[0:00] The short answer Dan: To start an LLC in Pennsylvania, you file a Certificate of Organization, Form DSCB:15-8821, with the Pennsylvania Department of State and pay the $125 filing fee. Maya: And after that? Do I just keep the company going? Dan: Mostly. You'll also file a short annual report every year, and the fee for it is only $7. Maya: This is The Business Formation Podcast. Today, Pennsylvania for 2026, in six steps, with every cost and the three best ways to have it filed for you. Where do we start? [0:37] Step 1: Choose a name Dan: Pennsylvania wants the word company, limited, or limited liability company in your name, or an abbreviation like LLC. And it has to be distinguishable from other names on file. Maya: Are some words off limits? Dan: Yes. Corporation and incorporated aren't allowed in an LLC's name. Maya: How do I check my idea? Dan: Search the free business search at file.dos.pa.gov. If you want to hold the name, a reservation lasts 120 days and costs $70. [1:15] Step 2: Set up a registered office Maya: What about the registered agent? Dan: Pennsylvania uses the term registered office. You list a Pennsylvania street address, or you name a commercial registered office provider, which the state calls a CROP. Maya: Can that be a P.O. box? Dan: No, P.O. boxes aren't accepted. And whatever you list becomes public. Maya: So a lot of owners don't want their home address out there. Dan: Right, and that's the reason many pick a commercial provider. If you change your registered office later, the fee is $5. [1:47] Step 3: File the Certificate of Organization Maya: How do I file the certificate itself? Dan: Submit Form DSCB:15-8821 along with a docketing statement. You can file online through the state's Business Filing Services, or by mail. The fee is $125. Maya: Is it a long form? Dan: No. It lists the name, the registered office or provider, and each organizer. It doesn't list your members or managers. Maya: Do I have to publish anything in a newspaper afterward? Dan: No. No newspaper publication is needed. Maya: I'm Maya, by the way, here with Dan. Dan: Nice to meet everybody, Maya. On timing, the Department reported two to four days of processing through 2024. Same-day service is $100, and a three-hour rush is $300, but neither one is available for a mailed filing. [2:39] Step 4: Write an operating agreement Maya: Does the Department of State collect my operating agreement? Dan: No. You keep it with your own records, and there's no state fee for it. Maya: What if I don't have one? Dan: Then Pennsylvania's default LLC rules decide things like how profits are split. That's why you want yours in writing. Maya: What goes in it? Dan: Who owns what, who makes decisions, and what happens if a member leaves. [3:04] Step 5: Get a free EIN Maya: Then the federal number. Dan: Apply for your EIN free with the IRS at IRS.gov, after the Department has filed your certificate. Maya: How quick is it? Dan: If the online application is approved, the number comes back right away. Have the Social Security number or ITIN of the responsible person ready. Maya: Anything extra on ownership reporting? Dan: No. The beneficial ownership report is off the table for U.S. companies, because FinCEN no longer requires it. [3:34] Step 6: File the annual report by September 30 Maya: Now the ongoing part. What's the annual report? Dan: Every year between January 1 and September 30, you file an annual report with the Department of State. The fee is $7, and the first one is due the year after you form. Maya: Only seven dollars? Dan: Only seven. The cost isn't the danger. Missing it is. Maya: What happens? Dan: Starting with reports due in 2027, an LLC that misses its report can be dissolved six months after the deadline, and its name opens up to other people. Maya: And if that happens to me? Dan: Reinstatement is $35 online, plus $15 for each report you missed. [4:17] What it costs Maya: Give me the do-it-yourself total. Dan: $125 to form, and then $7 a year. The EIN costs nothing. Maya: How do the optional extras stack up? Dan: A name reservation is $70, and a three-hour rush is $300. If you added both, the state would collect $125 plus $70 plus $300, which is $495. Maya: And a normal filing? Dan: $125, with no add-ons. [4:50] Do you need the rush? Maya: Should I pay for the same-day option? Dan: Only if something is waiting on your LLC. A bank account appointment, a contract, a closing date. Otherwise the normal two to four days is fine. Maya: Which would you pick if you did need speed? Dan: The price tells you. Same-day is $100, three-hour is $300. If same-day gets you there, the extra $200 for three hours is hard to justify. Maya: And mail? Dan: Mail is the slow lane. The rush options aren't available on a mailed filing, so if speed matters, file online. Maya: So online is the only way to use them. Dan: Yes. Online filing is through the Department's Business Filing Services, and that's where the faster options live. [5:37] Registered office, a closer look Maya: Back to the registered office. Can I use my own address? Dan: You can list a Pennsylvania street address you control. Just remember that it's public once it's on the certificate. Maya: What does a commercial provider change? Dan: The provider's address is the one on record instead of yours. The state calls it a commercial registered office provider. Maya: And if I switch providers down the road? Dan: That's a change of registered office, and it's $5. [6:02] Mistakes to avoid Maya: What trips people up in Pennsylvania? Dan: The docketing statement is one. It travels with the certificate, so file them together. Maya: And the second? Dan: Assuming the annual report is optional because it's small. It's due from the year after you form, and the deadline is September 30. Maya: Anything else? Dan: Paying for things you don't need. Pennsylvania has no newspaper notice for an LLC, so there's nothing to publish. [6:30] The 3 best ways to file in Pennsylvania Maya: What if I'd rather hand all of this off? Dan: Here are the three best ways to file in Pennsylvania. Number one, our pick, is Mainstay Filing, $199 a year plus the state fee. With the $125 state fee, checkout comes to $324. Maya: What does that cover? Dan: Your certificate filed, your EIN application, and your registered office every year. It renews at the same $199. Maya: Does it do the yearly report? Dan: In Pennsylvania, yes. Your annual report is prepared and filed by September 30 every year, and you pay only the $7 state fee. Maya: And number two? Dan: PA Registered Agent.org. It prepares and files your certificate for $199 plus the state fee, and your first year of registered agent service is free. After that, agent service is $99 a year. Maya: Number three? Dan: Pennsylvania Registered Agent.co. The offer is the same: $199 plus the state fee, a free first year of agent service, then $99 a year. Maya: How do I choose? Dan: If you'll file your own annual report, two and three cost less from year two, at $99 a year for the registered office alone. The $7 state fee is identical. If you'd like the office and the report handled together, that's Mainstay. [7:57] Three years of service fees Maya: Put a number on three years of service fees. Dan: Mainstay is $199 a year, so $597. Numbers two and three are $199 in year one, then $99 in each of the next two years, for $397. Maya: A $200 difference. Dan: Yes. And what that $200 buys, in Pennsylvania, is the annual report being handled for you. [8:26] Recap Maya: One more time, from the top? Dan: Choose a name with LLC in it, set up a registered office or a commercial provider, file the Certificate of Organization for $125, write an operating agreement, get your free EIN, and file your $7 annual report by September 30 every year. Maya: The links to all three services and every official source are in the show notes. Thanks for listening to The Business Formation Podcast, and good luck with your new Pennsylvania LLC.