Work it down
Six questions, and then you know
Nobody can tell you whether to file your own LLC without knowing what your situation looks like. What we can do is put the questions in front of you in the order that actually settles it.
On the board
Nothing is ticked, and that is the point
Nothing is published yet. These are the six questions every write-up comes back to. The boxes stay empty — the answers are yours, and a pre-ticked list would be pretending otherwise.
Is your home address going on the public record?
This is the registered agent question, and for a lot of people it decides everything else. It can be solved without buying a formation package.
Is there more than one owner?
Multiple members mean an operating agreement that actually has to say something. That is not what a formation service produces.
Is your state one of the awkward ones?
A few states attach a publication requirement, a heavy annual charge, or an extra report. Where that applies, the write-up says so.
Will you remember the annual report?
Honestly. The filing happens once; the report happens forever, and missing it is what quietly costs people an entity.
What is an afternoon worth to you?
That is the real size of the DIY route in most states. If the answer is less than the service fee, the list is finished.
Is anything about the business unusual?
Outside investment, a regulated activity, or owners in different states. None of that is what a formation service is built to handle.
No score at the bottom. Three ticks does not mean one route and two ticks the other — some of these questions outweigh the rest on their own.
Ground rules
How this guide is written
Not legal advice
What a state requires is a matter of record. Whether a structure suits your situation is a question for someone qualified to look at it.
No house answer
DIY is not automatically the smart route and a service is not automatically the safe one. The write-ups argue cases, not a default.
Nothing was filed to write this
No claim here rests on having formed an entity. Where something is only knowable by doing it, the page says so plainly.
Affiliate links are disclosed
Some links earn a commission. It never changes what a question asks, and it is stated wherever it applies.