How to form an LLC in Wyoming

Wyoming is the state other states get compared to. The filing fee is $100, online filings take effect immediately, the annual report costs most small LLCs a flat $60, there’s no state income tax, and members aren’t listed on the public filing. No other state matches that whole package.

The honest part — the part most formation sites bury — is that Wyoming only pays off for a certain kind of business. This guide covers all of it in plain English: what the $100 buys, every filing step (including the paper-filing quirks that surprise people), the anniversary-month deadline that’s easy to lose track of, and the one-question test for whether Wyoming is actually your state.

What a Wyoming LLC really costs

The required cost is refreshingly short: one filing fee, one small recurring tax. Here’s every line item you’ll actually encounter:

Articles filing fee

$100

Required, one-time

Online card fee

2.4%

≈ $102.40 total

Annual report

$60

Minimum license tax

Registered agent service

$50–$150/yr

If you hire one

The $100 goes to the Wyoming Secretary of State when you file your Articles of Organization; paying online adds a 2.4% card-processing fee, bringing it to about $102.40. After that, the recurring state cost is the annual report license tax — $60 or $0.0002 per dollar of assets located in Wyoming, whichever is greater. Unless your LLC holds substantial physical assets in Wyoming, you’ll pay the $60 minimum. Here’s the five-year picture in state fees alone, assuming you act as your own registered agent:

Two things can sit on top of that. Your EIN is free directly from the IRS. And a registered agent service — if you hire one instead of acting as your own — typically runs $50–$150/year. (FilingDesk’s Complete plan includes a registered agent for your first year, so that line starts at $0.)

How to form a Wyoming LLC, step by step

Six steps, start to finish. Because Wyoming approves online filings immediately, most founders can genuinely go from “no company” to “LLC with a bank-ready document set” in a single sitting.

1. 1

   Choose your LLC name

   Your name must include a designator like “LLC” or “Limited Liability Company” and be distinguishable from existing Wyoming businesses. Check availability first on the Wyoming Secretary of State business search — it’s free and public.

   Two Wyoming-specific quirks worth knowing before you fall in love with a name:

   • Restricted words force a slower path. Names containing words like “bank,” “trust,” “academy,” or “university” need approval from another state agency and must be filed on paper — no instant online approval.
   • The standalone-”A” rule. Names that begin with a standalone “A” (the letter followed by a space) or contain special characters must also be paper-filed. If instant approval matters to you, pick a name that stays on the online path.
2. 2

   Appoint a registered agent

   Every Wyoming LLC must have a registered agent — a person or company with a physical Wyoming street address that accepts legal mail on the LLC’s behalf. This is where out-of-state founders hit their first real cost: you can be your own agent only if you have a Wyoming address, so most non-Wyoming owners hire a service, typically $50–$150/year.

   If you form through FilingDesk, the Complete plan includes a registered agent free for your first year — no separate signup, no first-year fee.

3. 3

   File the Articles of Organization

   The Articles of Organization is the document that creates your LLC. File it with the Wyoming Secretary of State and pay the $100 fee — online, the 2.4% card-processing fee brings it to about $102.40.

   This is where Wyoming earns its reputation: filed online, your LLC is active immediately. The state reviews the registration the next business day, but you’re not waiting on a queue to exist. By mail, processing can take up to 15 business days — if you’re on any kind of deadline, file online.

4. 4

   Get your free EIN from the IRS

   An EIN (Employer Identification Number) is your company’s federal tax ID. You’ll need it to open a business bank account, hire, and file taxes. It’s free directly from the IRS — apply after your LLC is active. Because Wyoming approval is immediate for online filings, you can often finish this the same day you file.

5. 5

   Create an operating agreement

   Wyoming doesn’t legally require an operating agreement, but you want one anyway. It sets out who owns what, how voting works, and how profits are split — and banks frequently ask to see it when you open the business account. Without one, you’re leaving those questions to default rules and future arguments. (FilingDesk generates one for you as part of the standard flow — it’s included, not an upsell.)

6. 6

   Check the federal BOI rules (most LLCs are now exempt)

   New LLCs used to have to file a Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report with FinCEN, identifying who owns or controls the company. That changed in March 2025: under FinCEN’s interim final rule, companies formed in the United States are exempt from BOI reporting — only companies formed under foreign law that register to do business in the U.S. still file.

The annual report: Wyoming’s one recurring obligation

Every Wyoming LLC files an annual report with the Secretary of State each year, due on the first day of its anniversary month — the month you formed. It comes with a license tax of $60 or $0.0002 per dollar of assets located in Wyoming, whichever is greater. For most small LLCs with no physical Wyoming assets, that means a flat $60.

Compared to what other states charge for the privilege of existing, this is Wyoming’s quiet advantage: the recurring cost is what compounds over a company’s life, and Wyoming’s $60 minimum is among the gentlest anywhere.

Wyoming LLC taxes, briefly

• No state income tax. Wyoming doesn’t tax income — there’s no state return for pass-through LLC profits. This is a core part of the state’s appeal.
• The annual license tax is the recurring state cost — the $60-minimum report covered above, based on Wyoming-located assets, not income.
• Federal taxes still apply. Forming in Wyoming changes your state tax picture, not your federal one — your LLC’s profits are still reported to the IRS the same way they would be anywhere.

Privacy and non-resident ownership

Two Wyoming features do real work for a lot of founders:

• Members aren’t listed on the public filing. Wyoming doesn’t publish LLC members in its public records, which is a genuine, structural privacy feature — not a marketing claim. If keeping your name out of a searchable state database matters to you, this is one of the few states where that’s the default.
• Non-residents can own a Wyoming LLC. You don’t need to live in Wyoming — or even in the U.S. That’s a big part of why Wyoming is popular with online founders, non-resident founders, and holding companies that exist to own assets rather than operate on a street corner.

Is Wyoming right for you?

Here’s the one-question test: is your business tied to a specific state?

If the answer is no — an online business, a holding company, a non-resident founder with no U.S. base — Wyoming is an excellent choice. It’s low-cost, private, has no state income tax, and the only recurring state cost is the $60 minimum annual report.

If Florida is your home state, start with our Florida LLC guide instead. Weighing Wyoming against the other famous formation state? See Wyoming vs Delaware — or zoom out with the full best state to form an LLC breakdown.

Five common mistakes (and how to dodge them)

1. Forming in Wyoming while operating somewhere else. The foreign-LLC registration in your home state — plus its fees, every year — can erase Wyoming’s cost advantage. Run the one-question test first.
2. Paying for an EIN. It’s free from the IRS. Any standalone EIN fee is markup.
3. Losing track of the anniversary-month deadline. The annual report is due the first day of your anniversary month, not a fixed date — calendar it the day you file.
4. Picking a name that forces paper filing. Restricted words like “bank,” “trust,” “academy,” or “university” — and names starting with a standalone “A” or containing special characters — must be paper-filed, giving up Wyoming’s instant online approval.
5. Skipping the operating agreement because it’s not required. Banks ask for it, and without one you have no written answer to who owns what and how profits split.

Where FilingDesk fits

Everything above is genuinely doable yourself — that’s why we wrote it all down. If you’d rather not shepherd the details, FilingDesk’s Wyoming filing works like this: describe your business in plain English, and we check the name against the state’s records, prepare and file your Articles of Organization, get your EIN, generate your operating agreement, and include a registered agent for your first year. One flat $99 service fee plus the $100 state fee, everything included, no upsells — and the Complete plan auto-files your annual report so the anniversary-month deadline is never your problem. See how it works.

Ready? Start your Wyoming LLC now.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Wyoming Secretary of State — Business Division
• Wyoming Secretary of State — Business entity search

This guide is general information, not legal advice. FilingDesk is not a law firm.