Vermont LLC Cost

It costs $125 to register your LLC with Vermont’s Secretary of State. You can submit your Vermont Articles of Organization by mail or in person, but the fastest way is to file online with the Vermont Secretary of State’s Business Service Center. Filing your articles is what officially forms your business in Vermont.

Vermont’s Annual Report costs $35. You can file online or if you prefer to file by mail, you can request a paper form from the Business Services Division. Your annual report is due within the first three months after your LLC’s fiscal year ends, which in most cases is March 31st. Online filings are processed within 24-hours of being received. Mailed filings can take up to a week (plus time for mailing). Late filings will be fined $25, and your LLC will lose its good standing with the state.

Find out more about filing your Vermont Annual Report.

Vermont law requires that all LLCs have a registered agent. Prices for registered agents vary. At Northwest we charge $125 a year, and our price never goes up. You can save money by acting as your own registered agent, but your personal information will end up on public documents. A professional Vermont registered agent (like Northwest) will protect your privacy by listing their name and address on all state filings allowable, helping you live privately.

Vermont’s only state-wide business license is the free Vermont Business Tax Account license that allows your LLC to collect sales tax. Any business in Vermont that makes taxable sales or provides taxable services will need to apply for one. You can apply online with myVTax. You can also submit a hard copy of the Application for Business Tax Account by mail or fax.

Professional business licenses are required for industries that need specialized training to provide services. Attorneys, real estate agents, physical therapists, tattoo artists, barbers, and engineers all fall under the umbrella of professionals that will need special licensing. The cost to obtain a professional license varies, but in most cases you’ll need to take an exam, pass it, and pay for an application to the relevant board, and then pay all accompanying fees for your professional license. For instance, barbers in Vermont can expect to pay $250 for the state exam, and another $110 for a license. If you run a barber shop, you’ll also need to pay $330 to get a store license.

Many professions have annual or biennial renewal fees as well as continuing education costs. Vermont’s Office of Professional Regulation is your go-to for finding out what kind of licenses you’ll need to obtain and their fees.

Local licenses and permits are required for most businesses. Licenses and permits are available from your county or city clerk’s office. For instance, if you operate a burger truck out of Burlington, you’ll have to get a permit from the local board of health ($50), a license to operate in the city of Burlington ($70), and a background check from the local police ($30).

We’ve addressed some of the main expenses you’ll face when registering an LLC in Vermont. However, there are other potential fees your LLC may face. Here are the most common ones:

Name Reservation

It costs $20 to reserve a business name in Vermont. Business name reservations are usually used by people who have the perfect name for their business, but aren’t yet ready to register their business with the state. You can file an Entity Name Reservation form online with Vermont’s Corporation’s Division. You can also request a form from Vermont’s Business Services Division and file in person or by mail. Your reserved name will be good for 120 days. Vermont will let you renew an additional two times for 120 days each.

DBA (Doing Business as) Name

You can register a DBA by completing and submitting the Assumed Business Name Registration form online and paying the $50 fee. If you’re more comfortable filing a paper form, you can request a form, print it out, complete it, and mail it in along with payment. Vermont calls DBAs “assumed business names.” It will only be good for 5 years, at which point you’ll need to file the Assumed Business Name Renewal form ($50) before the name expires. You’ll also need to perform a Vermont business name search to make sure no other business has already taken your assumed business name.

Certified Copies of Business Documents

Certified copies of documents for Vermont LLCs cost $25 (plus $1 per page of the document) and can be obtained by phone, mail, in person, or through email. In-person requests will be processed the fastest (3-5 business days). All other options may require more processing time. Certified documents are often necessary for LLCs to get bank loans, open up bank accounts, attract investors, or expand the business to a new state.

Here’s how to get a certified copy of your Vermont Articles of Organization.

Vermont Certificate of Good Standing

A Vermont Certificate of Good Standing will cost you $25. A Certificate of Good Standing is for proving to a bank, investor, or another state that your LLC is up-to-date on all state filings and fees. To do this, you’ll need to obtain a Certificate of Good Standing. You can get one by submitting a Request for Certificate of Good Standing form by mail or in person. In-person processing can take up to five business days. Mailed requests will take longer.

Here’s how to get a Vermont Certificate of Good Standing.

Liability coverage helps to mitigate claims against your business, or damage that happens to your business from natural disasters or equipment failure. Rates for liability coverage will depend on the nature of the business your LLC engages in. For example, an electrical contractor will need more coverage than an interior designer.

Any business in Vermont that employs at least one employee, full- or part-time, must provide workers’ compensation insurance. With permission from the Vermont Department of Labor, members of LLCs can opt out of having workers’ compensation coverage for themselves. However, in most cases, you’ll need to obtain coverage for anyone who works for you, and it’s not a bad idea to add coverage for each LLC member just in case. You can obtain workers’ compensation from a private insurance company, or you can obtain coverage from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), which manages Vermont’s assigned risk market.

Learn more about LLC Business Insurance.

It costs $125 to register your foreign LLC in Vermont. Registering your foreign LLC, also known as foreign qualification, involves submitting an Application for Certificate of Authority to Vermont’s Secretary of State Office and appointing a Vermont registered agent. You can submit your application by mail (3-7 day processing after receipt) or online (3 day processing after receipt) through the Vermont Business Services Division. You will most likely need to factor in costs of licenses and insurance if you end up setting up a physical location in the state.