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Founder Mentor Guide

Mentor walkthrough 1 · Wisconsin

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

Ranked for 2026, the services worth your call for forming an LLC in Wisconsin are Mainstay Filing ($199), WI Registered Agent.org ($199) and Wisconsin Registered Agent.co ($199), in that order. Think of it as 7 stages with a $130 price tag from the state, plus the annual report every year.

Advice from the Founder Mentor Guide mentors

Read this first

State filing fee
$130
dfi.wi.gov, last viewed October 2026
Annual report
$25 a year
Calendar note, straight from the state: end of the calendar quarter containing the LLC's anniversary date
What the state collects in three years
$180
No service fee included
Stages in this walkthrough
7
In order

By the end you will know

  • The Wisconsin fee for a new LLC and the office that receives the filing
  • Who can be the registered agent
  • What happens once the LLC exists
  • How the picks compare

Our shortlist for Wisconsin

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 report

Best overallYear one $199; renewal $199; state fee separate

If you only phone one company, make it Mainstay Filing, because it wraps the filing, your registered agent and the annual report into $199 a year, and the renewal does not budge from $199.

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

It handles the annual report too, adding Wisconsin's $25 at cost.

What you get

  • The filing is done for you
  • Registered agent all year long
  • Annual report filed for you
  • The EIN application comes with it
  • The official fee, nothing added

What works

  • The renewal stays at $199
  • Your EIN application gets filed too
  • $199 per year for the whole package

What to watch

  • $100 a year more than WI Registered Agent.org at renewal
Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Our call

2. WI Registered Agent.org: best for a no-frills formation

One-state plan$199 to start, $99 a year after year one

Our second call, WI Registered Agent.org: $199 to get going, agent service for year one included, then $99 each year.

Expect to prepare the annual report yourself every year.

What you get

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

What works

  • $199 above the state fee
  • Then $99 per year
  • A free first agent year

What to watch

  • The annual report stays your responsibility
  • The EIN application is $99 extra
Visit WI Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Our call

3. Wisconsin Registered Agent.co: best for a local filer

One-state plan$199 to start, $99 a year after year one

Our third call, Wisconsin Registered Agent.co: $199 to get going, agent service for year one included, then $99 each year.

Expect to prepare the annual report yourself every year.

Its prices are identical to WI Registered Agent.org's, so either is fine on cost.

What you get

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

What works

  • $199 above the state fee
  • A free first agent year
  • Then $99 per year

What to watch

  • The annual report stays your responsibility
  • The EIN application is $99 extra
Visit Wisconsin Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Scores and prices together

#ServiceFirst yearFrom year twoThree-year total
1Mainstay Filing$199$199/yr$597Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2WI Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397Visit WI Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3Wisconsin Registered Agent.co$199$99/yr$397Visit Wisconsin Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
What each company posted on November 13, 2026. These figures leave out Wisconsin's $130 fee.

Formation in order

  1. Stage 1

    Pick a name and make sure it is free

    Do your name search at the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). Finding a clash now beats a rejected Wisconsin filing later.

    Pick a second choice now.

  2. Stage 2

    Line up a registered agent

    Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address. A Wisconsin resident, or a business entity formed in Wisconsin or authorized there, whose business office is the registered office. The agent needs an email address and has to consent.

    The address has to be an actual physical location with a street address in Wisconsin, not solely a P.O. box, mailbox service or answering service.

    The registered agent comes with every service on our list.

    Check it yourself: docs.legis.wisconsin.gov, last viewed October 2026

  3. Stage 3

    Who does the paperwork?

    Doing it yourself costs just the $130 state fee. A service adds $199 and takes over the forms; our ranking shows who we would phone.

  4. Stage 4

    The paper to file is the Articles of Organization - Limited Liability Company

    The Articles of Organization - Limited Liability Company (Form 502) is the key document. It goes to the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), the fee is $130, and the rule sits in Wis. Stat. § 183.0201.

    Check it yourself: dfi.wi.gov, last viewed October 2026

  5. Stage 5

    Ask the IRS for an EIN

    EINs come from the IRS, not Wisconsin. Apply after approval and hand the number to your bank. Mainstay Filing prepares the EIN application inside its package.

  6. Stage 6

    Write an operating agreement

    Ownership and decision rules go in the operating agreement, a document that lives apart from the Wisconsin filing.

  7. Stage 7

    Stay in good standing in Wisconsin

    Every year you submit the annual report and pay $25; the cutoff is end of the calendar quarter containing the LLC's anniversary date. Late filers pay $25 more.

    Check it yourself: dfi.wi.gov, last viewed August 2026

The bill

What forGoes toSum
Filing to form the LLCGoes to the state$130
Annual reportGoes to the state$25 every year
If the report is lateGoes to the state$25
Service fees (optional)Service$199 for year one
Three-year state totalGoes to the state$180
The state's fees come from official pages, listed below. Over three years they add up to the filing, two reports and, in a few states, a minimum tax.

Why the list runs this way

Work taken off your desk makes up 32% of the score, and that is where pulled ahead in Wisconsin.

Having the annual report handled counted for more than WI Registered Agent.org's lower three-year total.

Short answers

What does Wisconsin charge to form an LLC?

Budget $130 to file. Service fees on our list run $199.

Which form creates the LLC?

Once the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) accepts the Articles of Organization - Limited Liability Company (Form 502), your LLC is real.

Is a registered agent required?

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

What does Wisconsin require each year?

Circle the annual report on your calendar: $25, every year, end of the calendar quarter containing the LLC's anniversary date.

Can I form the LLC without a service?

You can. The state takes $130 at filing, and the LLC still needs a registered agent on record.

Which LLC service should a first-time founder use?

Phone Mainstay Filing, because the one yearly fee, $199, takes three jobs off your plate: filing, registered agent and annual report. After that come WI Registered Agent.org and Wisconsin Registered Agent.co.

Where we got the facts

  1. For Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Corporate, open dfi.wi.gov (we last saw it August 2026).
  2. For Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Corporate, open dfi.wi.gov (we last saw it August 2026).
  3. For Wisconsin report due date, open docs.legis.wisconsin.gov (we last saw it August 2026).
  4. For Wis, open dfi.wi.gov (we last saw it August 2026).
  5. For Wisconsin formation fee: Filing fee, official source, open dfi.wi.gov (we last saw it October 2026).
  6. For Wisconsin registered agent statute, open docs.legis.wisconsin.gov (we last saw it October 2026).
  7. We opened Mainstay Filing's Wisconsin service page on November 13, 2026 for the prices
  8. We opened WI Registered Agent.org's pricing page on November 13, 2026 for the prices
  9. We opened Wisconsin Registered Agent.co's pricing page on November 13, 2026 for the prices