File Your LLC in West Virginia

Set up your LLC without the hassle.
Click on “Get Started” so we can check
if your business name is available in West Virginia!

Choose a different state

As recommended by our affiliate partners*

*our affiliate partners may receive financial compensation for their support.

Home » LLC Formation » Start Your West Virginia LLC

Benefits of opening an LLC in West Virginia

There are many reasons to form an LLC in West Virginia.
Here are the main ones:

Legal protection in case of bankruptcy or lawsuits

Separation of personal and business assets

Tax benefits: flexibility & pass-through taxation

Increasing credibility and trust for your business

How to form your West Virginia LLC with Tailor Brands

Check if your LLC name is available in West Virginia

Choose a registered agent for your LLC

Sit back and let us take care of the paperwork for you

How to start an LLC in West Virginia in 5 steps

If you’re thinking of forming an LLC in West Virginia, there are benefits to consider with this type of business entity. For starters, it generally pays lower taxes than a corporation.

While LLCs have the characteristics of corporations, sole proprietorships, and partnerships. The advantage of forming an LLC over partnerships and sole proprietorships in that it separates business liabilities from personal assets with the limited liability protection. However, it’s important to note that the protection is not guaranteed and depends on maintaining proper business conduct.

West Virginia has a list of professions that cannot form LLCs and must instead form a Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC). To form the PLLC, they must provide verification from their professional licensing agency that each member of the PLLC has a valid, current license from the licensing board to practice their profession.

There are five main steps to register an LLC in West Virginia:

Name your West Virginia LLC
Choose your registered agent
File articles of organization
Create an operating agreement
Apply for an EIN

Below, you’ll find a detailed explanation of each step to walk you through establishing your own LLC.

Step 1: Name your West Virginia LLC

West Virginia has specific rules about naming your business. Most are either the same or similar to rules in other states. In West Virginia, choosing a business name is the first step.

You must carefully follow the rules established by the West Virginia Legislature for naming your business. Specifically:

The name you choose must be distinguishable from any other business name in the state. The Secretary of State maintains a database of all business names in the state. You can plug in your desired business name and find out if there is already a business with that name in the state. The most common reason for the rejection of a business filing is that the proposed name for the new business is the same as an already existing West Virginia business
If the name you want for your business is not distinguishable from another business in the state, you can apply to the Secretary of State for permission to use the name and, if established criteria are met, you may be able to use it
Your name must include one of these phrases: "Limited Liability Company" or "limited company" or one of these abbreviations: "LLC" or "L.L.C." or "LC" or "L.C." You may also abbreviate "limited" as "Ltd" and "company" as "Co."
Your name may not include the words "incorporated, corporation, or corp"
Your name may not include the words "banking" or "insurance"
Your name may not include any words that could confuse it with a state or federal governmental entity, such as "treasury" or "state department"

Naming your professional limited liability company

Members of certain professions may form a Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC). Only members licensed or otherwise legally authorized may be a member of the PLLC. The same rules that apply for naming an LLC apply to the naming of a PLLC.

Professions that qualify to form a PLLC and that may not form an LLC are:

Attorneys
Dentists
Accountants
Architects
Land surveyors
Chiropractors
Social workers
Physicians & Podiatrists
Optometrists
Veterinarians
Engineers
Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons
Psychologists
Acupuncturists

To complete your filing for a business name, you must include the names of all who will be members of the PLLC and verification from the state licensing board that the professional licenses of all members are current and authorized to practice their profession.

Step 2: Choose a registered agent

As in all other states, West Virginia requires every LLC to have a registered agent. Your LLC can be our registered agent if you provide a physical address and phone number and the person designated to receive process is over the age of 18.

You must provide the name of the registered agent and the physical street address in West Virginia as a place where service of process can be made. The registered agent must be a resident of West Virginia or a corporation or LLC authorized to do business in West Virginia.

In West Virginia, the LLC may be its own registered agent. A registered agent may be a professional registered agent service.

Step 3: File articles of organization

An LLC in West Virginia is formed by filing articles of organization. In general, the following information must be included:

Name: The exact name of the company you chose for your LLC in accordance with state law
Purpose: A statement of the purpose that describes the type of activity the LLC will be conducting. For example, "commercial painting" or "professional practice of law"
For PLLC’s: You must attach verification of eligibility from the state professional licensing board. This proves that each member has a valid license to practice their profession and that the license is current
Registered agent: The name, physical address, mailing address, email, and phone number of the registered agent
Names and addresses of all members. This means an actual physical address for each member as well as their emails and phone number
Duration: Whether the term is expected to be perpetual or if there is a specific duration. If there is a specific duration, those dates must be included. The duration may be until the members decide it should end
Place of business: Legal address of where the business will be operated
Management: Whether the LLC is member-managed or manager-managed

State fees

There are quite a few state fees you must pay to begin your LLC and be ready to operate it as a business entity. Some of those fees include:

Articles of organization: The fee for filing the Articles of Organization is $100. If you have an existing LLC and want to do business in West Virginia, the fee is $150. It will take 5-10 business days for processing.

Reservation of business name: $15.

DBA (trade name, if required): $25 for each DBA registered.

You can expedite the processing by paying the following fees:

Pay an extra $15 for a certified copy of your Articles of Organization.

All fees are waived for veterans.

Rules and regulations change now and then. This may not be a complete list, so check with the office of the West Virginia Secretary of State before submitting your application to be sure you have covered all the fees. If a required fee does not accompany the application, the registration of your LLC will be delayed.

Annual report: All LLCs are required to file an annual report. The fee is $25. The annual report fee for veterans is waived for the first 4 years the LLC is in operation.

There is a $50 late filing fee. The failure to file an annual report may result in revocation of the LLCs authorization to do business in West Virginia.

How to file

You can file your articles of organization online. If you do this, you can pay the filing fee by credit card if you provide an e-payment authorization form.

If you prefer to file the documents in person or by mail, you can download the form and fill it out.

If mailing the articles of organization, they can be sent to any one of the following state business centers:

Charleston Office One-Stop Business Center
1615 Washington Street East
Charleston, WV 25311
Phone: (304) 558-8000 Fax: (304) 558-8381
Clarksburg Office North Central WV Business Center
200 West Main Street
Clarksburg, WV 26301
Phone: (304) 367-2775 Fax: (304) 627-2243
Martinsburg Office Eastern Panhandle Business Center
229 E. Martin Street
Martinsburg, WV 25401
Phone: (304) 356-2654 Fax: (304) 260-4360

You may walk into any of these three offices for in-person filing. Call first to get the hours of operation.

Step 3: Choose a registered agent

As in all other states, West Virginia requires every LLC to have a registered agent. Your LLC can be your own registered agent in West Virginia if you provide a physical address in the state and phone number and the person designated to receive process is over the age of 18.

In West Virginia, the LLC may be its own registered agent. A registered agent may be a professional registered agent service.

Step 4: Create an operating agreement

An operating agreement for your LLC is not required to be filed with the state of West Virginia. However, it is highly recommended that you create one.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) of the federal government urges you to create this agreement and that it should include:

Clarification of all verbal agreements among the members
Clarification of all agreements with the state. This avoids defaulting to state rules in the case of disagreements
Statement of how profits and liabilities will be distributed among the members
Outlines the rights, roles, and responsibilities of all members
Statement of how decisions will be made in general and how they will be made in case of conflict among the members
Statement of how the ownership interests will be determined if an owner/member wants to leave the LLC, gets divorced, or declares bankruptcy
What happens if the owner wants to dissolve the LLC

Step 5: Apply for an EIN

In some cases, for example if your LLC have employees, you will need to get an EIN from the IRS, which is an “employer identification number.”

Applying for an EIN is fast and free. Go to the IRS website and fill out form SS-4 for an LLC EIN. You will need to answer specific questions about your LLC and submit the Social Security Numbers (SSNs) of all the principals. You must also use a physical address for your LLC, which may be the address of a principal or the address of your Registered Agent.

Although you can apply yourself, you can also apply for an EIN with Tailor Brands.

Your EIN will be used for all tax and business purposes. Some ways you will use this number include:

Opening your business checking account
Separating your personal and business banking accounts and tax returns
Adds to the credibility of your business when you are dealing with vendors
Filing your LLC federal and state tax returns
Issuing 1099s to LLC members
Issuing 1099s to any independent contractors who do work for the LLC
Reporting earnings of independent contractors to the IRS

Even if you’re nor required to obtain an EIN, there are personal benefits to using an EIN instead of just using your SSN. These include:

Avoidance of personal identity theft
Ability to open business banking accounts
Adds credibility to your business
Allows you to use 1099s when paying independent contractors
The EIN will be in place when you later hire employees

West Virginia LLC Formation: The Basics

How to perform a West Virginia Business Entity Search

This step-by-step guide details the steps you need to name your West Virginia LLC properly by searching if it is unique.

How much does is cost to start an LLC in West Virginia?

There are different costs to form an LLC in West Virginia and maintain it. We’ve listed all of them in this post.

Appointing a registered agent for your West Virginia LLC

Appointing registered agent is a mandatory step in your LLC formation process in West Virginia – learn more about it.

LLC annual report in WV: filing & requirements

LLCs in West Virginia are required to file an annual report with the state. Learn more to avoid penalties.

Why is Tailor Brands the Best LLC Service in WV

We love helping people start their business. We take care of the LLC filing and offer additional services so you can focus on launching and growing your business, while remaining compliant with state regulations.

Here’s why people choose to form their LLC with us:

Real Tailor Brands reviews, from real business owners

For more reviews from our customers, visit our reviews page.

Learn more about West Virginia LLCs

Appointing a West Virginia Registered Agent for Your LLC

How to Get Small Business Licenses and Permits in West Virginia

How Much Does an LLC Cost in West Virginia?

How to Dissolve an LLC in West Virginia

How to Do a Business Entity Search in West Virginia

Form a West Virginia LLC, Hassle-Free

This portion of our website is for informational purposes only. Tailor Brands is not a law firm, and none of the information on this website constitutes or is intended to convey legal advice. All statements, opinions, recommendations, and conclusions are solely the expression of the author and provided on an as-is basis. Accordingly, Tailor Brands is not responsible for the information and/or its accuracy or completeness.