WEBVTT 00:00:00.237 --> 00:00:04.797 To start an LLC in Pennsylvania, you file a Certificate of Organization, 00:00:04.861 --> 00:00:11.837 Form DSCB:15-8821, with the Pennsylvania Department of State and pay 00:00:11.877 --> 00:00:14.077 the $125 filing fee. 00:00:14.917 --> 00:00:18.157 And after that? Do I just keep the company going? 00:00:18.157 --> 00:00:24.557 Mostly. You'll also file a short annual report every year, and the fee for it is 00:00:24.605 --> 00:00:26.117 only $7. 00:00:26.117 --> 00:00:28.957 This is The Business Formation Podcast. 00:00:29.010 --> 00:00:34.717 Today, Pennsylvania for 2026, in six steps, with every cost and the three best ways 00:00:34.744 --> 00:00:37.197 to have it filed for you. Where do we start? 00:00:37.918 --> 00:00:43.518 Pennsylvania wants the word company, limited, or limited liability company in your 00:00:43.614 --> 00:00:46.958 name, or an abbreviation like LLC. 00:00:47.158 --> 00:00:50.798 And it has to be distinguishable from other names on file. 00:00:50.798 --> 00:00:53.758 Are some words off limits? 00:00:53.758 --> 00:01:00.398 Yes. Corporation and incorporated aren't allowed in an LLC's name. 00:01:00.398 --> 00:01:02.918 How do I check my idea? 00:01:02.918 --> 00:01:08.558 Search the free business search at file.dos.pa.gov. 00:01:08.905 --> 00:01:15.438 If you want to hold the name, a reservation lasts 120 days and costs $70. 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:17.720 What about the registered agent? 00:01:17.720 --> 00:01:20.680 Pennsylvania uses the term registered office. 00:01:20.820 --> 00:01:25.080 You list a Pennsylvania street address, or you name a commercial registered office 00:01:25.133 --> 00:01:28.200 provider, which the state calls a CROP. 00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:30.280 Can that be a P.O. box? 00:01:30.280 --> 00:01:32.360 No, P.O. boxes aren't accepted. 00:01:32.440 --> 00:01:34.519 And whatever you list becomes public. 00:01:35.080 --> 00:01:37.960 So a lot of owners don't want their home address out there. 00:01:37.960 --> 00:01:41.960 Right, and that's the reason many pick a commercial provider. 00:01:42.173 --> 00:01:46.280 If you change your registered office later, the fee is $5. 00:01:47.633 --> 00:01:50.033 How do I file the certificate itself? 00:01:50.033 --> 00:01:56.273 Submit Form DSCB:15-8821 along with a docketing statement. 00:01:56.433 --> 00:02:01.153 You can file online through the state's Business Filing Services, or by mail. 00:02:01.293 --> 00:02:03.953 The fee is $125. 00:02:03.953 --> 00:02:05.872 Is it a long form? 00:02:05.872 --> 00:02:11.393 No. It lists the name, the registered office or provider, and each organizer. 00:02:11.580 --> 00:02:14.033 It doesn't list your members or managers. 00:02:14.033 --> 00:02:16.993 Do I have to publish anything in a newspaper afterward? 00:02:16.993 --> 00:02:20.113 No. No newspaper publication is needed. 00:02:20.113 --> 00:02:22.433 I'm Maya, by the way, here with Dan. 00:02:22.433 --> 00:02:28.513 Nice to meet everybody, Maya. On timing, the Department reported two to four days of 00:02:28.571 --> 00:02:35.153 processing through 2024. Same-day service is $100, and a three-hour rush is 00:02:35.206 --> 00:02:39.313 $300, but neither one is available for a mailed filing. 00:02:40.041 --> 00:02:43.161 Does the Department of State collect my operating agreement? 00:02:43.161 --> 00:02:47.081 No. You keep it with your own records, and there's no state fee for it. 00:02:47.081 --> 00:02:48.281 What if I don't have one? 00:02:48.281 --> 00:02:53.321 Then Pennsylvania's default LLC rules decide things like how profits are split. 00:02:53.481 --> 00:02:56.041 That's why you want yours in writing. 00:02:56.041 --> 00:02:57.561 What goes in it? 00:02:57.561 --> 00:03:01.721 Who owns what, who makes decisions, and what happens if a member leaves. 00:03:04.603 --> 00:03:06.123 Then the federal number. 00:03:06.123 --> 00:03:12.443 Apply for your EIN free with the IRS at IRS.gov, after the Department has filed your 00:03:12.496 --> 00:03:13.323 certificate. 00:03:13.323 --> 00:03:14.603 How quick is it? 00:03:14.603 --> 00:03:18.763 If the online application is approved, the number comes back right away. 00:03:18.891 --> 00:03:23.803 Have the Social Security number or ITIN of the responsible person ready. 00:03:23.803 --> 00:03:26.842 Anything extra on ownership reporting? 00:03:26.842 --> 00:03:30.843 No. The beneficial ownership report is off the table for U.S. 00:03:30.899 --> 00:03:34.123 companies, because FinCEN no longer requires it. 00:03:35.252 --> 00:03:38.132 Now the ongoing part. What's the annual report? 00:03:38.132 --> 00:03:43.092 Every year between January 1 and September 30, you file an annual report with the 00:03:43.128 --> 00:03:48.452 Department of State. The fee is $7, and the first one is due the year after you 00:03:48.548 --> 00:03:49.492 form. 00:03:49.492 --> 00:03:51.252 Only seven dollars? 00:03:51.252 --> 00:03:54.612 Only seven. The cost isn't the danger. 00:03:54.682 --> 00:03:55.812 Missing it is. 00:03:56.244 --> 00:03:57.651 What happens? 00:03:57.651 --> 00:04:03.092 Starting with reports due in 2027, an LLC that misses its report can be dissolved 00:04:03.172 --> 00:04:07.332 six months after the deadline, and its name opens up to other people. 00:04:07.332 --> 00:04:09.492 And if that happens to me? 00:04:09.492 --> 00:04:15.812 Reinstatement is $35 online, plus $15 for each report you missed. 00:04:17.470 --> 00:04:18.830 Give me the do-it-yourself total. 00:04:18.830 --> 00:04:23.910 $125 to form, and then $7 a year. 00:04:24.020 --> 00:04:26.270 The EIN costs nothing. 00:04:26.270 --> 00:04:28.430 How do the optional extras stack up? 00:04:28.430 --> 00:04:34.110 A name reservation is $70, and a three-hour rush is $300. 00:04:34.350 --> 00:04:40.430 If you added both, the state would collect $125 plus $70 plus 00:04:40.470 --> 00:04:44.270 $300, which is $495. 00:04:44.270 --> 00:04:45.710 And a normal filing? 00:04:45.710 --> 00:04:48.430 $125, with no add-ons. 00:04:50.721 --> 00:04:53.121 Should I pay for the same-day option? 00:04:53.121 --> 00:04:55.601 Only if something is waiting on your LLC. 00:04:55.801 --> 00:04:59.521 A bank account appointment, a contract, a closing date. 00:04:59.617 --> 00:05:02.641 Otherwise the normal two to four days is fine. 00:05:02.641 --> 00:05:05.121 Which would you pick if you did need speed? 00:05:05.121 --> 00:05:10.961 The price tells you. Same-day is $100, three-hour is $300. 00:05:11.121 --> 00:05:16.800 If same-day gets you there, the extra $200 for three hours is hard to justify. 00:05:17.441 --> 00:05:18.161 And mail? 00:05:18.161 --> 00:05:24.401 Mail is the slow lane. The rush options aren't available on a mailed filing, so if 00:05:24.468 --> 00:05:26.642 speed matters, file online. 00:05:26.642 --> 00:05:29.362 So online is the only way to use them. 00:05:29.362 --> 00:05:35.042 Yes. Online filing is through the Department's Business Filing Services, and that's 00:05:35.069 --> 00:05:36.722 where the faster options live. 00:05:37.881 --> 00:05:39.641 Back to the registered office. 00:05:39.721 --> 00:05:41.481 Can I use my own address? 00:05:41.481 --> 00:05:44.121 You can list a Pennsylvania street address you control. 00:05:44.233 --> 00:05:47.162 Just remember that it's public once it's on the certificate. 00:05:47.162 --> 00:05:49.163 What does a commercial provider change? 00:05:49.163 --> 00:05:52.363 The provider's address is the one on record instead of yours. 00:05:52.463 --> 00:05:55.683 The state calls it a commercial registered office provider. 00:05:55.683 --> 00:05:57.883 And if I switch providers down the road? 00:05:57.883 --> 00:06:01.323 That's a change of registered office, and it's $5. 00:06:02.786 --> 00:06:04.706 What trips people up in Pennsylvania? 00:06:04.706 --> 00:06:07.346 The docketing statement is one. 00:06:07.479 --> 00:06:10.546 It travels with the certificate, so file them together. 00:06:11.366 --> 00:06:13.106 And the second? 00:06:13.106 --> 00:06:16.386 Assuming the annual report is optional because it's small. 00:06:16.599 --> 00:06:21.026 It's due from the year after you form, and the deadline is September 30. 00:06:21.026 --> 00:06:22.626 Anything else? 00:06:22.626 --> 00:06:24.866 Paying for things you don't need. 00:06:24.971 --> 00:06:30.226 Pennsylvania has no newspaper notice for an LLC, so there's nothing to publish. 00:06:30.973 --> 00:06:33.533 What if I'd rather hand all of this off? 00:06:33.533 --> 00:06:36.493 Here are the three best ways to file in Pennsylvania. 00:06:36.619 --> 00:06:43.533 Number one, our pick, is Mainstay Filing, $199 a year plus the state fee. 00:06:43.645 --> 00:06:49.372 With the $125 state fee, checkout comes to $324. 00:06:49.372 --> 00:06:50.254 What does that cover? 00:06:50.254 --> 00:06:56.253 Your certificate filed, your EIN application, and your registered office every year. 00:06:56.360 --> 00:06:59.213 It renews at the same $199. 00:06:59.213 --> 00:07:00.973 Does it do the yearly report? 00:07:00.973 --> 00:07:07.293 In Pennsylvania, yes. Your annual report is prepared and filed by September 30 every 00:07:07.357 --> 00:07:10.093 year, and you pay only the $7 state fee. 00:07:10.093 --> 00:07:11.933 And number two? 00:07:11.933 --> 00:07:18.733 PA Registered Agent.org. It prepares and files your certificate for $199 00:07:18.797 --> 00:07:23.213 plus the state fee, and your first year of registered agent service is free. 00:07:23.293 --> 00:07:26.333 After that, agent service is $99 a year. 00:07:26.333 --> 00:07:27.773 Number three? 00:07:27.773 --> 00:07:30.893 Pennsylvania Registered Agent.co. 00:07:30.993 --> 00:07:37.693 The offer is the same: $199 plus the state fee, a free first year of agent service, 00:07:37.741 --> 00:07:39.293 then $99 a year. 00:07:39.293 --> 00:07:40.893 How do I choose? 00:07:40.893 --> 00:07:47.533 If you'll file your own annual report, two and three cost less from year two, at $99 00:07:47.613 --> 00:07:49.933 a year for the registered office alone. 00:07:50.013 --> 00:07:52.493 The $7 state fee is identical. 00:07:52.626 --> 00:07:56.813 If you'd like the office and the report handled together, that's Mainstay. 00:07:57.576 --> 00:07:59.896 Put a number on three years of service fees. 00:07:59.896 --> 00:08:05.736 Mainstay is $199 a year, so $597. 00:08:05.866 --> 00:08:12.536 Numbers two and three are $199 in year one, then $99 in each of the next two 00:08:12.616 --> 00:08:15.416 years, for $397. 00:08:15.416 --> 00:08:17.576 A $200 difference. 00:08:17.576 --> 00:08:23.736 Yes. And what that $200 buys, in Pennsylvania, is the annual report being handled 00:08:23.796 --> 00:08:24.296 for you. 00:08:26.413 --> 00:08:27.933 One more time, from the top? 00:08:27.933 --> 00:08:33.053 Choose a name with LLC in it, set up a registered office or a commercial provider, 00:08:33.133 --> 00:08:39.053 file the Certificate of Organization for $125, write an operating agreement, get 00:08:39.101 --> 00:08:45.613 your free EIN, and file your $7 annual report by September 30 every year. 00:08:45.613 --> 00:08:50.013 The links to all three services and every official source are in the show notes. 00:08:50.127 --> 00:08:54.493 Thanks for listening to The Business Formation Podcast, and good luck with your new 00:08:54.542 --> 00:08:56.093 Pennsylvania LLC.