$77 to form your Utah LLC

Utah LLC Cost: $59 Filing + $18 Annual Report (2026)

Forming an LLC in Utah costs $59 to file the Certificate of Organization, with an $18/yr annual report renewal, no franchise tax for pass-through LLCs, and no publication requirement. Utah’s $77 first-year all-in cost is among the four or five cheapest in the country, on par with New Mexico ($50) and Mississippi ($50), and dramatically cheaper than neighboring Nevada ($425+) or California ($870+). Five-year total: $131 (DIY). Utah pairs that low ongoing cost with a fast online filing portal (1 business day) and one of the more sophisticated LLC statutes in the country, the Utah Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, codified at Utah Code Title 48 Chapter 3a.

Reviewed by LLC Formation Cost Editorial Team, fact-checked against primary government sources • Last updated 2026-06-01 • 4 primary government sources cited

TL;DR

Utah charges $59 to file a Certificate of Organization with the Utah Division of Corporations, payable to the Utah Department of Commerce. The annual report fee is $18, due in the LLC’s anniversary month. No state franchise tax for pass-through LLCs (a corporate income tax with a $100 minimum applies only if the LLC elects C-corp or S-corp status). No publication requirement. The state operates one of the fastest online filing portals in the country with 1-business-day approval, no separate expedite fee for online filings (mail filings can be expedited for $75 in 2 business days). Member names are not required on public Certificate filings, only the organizer and registered agent appear on the public record. Utah requires every LLC to have a registered agent with a physical Utah street address.

Utah LLC cost breakdown (2026)

Line item	Cost	Source
Certificate of Organization	$59	corporations.utah.gov
Annual Report	$18	corporations.utah.gov
Mail filing expedited service	$75	corporations.utah.gov
Registered Agent service (UT-resident agent required)	$50-$200/yr	corporations.utah.gov
Year 1 total (no add-ons)	$59
Year 1 with UT RA service	$109-$259
Year 2+ ongoing (DIY)	$18
5-year total (DIY)	$131

All figures verified 2026-06-01 from primary Utah state sources.

Why Utah stands out

Utah is one of the cleanest LLC jurisdictions in the country. The combined first-year + four-year-recurring cost is $131 for a DIY filing, fourth or fifth cheapest nationally. The state’s structural features punch above what the $59 filing fee suggests:

• $18 annual report. Tied with Wyoming ($60) as one of the cheapest recurring fees in the country, on par with Kentucky ($15) and Hawaii ($13.50).
• No franchise tax for pass-through LLCs. The Utah corporate income tax with a $100 minimum applies only to LLCs that elect federal corporate tax status.
• No publication requirement. Unlike NY, AZ, or NE, Utah has no newspaper publication rule.
• One-business-day processing. Online filings via OneStop typically clear within 1 business day, no expedite fee charged.
• Member privacy. Member names are not required on the Certificate of Organization; only the organizer and registered agent appear publicly.
• Series LLC authorized. Utah Code § 48-3a-1201 et seq. authorizes Series LLCs with a single $59 filing covering the master and all internal series.

The single requirement non-residents cannot avoid: a Utah registered agent with a physical UT street address. Utah is one of the cheaper RA service markets in the country, $50-$80/yr is common.

Filing steps (DIY, no service)

1. Pick a name, search availability at the Utah Division of Corporations name search. Names must include “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” or “L.L.C.” and cannot conflict with reserved or registered names.
2. Designate a registered agent, must be a Utah resident individual or a business entity authorized to do business in Utah, with a physical UT street address.
3. File Certificate of Organization, $59 fee. File online via the Utah OneStop Business Registration or by mail to Utah Division of Corporations, PO Box 146705, Salt Lake City, UT 84114.
4. Get a federal EIN, free at irs.gov.
5. Draft an operating agreement, not required by Utah statute but standard practice. Utah Code § 48-3a-110 recognizes operating agreements as binding among members.
6. Register with the Utah State Tax Commission, register for sales tax, employer withholding, or other applicable taxes via tap.tax.utah.gov.
7. Apply for a Utah Sales Tax License, if selling taxable goods or services. Free to apply.
8. Open a business bank account, Zions Bank, Mountain America Credit Union, Cyprus Credit Union, and most local banks accept UT LLC filings; bring filed Certificate, EIN letter, operating agreement.
9. 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.
10. Calendar the annual report, due in the LLC’s anniversary month each year. $18 online.

Online filings via OneStop are typically processed within 1 business day. Mail filings can be expedited to 2-business-day turnaround for an additional $75 fee.

Hidden costs founders miss

Beyond the $59 + $18/yr math, four costs commonly catch Utah founders by surprise. First, the registered agent service. Out-of-state founders need a Utah RA at $50-$200/yr. Second, the federal FinCEN BOI filing, free at fincen.gov/boi but adding the 30-day post-formation compliance deadline with $500/day federal penalties. Third, local business licenses. Salt Lake City, Provo, Park City, and other Utah municipalities require local business licenses with annual renewal fees typically $50-$200 depending on the business type. Fourth, the Utah Sales Tax License if selling taxable goods. Free to apply, but the underlying compliance (monthly, quarterly, or annual returns depending on volume) is real. Utah’s combined state + local sales tax rates run 6.1% to 9.05% depending on jurisdiction.

Page-unique facts

• Utah’s $18 annual report fee is among the cheapest in the country. Only Hawaii ($13.50), Kentucky ($15), and Nebraska ($13 biennial) are lower. Wyoming’s $60 minimum is more than 3x Utah’s.
• Utah adopted the Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act in 2014. The Utah Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (Title 48 Chapter 3a) replaced the prior LLC statute and aligns Utah with the modern RULLCA framework, including default rules for member-managed LLCs and explicit charging-order protection.
• Series LLCs are authorized. Utah Code § 48-3a-1201 lets a single $59 filing create a master LLC with multiple internal series, each holding separate assets and liabilities. Popular for Utah real-estate investors and tech founders with multiple side projects.
• Member names are not required on the Certificate of Organization. Only the organizer (often a registered-agent service) and the registered agent appear on the public filing.
• Utah is one of the only states with a true 1-business-day standard turnaround. No expedite fee is needed for online filings, the standard online processing time is among the fastest in the country.

FAQ

Is Utah a good state for non-resident LLC formation?

Utah is competitive but not the absolute cheapest. The $77 first-year total (filing + first annual report) is among the lowest in the country, and the $18 annual report keeps recurring costs minimal. However, non-residents who operate elsewhere will still need to foreign-qualify in their home state, which usually erases the Utah savings. For non-residents who want pure privacy + low cost, Wyoming ($60/yr) or New Mexico ($0 ongoing) remain more popular. Utah makes the most sense for residents or for founders with genuine Utah nexus. Source: corporations.utah.gov, verified 2026-06-01.

Does Utah have a state income tax?

Yes. Utah has a flat 4.55% individual income tax that captures LLC pass-through earnings at the personal level. This is lower than California (top rate 13.3%), Oregon (top rate 9.9%), or Idaho (top rate 5.8%), but higher than the zero-tax states of Wyoming, Nevada, and Florida. LLC entity itself owes no franchise tax unless it elects C-corp or S-corp tax status. Source: Utah State Tax Commission.

Can a Utah LLC be anonymous?

Partially. The Certificate of Organization does not require member names, only the organizer and registered agent appear on the public filing. However, the FinCEN BOI report (federal, non-public) still requires identification of beneficial owners. For practical anonymity, Utah is comparable to Delaware or Wyoming, the public state filing is anonymous, but the federal BOI database (not publicly searchable) has the owner information.

Does Utah recognize Series LLCs?

Yes. Utah Code § 48-3a-1201 et seq. authorizes Series LLCs. A single $59 Certificate filing creates a master LLC, with internal series designated through the operating agreement. Each series holds separate assets and liabilities, popular for Utah real-estate investors holding multiple properties. Annual report covers the master LLC, not each individual series.

What is the Utah corporate income tax for LLCs?

By default, Utah LLCs are pass-through entities and the LLC itself owes no Utah corporate income tax, profits flow to members’ personal returns at the 4.55% flat rate. If the LLC elects C-corp or S-corp federal tax status, it becomes liable for Utah’s corporate income tax at 4.65% with a $100 minimum tax, filed on Utah Form TC-20. Source: Utah State Tax Commission Corporate Income Tax.

How fast does Utah process LLC filings?

Online filings via the OneStop Business Registration portal are typically approved within 1 business day, often the same day. Mail filings take 5-10 business days standard, with optional $75 expedited service reducing mail filings to 2 business days. Utah’s standard online turnaround is faster than most states even charge for expedited service.

State quirk: $18 a year and Series LLCs at the cheapest filing fee in the country

Utah is the rare state that combines extremely low fees with a modern, sophisticated LLC statute. The $59 Certificate filing fee is one of the cheapest in the country, but unlike New Mexico or Mississippi (which match it on price), Utah’s statute includes Series LLC authorization, explicit charging-order protection, and adoption of the Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act framework. For a Utah resident running a small business, the $77 first-year all-in cost is structurally compelling, and for a real-estate investor wanting Series LLC structure, Utah is one of the cheapest Series LLC jurisdictions in the country (Texas charges $300, Nevada $425, Delaware $90 but with $300/yr franchise tax). The trade-off is the 4.55% state income tax on pass-through earnings, which captures the value Utah does not extract at the entity level. Cross-reference: Utah Code Title 48 Chapter 3a.

Common mistake in Utah

The most common Utah LLC mistake is forming a Utah LLC while operating from a high-tax home state (California, Oregon, Idaho) and assuming the Utah formation avoids home-state taxes. It does not. If you live in California and run your business from a California home office, California asserts nexus, requires foreign qualification ($70), and charges the $800 minimum franchise tax. The Utah LLC formation is then redundant, paying Utah’s $59 + $18/yr on top of California’s $800/yr. Utah formation makes economic sense for Utah residents, for founders with genuine Utah operations, or for passive holding LLCs not triggering foreign-qualification in a high-tax state.

A second common mistake is missing the annual report deadline. Utah’s $18 fee is small enough that founders sometimes treat it as optional or forget the deadline entirely. After 60 days past the due date, the Division of Corporations administratively dissolves the LLC, and reinstatement requires $60 in fees plus filing the missed annual report. During the dissolution window, the LLC cannot legally do business, defend lawsuits, or hold real property in Utah. The fix is to set an annual calendar reminder for the LLC’s anniversary month and file the $18 report through the OneStop portal before the deadline.

A third mistake involves the S-corp tax election. Utah LLCs electing S-corp federal tax status become liable for the Utah corporate income tax (4.65% with a $100 minimum) and must file Utah Form TC-20 each year, on top of the SOS annual report. Founders chasing federal self-employment-tax savings with an S-corp election sometimes forget that Utah captures the entity at the corporate level once that election is made, eliminating most of the structural cost advantage of the Utah pass-through LLC.

Compared to other low-cost states

Utah’s $131 five-year DIY cost places it among the cheapest LLC jurisdictions in the country. New Mexico is cheaper at $50 total over five years (no annual report). Mississippi is also $50 with no annual report. Missouri is $50 with no annual report. Arizona is $50 + the publication cost (typically $80) for $130 over five years. Ohio is $99 once with no annual report. Beyond this cluster, Wyoming costs $340 over five years (more than 2x Utah’s). For Utah residents specifically, the structural cost is hard to beat, the only reason a Utah resident would form out of state is for Series LLC if Utah’s 2014 Series statute felt insufficient, or for the dynasty-trust pairing in South Dakota, or for the privacy benefits in New Mexico or Wyoming.

Why Utah suits tech founders specifically

Utah’s Silicon Slopes region (Lehi, Provo, Salt Lake City suburbs) has become a meaningful tech hub since the 2010s, with Adobe, Qualtrics (acquired by SAP for $8B in 2018), Domo, Pluralsight, and others headquartered or majority-staffed in the region. The state’s LLC framework supports this ecosystem in three concrete ways. First, the $59 filing fee + $18/yr ongoing cost is structurally compatible with bootstrapped SaaS startups that have low entity-level cash burn. Second, the 2014 Revised LLC Act includes modern provisions for series structures, manager-managed LLCs, and operating agreement enforceability, helpful for founders structuring side projects or holding companies. Third, the state’s individual income tax (flat 4.55%) is lower than California (13.3% top), Oregon (9.9% top), or Idaho (5.8% top), making it economically attractive for tech employees and founders relocating from higher-tax states. Utah is also one of the few states actively recruiting tech relocations with state-level tax incentives, the Utah Office of Economic Opportunity offers EDTIF (Economic Development Tax Increment Financing) grants for qualifying companies.

Sources

1. Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, last verified 2026-06-01
2. Utah OneStop Business Registration, last verified 2026-06-01
3. Utah Code Title 48 Chapter 3a (Revised LLC Act), last verified 2026-06-01
4. Utah State Tax Commission, last verified 2026-06-01
5. Utah State Tax Commission Corporate Income Tax, last verified 2026-06-01
6. IRS Utah Small Business Resources, last verified 2026-06-01

About the author

Aissam Baidi is the founder and researcher behind llcformationcost.com. He verifies Utah LLC fees directly from corporations.utah.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.