There is no faster lane to buy here, at any price.
What do the states say about the ordinary queue?
Every line here is dated, and the date is when a person read the page rather than when the state promised anything. 12 jurisdictions publish no standard time at all, which is not the same as filing instantly.
Nothing in this band is sorted or compared. Some states publish a range of business days and some publish the date they are currently working through, and turning the second into the first would be a number no source stated.
- Alabama published in prose, not as a range as observed on 2026-08-06
- Alaska published in prose, not as a range as observed on 2026-08-07
- Arizona published in prose, not as a range as observed on 2026-08-06
- Arkansas online 0 to 2 business days, mail 0 to 2 business days as observed on 2026-08-06
- California working through filings from 2026-08-06 as observed on 2026-08-08
- Colorado online same business day, mail 7 to 10 business days as observed on 2026-08-06
- Georgia online 7 to 10 business days, mail 15 business days as observed on 2026-08-07
- Idaho published in prose, not as a range as observed on 2026-08-06
- Kansas published in prose, not as a range as observed on 2026-08-07
- Kentucky online 0 to 3 business days, mail 0 to 3 business days as observed on 2026-08-06
- Maine mail 40 to 55 business days as observed on 2026-08-06
- Nevada working through filings from 2026-07-30 as observed on 2026-08-07
- New Hampshire published in prose, not as a range as observed on 2026-08-07
- New Mexico working through filings from 2026-07-16 as observed on 2026-08-06
- Ohio published in prose, not as a range as observed on 2026-08-07
- Rhode Island published in prose, not as a range as observed on 2026-08-06
- South Dakota mail 1 to 3 business days as observed on 2026-08-06
- Utah published in prose, not as a range as observed on 2026-08-06
- Washington mail 0 to 15 business days as observed on 2026-08-07
- West Virginia published in prose, not as a range as observed on 2026-08-07
- Wyoming mail 0 to 15 business days as observed on 2026-08-07
verified: publishes no standard processing time
Delaware · Illinois · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Nebraska · New York · North Dakota · South Carolina · Tennessee · Texas · Vermont
A state that publishes no turnaround has not promised a fast one. Where these states sell an expedited tier, it is in the table above.
Expedite fees stay out of the cost ledger, because buying speed is optional. Back to the 51-state index.