$110 to form your South Carolina LLC

South Carolina LLC Cost: $110 Filing, No Annual Report (2026)

Forming an LLC in South Carolina costs $110 to file the Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State, and that is essentially the full bill for a pass-through LLC. No annual report. No franchise tax for pass-through LLCs. No publication requirement. South Carolina is one of the cheapest five-year ongoing states in the country for a single-member LLC: total state cost over five years is $110, paid once. The catch is small: LLCs electing C-corp or S-corp tax status owe an initial CL-1 corporate filing ($25) and may face the corporate license fee thereafter.

Reviewed by LLC Formation Cost Editorial Team, fact-checked against primary government sources • Last updated 2026-05-14 • 4 primary government sources cited

TL;DR

South Carolina charges $110 to file Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State (online filings add a $15 enhanced access fee, total $125). There is no annual report, no annual franchise or privilege tax, and no publication requirement for pass-through LLCs. The only ongoing state-level obligation for a default-taxed pass-through LLC is the federal-level FinCEN BOI report and personal income tax on pass-through earnings (currently a flat 6.2% state rate, reduced from 6.4% in 2026). South Carolina maintains one-business-day processing for online filings with no expedite fee. The state’s structural friendliness to small LLCs, paired with a low cost of living and no statutory residency requirement for members, makes SC competitive with Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri for the cheapest LLCs to maintain.

South Carolina LLC cost breakdown (2026)

Line item	Cost	Source
Articles of Organization (statutory)	$110	sos.sc.gov
Online enhanced access fee	$15	sos.sc.gov
Annual Report (pass-through LLC)	$0	sos.sc.gov
Initial CL-1 filing (if LLC elects C-corp or S-corp)	$25	dor.sc.gov
Registered Agent service (SC-resident agent required)	$50-$200/yr	sos.sc.gov
Year 1 total (online, pass-through)	$125
Year 1 with SC RA service	$175-$325
Year 2+ ongoing (DIY, pass-through)	$0
5-year total (DIY, pass-through)	$125

All figures verified 2026-05-14 from primary South Carolina state sources.

Why South Carolina is structurally cheap

South Carolina built its LLC framework around the federal pass-through default. Unless the LLC affirmatively elects to be taxed as a corporation, the entity itself owes no state-level annual fee or franchise tax. Profits flow through to members’ personal returns, taxed at South Carolina’s individual income tax rates.

• No annual report. Pass-through LLCs do not file an annual report with the Secretary of State, a rarity among states.
• No franchise tax for pass-through LLCs. The corporate license fee applies only to entities electing C-corp or S-corp status.
• No publication requirement. Unlike New York or Arizona, SC has no newspaper publication rule.
• One-business-day processing. Online filings are typically approved within 1 business day, no expedite fee.
• Resident agent required. A South Carolina street address is required for the registered agent (physical address, not PO Box).

The trade-off is the relatively flat 6.2% individual income tax rate that captures LLC pass-through earnings on the personal side. SC is best suited for low-revenue or asset-holding LLCs where the absence of entity-level taxation matters more than the personal-income rate.

Filing steps (DIY, no service)

1. Pick a name, search availability at the SC Business Filings name search. Names must include “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” or “L.L.C.” and may not include “corporation,” “incorporated,” or restricted terms.
2. Designate a registered agent, must be a South Carolina resident individual or a business entity authorized to transact business in SC, with a physical SC street address.
3. File Articles of Organization, $110 statutory + $15 online access fee = $125 total online. File via the SC Business Filings portal or by mail to the Secretary of State, 1205 Pendleton Street, Suite 525, Columbia, SC 29201.
4. Get a federal EIN, free at irs.gov.
5. Draft an operating agreement, not required by SC statute but strongly recommended. Single-member LLCs without one face higher veil-piercing risk.
6. Register with the SC Department of Revenue, only required if the LLC has employees, sells taxable goods, or elects corporate tax status. Register via MyDORWAY.
7. If electing C-corp or S-corp tax status, file Form CL-1 (Initial Annual Report of Corporations) with the SC Department of Revenue within 60 days of formation, $25 fee.
8. Register for sales tax, if selling taxable goods, get a Retail License ($50) from the SC Department of Revenue.
9. Open a business bank account, BB&T (Truist), South State Bank, and local credit unions accept SC LLC filings; bring filed Articles, EIN letter, operating agreement.
10. File FinCEN BOI report, required under the Corporate Transparency Act within 30 days of formation. Free to self-file at fincen.gov/boi. Non-public.

Online filings via the SC Business Filings portal are typically processed within 1 business day. There is no separate expedited filing fee.

Hidden costs founders miss

Beyond the $125 online filing math, four costs commonly catch SC founders by surprise. First, the registered agent service. Out-of-state founders nearly always need to hire a commercial RA at $50-$200/yr. Second, the federal FinCEN BOI filing. Free at fincen.gov/boi but adding compliance friction; missing the 30-day deadline triggers $500/day federal penalties. Third, local business licenses. SC counties and municipalities (Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Myrtle Beach) often require local business licenses with annual renewal fees ranging $50-$300+ based on gross receipts. Fourth, the SC Retail License if selling taxable goods, a one-time $50 fee with quarterly or monthly sales tax returns thereafter.

Page-unique facts

• South Carolina has no annual report requirement for pass-through LLCs. This is one of the few states with no recurring filing burden, joining Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, and Arizona in the no-annual-report club.
• The $110 statutory fee is among the lower in the Southeast. Lower than North Carolina ($125), Tennessee ($300), Florida ($125), and Georgia ($100).
• SC was an early LLC adopter (1996). The South Carolina Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, codified at S.C. Code Ann. § 33-44-101 et seq., is based on the Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (RULLCA).
• Members are not required to be listed on public Articles. Like Delaware, only the organizer and registered agent appear on the public filing.
• South Carolina recognizes single-member LLC charging-order protection. S.C. Code § 33-44-504 limits creditors to a charging order against an LLC member’s distributional interest, providing meaningful asset-protection for SC LLCs.

FAQ

Does South Carolina charge an annual LLC fee?

No, not for pass-through LLCs. South Carolina does not require pass-through LLCs to file an annual report or pay an annual franchise or privilege tax. The only state-level fee is the $110 statutory filing fee paid at formation ($125 with the online access fee). LLCs that elect to be taxed as C-corporations or S-corporations owe an initial $25 CL-1 filing and an annual corporate license fee based on capital and paid-in surplus. Source: sos.sc.gov, verified 2026-05-14.

Why is the online filing fee $125 instead of $110?

The statutory filing fee for South Carolina Articles of Organization is $110, set in S.C. Code § 33-44-1204. Online filings add a $15 enhanced access fee for the SC Business Filings portal, producing the $125 total. Mail filings pay the $110 base fee, though processing is slower (5-7 business days versus 1 day online).

Can a non-SC resident form an LLC in South Carolina?

Yes. South Carolina has no residency requirement for LLC members or managers, only the registered agent must have a physical SC street address. Non-residents often use a commercial RA service ($50-$200/yr). The LLC itself can be entirely owned and managed by out-of-state members. State income tax applies only to SC-source income.

Does South Carolina recognize Series LLCs?

No. As of 2026, South Carolina has not enacted Series LLC legislation. Founders who want a Series LLC structure typically form in Delaware, Wyoming, Nevada, Texas, or Tennessee and register as a foreign LLC in SC if doing business there. Source: SC Code Title 33 Chapter 44 (LLC Act).

What is the SC corporate license fee for an LLC taxed as a corporation?

If an LLC elects C-corp or S-corp federal tax status, South Carolina treats it as a corporation for the corporate license fee, calculated at 0.1% of capital and paid-in surplus plus $15, with a $25 minimum. For most small LLCs with limited paid-in capital, the bill stays at the $25 minimum. The CL-1 form is filed initially within 60 days of formation, then annually with the SC1120 corporate return. Source: SC Department of Revenue Corporate Tax.

Does South Carolina require an operating agreement?

No. S.C. Code § 33-44-103 recognizes operating agreements as binding but does not require them. In practice, every SC bank and most lenders demand a written operating agreement before opening business accounts or extending credit, and single-member LLCs benefit substantially from a written agreement to support the corporate veil. Free single-member templates work for most cases; multi-member LLCs and asset-protection structures warrant attorney-drafted agreements.

How is the South Carolina annual filing different from other states?

Most states require an annual report or annual franchise filing with the Secretary of State to maintain LLC good standing. South Carolina does not, for pass-through LLCs. The LLC is formed once, the $110 statutory fee is paid once, and no further state-level annual filing is required at the SOS level. The only recurring obligation is the federal-level FinCEN BOI report (which is non-public) and member-level personal income tax on pass-through earnings. This makes SC one of a small group of states (with Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, and Arizona) where the LLC has no recurring state-level entity filing obligation.

State quirk: the $15 online access fee and the CL-1 trap

South Carolina is structurally cheap but has two small quirks that catch first-time filers. First, the published statutory filing fee is $110, but every founder who actually files online pays $125 because of a $15 enhanced access fee that funds the business filings portal. The $110 figure on the SOS website is technically accurate, but the operational total online is $125. Second, the moment an LLC elects to be taxed as an S-corp or C-corp at the federal level (a common move once revenue crosses roughly $40K-$60K to save on self-employment tax), the LLC becomes liable for the SC corporate license fee and must file Form CL-1 with the Department of Revenue within 60 days of the election, not 60 days of formation. Missing the CL-1 triggers late penalties even on a pass-through LLC that just made a tax election. Cross-reference: S.C. Code Title 33 Chapter 44.

Common mistake in South Carolina

The most common South Carolina LLC mistake is electing S-corp tax status for federal self-employment-tax savings without realizing it triggers the SC corporate license fee + CL-1 initial filing + annual SC1120-S return. The federal-level S-corp election saves on self-employment tax, but it converts a $0-ongoing-state pass-through LLC into a state-level corporate filer with annual returns and a corporate license fee floor of $25. For most founders crossing the S-corp threshold, the net is still positive, but the SC corporate-side cost has to be factored in before pulling the trigger.

A second common mistake is forming a South Carolina LLC while operating primarily from another state. SC’s structural cheapness (no annual report, no franchise tax) does not extend to LLCs that actually operate elsewhere, because the operating state typically asserts nexus and requires foreign qualification. A SC LLC operating in North Carolina pays SC’s $110 once plus NC’s $200/yr foreign-qualification annual report. SC LLC operating in California pays SC’s $110 plus CA’s $800/yr minimum franchise tax. The SC structural advantage applies only to LLCs that actually have SC operations.

A third mistake involves the $15 online access fee being treated as optional. Founders sometimes try to mail-file to save the $15, but mail processing takes 5-7 business days and the rejection rate is higher (no real-time validation of name conflicts), often leading to a refiled batch and net delays of 2-3 weeks. For most founders, the $15 access fee is worth the same-day online approval.

Compared to neighboring Southeast states

South Carolina’s $125 first-year cost (online, including the access fee) and $0/yr ongoing for pass-through LLCs makes it the cheapest of the four major Southeast states for a small operating LLC. North Carolina charges $125 to form plus $202/yr in annual report fees, a five-year total of $933. Georgia charges $100 to form plus $50/yr in registration fees, five-year total $300. Tennessee charges $300 minimum to form plus $300 minimum/yr in annual reports plus $100 minimum franchise tax, five-year total $1,700+. Florida charges $125 to form plus $138.75/yr annual reports, five-year total $680. South Carolina at $125 first year and $0/yr ongoing comes in at $125 over five years for a single-member pass-through LLC, the lowest in the Southeast by a meaningful margin.

Privacy and member disclosure in SC

South Carolina occupies the middle ground on LLC privacy. Member names are not required on the Articles of Organization, only the organizer (often a registered-agent service) and the registered agent appear on the public SOS filing. This places SC roughly on par with Delaware and Utah for state-level filing privacy, and ahead of states like Florida or California that require manager or member disclosure. However, federal FinCEN BOI reporting (non-public) still requires identification of beneficial owners, and South Carolina banks demand full operating-agreement disclosure during account opening. For founders who want serious legal anonymity, Wyoming and New Mexico remain stronger jurisdictions, SC’s privacy is administrative convenience rather than full anonymity. The state’s appeal is the combination of moderate filing fee, zero-recurring-fee structure, fast processing, and a modern RULLCA-based statute, not raw anonymity.

Sources

1. South Carolina Secretary of State Business Filings, last verified 2026-05-14
2. South Carolina Business Filings Portal, last verified 2026-05-14
3. South Carolina Department of Revenue, last verified 2026-05-14
4. SC Code Title 33 Chapter 44 (Uniform LLC Act), last verified 2026-05-14
5. IRS South Carolina Small Business Resources, last verified 2026-05-14
6. SBA Local Assistance Directory (SC SBDCs), last verified 2026-05-14

About the author

Aissam Baidi is the founder and researcher behind llcformationcost.com. He verifies South Carolina LLC fees directly from sos.sc.gov and dor.sc.gov on a quarterly cycle. Connect on LinkedIn.

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Not legal advice. Estimates based on publicly available data from each state’s Secretary of State office. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.