Skip to content
Founder Mentor Guide

Walkthrough 1 · Delaware

Delaware LLC Formation Walkthrough (2026): 7 Stages and the 3 Best LLC Services

For forming an LLC in Delaware in 2026, our mentors would send you to Mainstay Filing ($199), DE Registered Agent.org ($199) and Delaware Registered Agent.ai ($199), in that order. Think of it as 7 stages with a $110 price tag from the state, plus the Annual LLC Tax every year.

Advice from the Founder Mentor Guide mentors

Walkthrough snapshot

State filing fee
$110
Verify it at delcode.delaware.gov, which we opened in October 2026
Annual LLC Tax
$400 a year
Calendar note, straight from the state: annual alternative-entity tax due on or before June 1
State fees over three years
$910
Formation, reports and any minimum tax
Stages
7
In order

What this walkthrough covers

  • The Delaware formation paper, its price and who gets it
  • Who can be the registered agent
  • What comes back around every year
  • Our recommendations, with reasons

The Delaware call list

Three-year cost and work taken off your desk weigh the most; how we score lists all five.

Our call

1. Mainstay Filing: best for handing off the annual tax

Start with this one$199 yearly plus the $110 state fee

Mainstay Filing takes first place, and the reason is that $199 yearly buys formation, registered agent and annual tax together, so you carry no surprise bills at renewal.

Compared with DE Registered Agent.org, you spend $200 more over three years and file less yourself.

You never fill out the Annual LLC Tax; the state's $400 comes through at exactly what Delaware sets.

What you get

  • The formation filing
  • Registered agent all year long
  • Annual tax filed for you
  • The EIN application comes with it
  • State fee billed at cost

What works

  • The renewal stays at $199
  • The EIN stage is part of the package
  • $199 yearly with everything in it

What to watch

  • After year one it costs $100 more every year
Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Our call

2. DE Registered Agent.org: best for owners who expect to remain in Delaware

Delaware specialist$199 and fees, then $99 yearly

Pick number 2 is DE Registered Agent.org, where you form the Delaware LLC for $199 with year-one agent service included; the agent then renews at $99.

Set time aside for the Annual LLC Tax every year; the price leaves it out.

What you get

  • The Delaware formation, prepared and sent
  • A year of agent service comes with the price

What works

  • A small $99 renewal
  • No agent fee in year one
  • $199 and the state fee

What to watch

  • The Annual LLC Tax stays your responsibility
  • It bills $99 for the EIN stage
Visit DE Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Our call

3. Delaware Registered Agent.ai: best for LLCs that never leave Delaware

Delaware specialist$199 and fees, then $99 yearly

Pick number 3 is Delaware Registered Agent.ai, where you form the Delaware LLC for $199 with year-one agent service included; the agent then renews at $99.

Set time aside for the Annual LLC Tax every year; the price leaves it out.

It charges exactly what DE Registered Agent.org charges.

What you get

  • The Delaware formation, prepared and sent
  • A year of agent service comes with the price

What works

  • A small $99 renewal
  • $199 and the state fee
  • No agent fee in year one

What to watch

  • The Annual LLC Tax stays your responsibility
  • It bills $99 for the EIN stage
Visit Delaware Registered Agent.aiPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

The Delaware picks side by side

#ServiceFirst yearFrom year twoThree-year total
1Mainstay Filing$199$199/yr$597Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2DE Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397Visit DE Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3Delaware Registered Agent.ai$199$99/yr$397Visit Delaware Registered Agent.aiPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Listed prices, viewed November 13, 2026. These figures leave out Delaware's $110 fee.

How a Delaware LLC gets formed

  1. Stage 1

    Confirm nobody else owns the name

    the Delaware Secretary of State keeps the list of names in use, so check there before you spend time on forms; Delaware may turn down a duplicate.

    A spare name saves you a second search.

  2. Stage 2

    Decide who will act as a registered agent

    Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address. The LLC itself, a Delaware resident, or a business entity formed in Delaware or authorized to do business there.

    The address has to be a registered office in Delaware. An entity agent keeps a business office there that is generally open; an individual agent has to be generally present there. A virtual office or mail-forwarding service alone does not qualify.

    Each service we recommend covers the registered agent role.

    Check it yourself: Verify it at delcode.delaware.gov, which we opened in October 2026

  3. Stage 3

    Pick your route

    You could file for $110 and be done, or add $199 and let one of our picks handle it.

  4. Stage 4

    Time to send in the Certificate of Formation of a Limited Liability Company

    The Certificate of Formation of a Limited Liability Company is the key document. It goes to the Delaware Secretary of State, the fee is $110, and the rule sits in 6 Del. C. § 18-201.

    Check it yourself: Verify it at delcode.delaware.gov, which we opened in October 2026

  5. Stage 5

    Pick up the EIN

    State approval first, IRS number second. Mainstay Filing prepares the EIN application inside its package.

  6. Stage 6

    Document how the company runs

    The operating agreement is where the owners of a Delaware LLC write down who owns what and how they decide things. You keep it with the company records; the state never sees it.

  7. Stage 7

    Prepare for next year

    Each year, Delaware looks for the Annual LLC Tax (annual alternative-entity tax due on or before June 1) and charges $400. Miss it and $200 gets added.

    Check it yourself: Verify it at legis.delaware.gov, which we opened in October 2026

What this walkthrough costs

What forReceiverCost
Filing to form the LLCState agency$110
Annual LLC TaxState agency$400 every year
Missing the deadlineState agency$200
Paid helpYour service$199 in the first year
Three years of state feesState agency$910
Whatever goes to Delaware is an official fee you can verify on the pages listed below. The three-year row combines the filing, two later reports and a minimum tax where there is one; service prices stay out of it.

How we scored the Delaware picks

What decided it was work taken off your desk, which carries 32% of the score.

Handling the Annual LLC Tax outweighed the lower price once we applied the weights.

Delaware questions

Which fees does Delaware charge when an LLC is formed?

Budget $110 to file. The services we recommend bill $199 on top.

Which form creates the LLC?

Once the Delaware Secretary of State accepts the Certificate of Formation of a Limited Liability Company, your LLC is real.

Is a registered agent required?

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

What does Delaware require each year?

Circle the Annual LLC Tax on your calendar: $400, every year, annual alternative-entity tax due on or before June 1.

Can I form the LLC without a service?

The state takes filings straight from owners, so no service is needed. Expect $110 plus a registered agent.

Which LLC service should a first-time founder use?

The order runs Mainstay Filing, DE Registered Agent.org and Delaware Registered Agent.ai, with Mainstay Filing first because it wraps the filing, your registered agent and the annual tax into $199 a year, and the renewal does not budge from $199.

Where we got the facts

  1. For Delaware yearly filing: Recurring obligation, official source, open corp.delaware.gov (we last saw it October 2026).
  2. For Delaware yearly filing: Recurring obligation, official source, open corp.delaware.gov (we last saw it October 2026).
  3. For Delaware yearly filing: HB 400, official source, open legis.delaware.gov (we last saw it October 2026).
  4. For Delaware report due date, open delcode.delaware.gov (we last saw it August 2026).
  5. For 6 Del, open delcode.delaware.gov (we last saw it August 2026).
  6. For Delaware registered agent statute, open delcode.delaware.gov (we last saw it October 2026).
  7. November 13, 2026, Delaware service page belonging to Mainstay Filing
  8. November 13, 2026, pricing page belonging to DE Registered Agent.org
  9. November 13, 2026, pricing page belonging to Delaware Registered Agent.ai