LLC formation for South Dakota service trades
Which formation service should a South Dakota service business use to form its LLC?
What a formation service does for a service trade LLC
A formation service prepares and files your Articles of Organization. It does not touch your sales tax license, and it cannot change the $150 the state charges to file them.
Whoever files, the fee is the same. The license, the rate stack and the return stay yours to run, on the pages around this one: the license guide, the collecting guide and the filing guide.
So the comparison is narrow. It is what is bundled around the filing, and what renews in year two. The sales tax side of your business costs nothing to license, so spend the comparison on the filing itself.
$150South Dakota charges $150 to file domestic LLC Articles of Organization online, or $165 by paper. — South Dakota Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-29
$0There is no fee for a South Dakota sales tax license. — South Dakota Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
First-year cost for a South Dakota LLC, service by service
Compare total first-year cost, not the headline. Most general services publish a $0-plus-state-fee tier, so what differs is what the base includes and what renews after the first year.
South Dakota keeps the state side small and flat: $150 to file, $55 for the annual report when its window opens. There is no newspaper publication and no franchise tax, so the first-year table is the state fee plus whatever the service charges.
Every figure below comes from the service's own pricing page, checked on the date shown. Plans change, so check again before you buy.
| Service | Base package | Registered agent | First-year total at base | What renews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tailor Brands | $0 Lite + state fee | Not listed on the plan page | $150 | Paid tiers bill yearly |
| Bizee | $0 Basic + state fee | First year free | $150 | Agent service after year one |
| doola | $237 Starter + state fee | Included in the plan | $387 | Plans bill yearly |
| ZenBusiness | $0 + state fees | $199 per year | $150 | Agent and compliance add-ons |
| LegalZoom | $0 Basic + state fees | Sold separately, no price on the plan page | $150 | Attorney plan $49 per month on Pro |
| File it yourself | State fee only | Your own address | $150 | $55 annual report |
$0 + state feesTailor Brands publishes a $0 Lite LLC plan plus state fees, with Essential at $199 per year and Elite at $249 per year. — Tailor Brands plans and pricing page, retrieved 2026-09-29
$0 + state feeBizee publishes LLC formation packages at $0, $199 and $299 plus state fees, each eligible for one free year of its registered agent service. — Bizee pricing page, retrieved 2026-09-29
$237 per yeardoola's Starter plan is published at $237 per year plus state fees, including the formation filing, an EIN, an operating agreement and registered agent service. — doola pricing page, retrieved 2026-09-29
Formation services matched to a service trade's needs
These are use cases, not a ranking. Each service sits where its own published offer fits a need, and the order on the page is presentation order only.
Every price here is what the service published about itself on the date checked. Nothing on this page is a rating. Confirm the current plan on each service's site before you sign up.
- Tailor Brands
Suits a first-time service business owner who wants the filing and the yearly paperwork in one account. The $0 Lite plan covers the LLC filing with an operating agreement and an annual compliance feature, with AI-guided help on the filing questions. Paid tiers add faster processing and legal compliance work. Its plan page does not list registered agent service, so budget for that separately if you want one.
- Bizee
No tier to buy for the first year: $0 plus the state fee files the LLC, and every formation package is eligible for one free year of Bizee's registered agent service, which can keep your home address off the public record. The agent service is what renews after the free year, with paid tiers at $199 and $299 above the base.
- doola
Registered agent service is included in the plan price here rather than sold as an add-on, which is the shape to look for if you want one recurring bill instead of a filing plus a separate agent renewal. The Starter plan at $237 per year covers the formation filing, an EIN, an operating agreement and the agent service, and bills yearly.
- ZenBusiness
The $0 formation price is the headline; the renewals are the budget to check. Formation starts at $0 plus state fees, and its add-on menu prices registered agent service at $199 per year and Worry-Free Compliance, which tracks filings such as the annual report, at $199 per year. Stack both and the second year costs more than the first.
- LegalZoom
Here the draw is a lawyer. The $0 Basic plan files the articles, and the $249 Pro plan adds an operating agreement, an EIN and 30 days of unlimited 30-minute attorney consultations, which suits a service business with contracts to review. The attorney plan auto-renews at $49 per month after the 30 days, and registered agent service is sold separately, with no price shown on the plan page.
$199 per yearZenBusiness publishes LLC formation starting at $0 plus state fees, with registered agent service at $199 per year and Worry-Free Compliance at $199 per year. — ZenBusiness pricing page, retrieved 2026-09-29
$249 + state feesLegalZoom publishes LLC plans at $0 Basic and $249 Pro plus state fees, with the Pro plan including an operating agreement, an EIN and 30 days of attorney consultations renewing at $49 per month. — LegalZoom LLC pricing page, retrieved 2026-09-29
File it yourself with the South Dakota Secretary of State
You can skip every service. File the Articles of Organization with the South Dakota Secretary of State for the same $150 online, or $165 on paper.
No lawyer is required. The route is the state's own filing pages, and the fee schedule that lists the $150 also lists the annual report at $55 online or $70 on paper, with a $55 late fee if it goes delinquent.
This route is the benchmark for the whole page. It is the same filing at the same fee with nobody in between. What a service adds is the typing, an agent address, reminders or extra documents.
$150 onlineThe South Dakota Secretary of State lists domestic LLC Articles of Organization at $150 online and $165 by paper, with the annual report at $55 online or $70 by paper. — South Dakota Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-29
Year two for a service trade LLC
Pick by year-two cost and what you will actually use. The state fee is fixed, and the yearly duties stay yours whoever filed the paperwork.
Every South Dakota LLC files the annual report, $55 online, in its filing window, with a $55 late fee waiting on the far side of it. A reminder service can help, but the obligation is yours.
The tax calendar is the other date that matters more than the formation bill. Returns are due every period, with the first-return checklist covering the routine, and the first-year costs page pricing both calendars against each other before you commit to a bundle.
$55South Dakota LLC annual reports are filed at $55 online or $70 by paper, with a $55 late fee for delinquent reports. — South Dakota Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
Do I need a registered agent to form a South Dakota LLC?
A South Dakota LLC files a Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Address with the Secretary of State, so the state's records do carry a registered agent. Check the Secretary of State's own LLC pages for the listing requirement before deciding whether to use your own address or a service's.
Can a formation service get my sales tax license for me?
The license application is between you and the Department of Revenue, and it is free either way. No formation service is needed to apply, and none of the prices above include it.
Does paying a service speed up the state's processing?
The Secretary of State's own fee schedule lists expedited service at $50, which is a state option rather than a service's. A paid service can submit your paperwork faster than you would, but the state's queue is the state's.
Which service is cheapest for year one?
At base, three routes tie at $150 total: the $0 tiers plus the state fee, and filing it yourself. What differs is what renews in year two, from Bizee's agent service after the free year to ZenBusiness's $199 per year agent add-on, so price the second year before choosing.