A limited liability company, or LLC, is a business entity that sits apart from its owners. The company can sign contracts, hold a bank account, and take on obligations in its own name, while the owners’ personal assets stay separate from the company’s debts in the ordinary course of business. For founders who want that separation without the formal meeting and share structure of a corporation, the LLC is a practical middle path, and Texas is a state where the formation steps are clearly laid out by the Secretary of State.
This page covers what Texas charges, what Texas requires, and what Sams Business handles when forming a Texas LLC.
What it costs to form a Texas LLC
The Texas Secretary of State charges $300 to file a domestic LLC Certificate of Formation, Form 205. That figure is the Secretary of State’s published filing fee for the form. The state filing fee is paid by you at cost, with zero markup, and you see the full total before you pay anything. Sams Business package fees sit on top of the state fee: Basic at $0, Standard at $199, and Premium at $299.
Two smaller Texas costs are worth knowing before you file. An available name can be reserved with the Secretary of State for $40, which holds the name for 120 days while the formation is prepared. Card payments through the state’s online filing system may carry a small convenience fee on top of the $300; the exact surcharge is shown at checkout, so this page does not promise a single card total.
Texas has no publication requirement for a new LLC, and there is no additional state fee at formation beyond the $300 filing fee.
What Texas requires
The Certificate of Formation asks for a small set of facts. The LLC name must include a designator such as “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” or “L.L.C.,” and it must be distinguishable from other business names already on file with the Secretary of State. That is why checking the name before filing matters: a name that is too close to an existing entity can be rejected.
Every Texas LLC must name a registered agent with a physical Texas street address — a post office box is not accepted — who is available during normal business hours to receive legal documents and official correspondence. The agent may be a Texas resident or a business entity authorized to do business in Texas, and the agent must have consented to serve. The filing also states whether the LLC is member-managed or manager-managed, names at least one organizer, and states the LLC’s purpose. The filing is made with the Texas Secretary of State, online through the Secretary of State’s SOSPortal system or by mail; Texas replaced its older SOSDirect portal with SOSPortal in September 2026, so older guides naming SOSDirect are out of date.
Texas does not legally require a written operating agreement, but one is strongly recommended: it records ownership percentages, voting, profit and loss splits, and what happens when a member joins or leaves. Standard and Premium packages include an operating agreement.
After formation: no annual report to the Secretary of State
Forming the LLC is only the first filing, and Texas’s ongoing duties differ from most states. A Texas LLC does not file an annual report with the Secretary of State. Instead, every Texas LLC reports each year to the Texas Comptroller: a franchise tax report and a Public Information Report, both due May 15.
Most small LLCs owe no franchise tax: for the 2026 and 2027 report years, no tax is due where annualized total revenue is at or under $2,650,000, and the Public Information Report is still filed even when no tax is due. Texas has no personal state income tax. Standard includes compliance alerts, which help keep the May 15 date from slipping.
Sams Business pricing for a Texas LLC
Basic ($0 plus the state fee) covers the filing and state registration, with registered agent service free for the first year and virtual mail free for the first month. Standard ($199 plus the state fee) adds EIN assistance, an operating agreement, S-corp election filing where applicable, and compliance alerts. Premium ($299 plus the state fee) adds expedited filing where the state offers it, ready-to-use business contracts, a domain name and business email, and a US business phone number free for the first year.
Dissolution assistance is a separate service with a custom quote, and it is never part of a formation package. Start from the contact page to begin a Texas LLC filing.
Related Texas pages
- Texas S Corporation Formation (not live yet — no link)
- Texas C Corporation Formation (not live yet — no link)
- Texas Nonprofit Formation (not live yet — no link)
- Texas Registered Agent Service (not live yet — no link)
- Texas Annual Report Filing (not live yet — no link)
- Texas Assumed Business Name (DBA) (not live yet — no link)
- Texas Foreign Qualification (not live yet — no link)
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Sams Business is an independent private service and is not affiliated with any government agency, including the Texas Secretary of State’s office.
Not legal or tax advice.