2025 fees Delaware Secretary of State Rank #46 of 51

LLC Costs in Delaware (DE)

$615 all-in for your first year - $90 to file, $400 annual report, plus a registered agent. Delaware is $232 (61%) more expensive than the national average for first-year LLC costs.

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Most popular state for incorporation due to business-friendly courts and privacy protections. Especially popular for startups seeking VC funding. High annual franchise tax makes it expensive for small businesses not using Delaware's legal advantages.

Updated 2025 · Source: Delaware Secretary of State

Higher periodic report fee

Higher periodic report fee. Annual Franchise Tax at $400 sits in the dearer third of report fees among states that still charge one. Delaware's first-year total of $615 (#46 of 51) folds in filing, registered agent and the Annual Franchise Tax. Fees are those published by the Delaware Secretary of State; registered agent is a $125/yr market-rate line, not a vendor quote.

According to the Delaware Secretary of State fee schedule; registered agent normalized at $125/yr. See methodology. How we calculate →

$90
One-time filing fee
$400 /yr
Annual report
$615
First-year total
#46 of 51
Cost rank (1 = cheapest)

SOS formation fee schedule

Fee strip DE · Delaware SOS FY 2026 · rank #46

Delaware · FY 2026 · 3-4 weeks · no pub

  • REPORT Online filing
  • REPORT corp.delaware.gov
  • REPORT 3-4 weeks
  • REPORT +$50 expedite
  • REPORT near Maryland
  • REPORT 61% above avg

Dear-third stack: stamps derive from this state's Secretary of State fee schedule, not a recommendation of where to form. Read with tax planning against a dear SOS stack → · All 51 SOS fee rows →

1. North Carolina$4502. Alaska$4753. District of …$5244. Maryland$5255. Delaware$6156. Tennessee$725
1. North Carolina$4502. Alaska$4753. District of …$5244. Maryland$5255. Delaware$6156. Tennessee$725
First-year SOS-fee total for Delaware and nearest-cost peers. Source: each Secretary of State + 51-row aggregate.

Cost vs. speed: where Delaware sits among all 51 filing offices

Delaware is both slower and pricier than the median state -- a 18-business-day wait on top of an above-average formation cost. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 30 entities by First-year cost ($) (X) and Processing time (business days) (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. Slow & expensiveCheap but slowFast but priceyFast & cheap $0$500$1,000$1,500 0d10d20d30d First-year cost ($) Processing time (business days) Cost vs. speed: where Delaware sits among all 51 filing offices
Delaware is both slower and pricier than the median state -- a 18-business-day wait on top of an above-average formation cost.
Delaware is both slower and pricier than the median state -- a 18-business-day wait on top of an above-average formation cost. National median processing time: 6 business days; national average first-year cost: $383. Source: each state's Secretary of State published processing-time guidance + the 51-row SOS fee aggregate.

How the dear-third $615 stack breaks down

How your $615 first-year total breaks down Annual Franchise Tax (yr 1) drives 65% of a top-third first-year total.
  • State filing fee $90
  • Annual Franchise Tax (yr 1) $400
  • Registered agent $125
Cost Item Amount
State Filing Fee $90
Annual Franchise Tax $400
Registered Agent $125/yr
Expedited Filing (optional) $50
Total, First Year $615

Ongoing tax burden after formation

Delaware's 8.7% corporate tax rate ranks among the highest corporate tax burdens nationally, an ongoing cost that can outweigh the one-time $615 formation fee within a few profitable years.

Corporate income tax
8.7%
8.7% corporate tax rate, #44 of 51 lowest nationally
Effective property tax rate
0.50%
Of assessed property value, per year

Sources: Tax Foundation state corporate tax rates, Census ACS effective property tax rates.

Fee check: Dear-third first-year stack, verify current Delaware SOS fees before filing at https://corp.delaware.gov. Not legal or tax advice.

Delaware LLC quick facts (dear third)

Filing Fee $90
Annual Report $400 /yr
Processing Time 3-4 weeks
Expedited $50 → 24 hours
Online Filing Available
First-Year Total $615
File with Delaware SOS

Similar Cost States

District of Columbia $524 Maryland $525

Lower-cost escapes

Looking to file lighter than top-third DE? These states charge less in year one:

Alaska $475 District of Columbia $524 Maryland $525

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified. Report a data error on this page.

Sources used on this page
  • Delaware Secretary of State - LLC filing fee, annual-report requirement, and processing time. corp.delaware.gov
  • Federation of Tax Administrators - cross-check of state fee and tax figures. taxadmin.org
LLC fees and requirements sourced from the Delaware Secretary of State. See our methodology for details.

Verify with the Delaware Secretary of State →