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LLC 101 Guide

Unit 1 · Georgia

Starting an LLC in Georgia (2026): 7 Tasks and the 3 Best LLC Services

Our 2026 Georgia picks for setting up an LLC, strongest to weakest, are Georgia Registered Agent.co ($199), GA Registered Agent.org ($199) and Mainstay Filing ($199). Georgia wants $110 when you file and the annual registration every year; the 7 tasks below walk through all of it.

Prepared by the LLC 101 Guide instructors

Key facts for this unit

Formation fee
$110
Official page sos.ga.gov, last read October 2026
Annual registration
$60 a year
Deadline wording: April 1
What the state collects in three years
$230
State charges only
How many tasks
7
In order

You will leave able to

  • What Georgia charges to form an LLC and who takes the filing
  • The registered agent requirement
  • The state filing that recurs
  • Who we would hire to file

Georgia: our recommended services

Five weighted criteria set the order (see how we grade), and three-year cost and assignments completed count most.

Top of the class

1. Georgia Registered Agent.co: best for a cheap Georgia start

Our first pickFormation $199, renewal $99 yearly

In Georgia, Georgia Registered Agent.co leads the class: $199 gets you started and the agent costs nothing in year one; from year two it is $99.

Mainstay Filing costs more over three years, so this service takes first.

You still handle the annual registration every year.

What the price covers

  • The Georgia formation, prepared and sent
  • A year of agent service is part of the price

What works

  • $199 and the state fee
  • Agent covered in year one
  • $99 a year after that

What to weigh

  • No annual registration service on offer
  • It bills $99 for the EIN task
Visit Georgia Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Top of the class

2. GA Registered Agent.org: best for a small agent renewal

Local choiceFormation $199, renewal $99 yearly

Pick number 2 is GA Registered Agent.org, where $199 gets you started and the agent costs nothing in year one; from year two it is $99.

You still handle the annual registration every year.

It charges exactly what Georgia Registered Agent.co charges.

What the price covers

  • The Georgia formation, prepared and sent
  • A year of agent service is part of the price

What works

  • $99 a year after that
  • $199 and the state fee
  • Agent covered in year one

What to weigh

  • No annual registration service on offer
  • It bills $99 for the EIN task
Visit GA Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Top of the class

3. Mainstay Filing: best for one bill for filing and upkeep

All fifty states$199 a year that renews at $199

Mainstay Filing takes third place: $199 a year hands over three assignments at once: the filing, the registered agent and the annual registration.

A $200 difference from Georgia Registered Agent.co over three years decides where it lands.

It also sends in the annual registration, with Georgia's $60 fee billed at cost.

What the price covers

  • Filing made with the state
  • Registered agent for the whole year
  • Annual registration filed for you on time
  • The EIN application is part of the price
  • State fee passed through at cost

What works

  • A single $199 yearly price, annual registration included
  • It files your EIN application for you
  • $199 when you renew

What to weigh

  • A yearly premium of $100 over Georgia Registered Agent.co
Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

3 services, side by side

#ServiceFirst yearFrom year twoThree-year total
1Georgia Registered Agent.co$199$99/yr$397Visit Georgia Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2GA Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397Visit GA Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3Mainstay Filing$199$199/yr$597Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Company prices as listed on November 13, 2026. The $110 state fee is left out of the figures.

How a Georgia LLC gets formed

  1. Task 1

    Lock in a name

    Do the name search at the Georgia Secretary of State first and the rest of the unit goes smoothly in Georgia.

    Bring two backup names to the search.

  2. Task 2

    Pick your registered agent

    Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address. A Georgia resident, a Georgia corporation or LLC, or a corporation or LLC from another state with authority to do business in Georgia. An entity cannot be its own agent.

    The address has to be a Georgia street address that is also the agent's business office, and the agent has to be located there. A P.O. box or mail drop cannot be used.

    This role comes with each recommended service.

    Source: Official page sos.ga.gov, last read October 2026

  3. Task 3

    Self-filing versus a service

    Filing on your own costs just the $110 state fee. A service adds $199 and handles the forms; the ranking shows which to choose.

  4. Task 4

    Work through the Articles of Organization

    The Articles of Organization (Form CD 030) is the paper that forms the LLC. It goes to the Georgia Secretary of State, and the fee is $110 (O.C.G.A. § 14-11-203).

    Source: Official page sos.ga.gov, last read October 2026

  5. Task 5

    Order the LLC's federal tax number

    After Georgia approves the LLC, ask the IRS for an Employer Identification Number; banks and payroll companies want it. If you hire Mainstay Filing, the EIN application is taken care of.

  6. Task 6

    Prepare the operating agreement

    An operating agreement says who owns the Georgia LLC and how decisions get made. It stays in your records and is not sent to the state.

  7. Task 7

    Get ready for year two and beyond

    The filing that repeats is the annual registration ($60, every year, by April 1). Lateness adds $25.

    Source: Official page sos.ga.gov, last read October 2026

What this unit costs

EntryPaid toTotal
Formation feeGoes to the state$110
Annual registrationGoes to the state$60 every year
Penalty for filing lateGoes to the state$25
Optional serviceThe provider$199 in the first year
State fees over years one to threeGoes to the state$230
State fees were read from the official pages named in the sources. Three years means the filing, two years of reports and the minimum tax where there is one.

Why the list runs this way

What decided it was course fee across three years, which carries 34% of the grade.

Count three years and Georgia Registered Agent.co totals $397, $200 below Mainstay Filing.

Georgia questions

What will it cost to register a new LLC with Georgia?

The state wants $110. Put $199 on top if a service does the filing.

Which form creates the LLC?

The Articles of Organization (Form CD 030), which you send to the Georgia Secretary of State.

Is a registered agent required?

Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

What does Georgia require each year?

What repeats is the annual registration ($60, every year, due April 1).

Can I form the LLC without a service?

You may. File alone for $110 and line up a registered agent as well.

Which LLC service should a first-time founder use?

Go with Georgia Registered Agent.co: the formation costs $199 beyond the state fee, and the agent renews at $99. Then GA Registered Agent.org and Mainstay Filing.

Reading list and sources

  1. Hand-in notes for Georgia Secretary of State fee schedule Rev. 8/2025. Each statement rests on sos.ga.gov, last opened October 2026.
  2. Hand-in notes for Georgia report due date. Each statement rests on law.justia.com, last opened August 2026.
  3. Hand-in notes for Georgia Secretary of State Corporations Division fee schedule. Each statement rests on sos.ga.gov, last opened October 2026.
  4. Hand-in notes for Georgia registered agent statute. Each statement rests on sos.ga.gov, last opened October 2026.
  5. pricing page of Georgia Registered Agent.co, taken on November 13, 2026
  6. pricing page of GA Registered Agent.org, taken on November 13, 2026
  7. Georgia service page of Mainstay Filing, taken on November 13, 2026