LLC formation services for vehicle-based trades
Which formation service should a vehicle-based West Virginia trades business use?
What a formation service does and does not touch
A formation service types and files your Articles of Organization. It does not touch the vehicles, the plates, the inspection or the insurance, and it cannot change the state's $100 filing fee.
Whoever files, West Virginia charges the same. The DMV paperwork for the fleet, from the DMV-1-TR titling applications onward, stays yours either way. The setup guide covers that half in full.
So the comparison is narrow: what is bundled around the filing, and what it costs in year two. A trades LLC has one quirk that matters here, the $25 annual report every year by June 30, which is worth checking against any compliance bundle.
$100 filingWest Virginia charges a $100.00 filing fee for Articles of Organization for a domestic LLC, whoever prepares the filing. — West Virginia Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-29
First-year cost at base, service by service
Every figure below comes from the service's own pricing page, checked on the date shown. Plans change, so confirm before buying.
The state fee is fixed at $100, plus $1 online. What differs is the bundle: some include a registered agent year, some include the EIN and the operating agreement, some include nothing but the filing.
The annual report is the yearly constant at $25, due between January 1 and June 30. Miss it and the penalties climb toward administrative dissolution, whatever service filed the LLC.
| Service | Base package | Registered agent | First-year total at base | What renews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tailor Brands | $0 Lite + state fee | Not listed on the plan page | $100 | Paid tiers bill yearly |
| Bizee | $0 Basic + state fee | First year free | $100 | Agent service after year one |
| BetterLegal | $299 flat + state fee | Sold as an add-on | $399 | Add-ons only |
| ZenBusiness | $0 Starter + state fee | $199 per year | $100 | Agent and compliance add-ons |
| LegalZoom | $0 Basic + state fee | $249 per year | $100 | Agent service yearly |
| File it yourself | State fee only | Your own arrangement | $100 | $25 annual report |
$0 + state feeBizee publishes a $0 Basic LLC plan plus the state fee, and states each package is eligible for one free year of registered agent service. — Bizee pricing page, retrieved 2026-09-29
$199 per yearZenBusiness publishes LLC formation starting at $0 plus state fees, with registered agent service at $199 per year. — ZenBusiness pricing page, retrieved 2026-09-29
$249 per yearLegalZoom's registered agent service costs $249 per year and auto-renews at the purchase rate until cancelled. — LegalZoom registered agent page, retrieved 2026-09-29
Services matched to what a vehicle-based trade needs
These are use cases, not a ranking. Order on the page is presentation order, and every price is what the service published about itself on the date checked.
A trades LLC's needs are specific: the filing done right once, the EIN before the first truck is titled, and some way to remember the annual report while the fleet eats the calendar.
- Tailor Brands
Suits a first-vehicle trades owner who wants the LLC and its yearly upkeep in one account. The $0 Lite plan covers the filing, an operating agreement and the annual compliance feature, plus branding tools for the truck's lettering. Its plan page does not list registered agent service, so budget for that separately. Paid tiers are yearly: Essential at $199 per year, Elite at $249 per year, with expedited processing on the paid tiers.
- Bizee
Every package here includes one free year of registered agent service, which keeps a home address off the record while the business is still small. The $0 Basic plan pays only the $100 state fee, and Standard at $199 or Premium at $299 sit above it. The agent service is what renews after the free year, and its renewal price is not published on the pricing page, so ask before year two.
- BetterLegal
No tiers to compare: $299 plus the state fee covers the formation filing, the EIN, an operating agreement, a banking resolution and express processing, with a stated two-business-day turnaround. Getting the EIN inside the package saves a step before the first titling. Registered agent service is an add-on rather than part of the flat price.
- ZenBusiness
When the deadline is what you keep missing, this is the compliance-forward option. Formation starts at $0 plus state fees, and registered agent service runs $199 per year. Its compliance add-ons track the yearly filings, which for a West Virginia LLC means the $25 annual report in the window between January 1 and June 30 rather than in September.
- LegalZoom
Here the draw is a lawyer on call. The $0 Basic plan files the LLC, and the $249 Pro plan adds an operating agreement, an EIN and 30 days of unlimited 30-minute attorney consultations, a subscription that auto-renews monthly after the trial unless cancelled. Registered agent service is separate at $249 per year. For a service contract with a crew or a lease on a yard, that consultation window has real uses.
$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, and a 30-day bookkeeping trial that continues at $39 per month after. — Tailor Brands plans and pricing page, retrieved 2026-09-29
$299 + state feeBetterLegal publishes a $299 plus state fee formation package including an EIN, an operating agreement and a banking resolution, with registered agent service as an add-on. — BetterLegal home page, retrieved 2026-09-29
$249 + state feesLegalZoom's Pro LLC plan is $249 plus state filing fees and includes an operating agreement, an EIN and 30 days of unlimited 30-minute attorney consultations that auto-renew after the trial period. — LegalZoom LLC pricing page, retrieved 2026-09-29
File it yourself with the Secretary of State
You can skip every service. File the Articles of Organization, form LLD-1, with the West Virginia Secretary of State for the same $100 fee, plus $1 if you file online.
No lawyer is required. The One Stop Business Portal walks the filing, and the same $100 applies on paper. Allow for processing before the DMV can title anything to the company.
This route is the benchmark for the whole page: the same filing, the same fee, nobody in between. What a service adds is the typing, an address, reminders or extra documents, none of which the fleet needs to move.
LLD-1A West Virginia LLC is formed by filing Articles of Organization, form LLD-1, for $100.00 plus a $1.00 online processing fee. — West Virginia Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-29
Year two, and what the fleet adds
Pick by year-two cost and what you will actually use. The $25 annual report is due every year between January 1 and June 30, and dissolution is the destination for an LLC that ignores it, which would strand every vehicle title in a dissolved company.
A formation service does none of the DMV work. The second truck's title, its plate class and its inspection are on your calendar regardless, and the titling guide and the trade-by-trade checklist cover that half.
One decision before you buy any service: whether the EIN and the operating agreement are in the base or the add-ons, because both come before the first vehicle is titled, not after.
$25 by June 30West Virginia LLCs must file a $25.00 annual report between January 1 and June 30 each year under WV Code 59-1-2a, and failure to file may result in monetary penalties or administrative dissolution. — West Virginia Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
Do I need a formation service to title trucks to my LLC?
No. The Secretary of State files Articles of Organization for $100 whoever types them, and the DMV titles vehicles to the LLC once it exists. A service adds convenience around the filing, not a step the vehicles require.
Which service handles the annual report for me?
The annual report is filed through the One Stop Business Portal or the Secretary of State, and the $25 fee is the state's. Some services include compliance tracking that reminds or assists with it, but the obligation stays with the LLC.
Why do two services show $0 for the same filing?
The $0 is the service's base plan price. West Virginia's $100 filing fee is passed through in every case, so the first-year state total is the same, and what differs is the bundle around the filing.
Should I wait for a service before buying the first work vehicle?
Yes, in one direction only: the LLC must exist before the DMV can title a vehicle to it. Once the Articles are approved, the EIN and the titling can proceed together, whichever route filed the LLC.