Updated November 10, 2026 · 9 services tested
We tested 9 LLC services for Louisiana. Northwest is our pick: $39 + $125 state fee, with the first registered agent year included (then $125/yr).
By Jon Morgan · Fact-checked by Jon Tobin, Business Attorney · How we test
Northwest Registered Agent
$39 + $125 state feeForm my LLC for $39 (opens in a new tab)
LegalZoom
$0 + $125 state feeSee LegalZoom plans (opens in a new tab)Save 20% with code: venturesmarter20
ZenBusiness
$0 + $125 state feeSee ZenBusiness plans (opens in a new tab)Prices checked November 10, 2026. Louisiana's state filing fee is $125.
Northwest Registered Agent is the strongest overall pick for a Louisiana LLC.
We set up an LLC with each provider on this list, and Northwest paired first-year registered agent service with a Corporate Guide who reviewed the account details before filing.
We ranked all nine services against Louisiana's geauxBIZ filing path, including the no-cost Initial Report, weighing Louisiana-specific pricing, year one and year two registered agent economics, and how much help each service gives once the state approves the filing.
LegalZoom ranks second for owners who plan to use its legal forms, attorney access or bookkeeping tools, while ZenBusiness ranks third for guided online formation.
LLC Attorney suits owners who want attorney-reviewed paperwork over a busy dashboard. The comparison table below breaks out all nine, with the Louisiana-specific costs called out.
| Service | LLC Fees | Registered Agent Price | Money-Back Guarantee | Score | Compare offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $39 with our exclusive link + $125 state fee | Free first year with the $39 LLC, then $125/yr | ✓ 90-day money-back policy | 4.9 | Form my LLC (opens in a new tab) |
| $0 formation fee + $125 state fee | $249 first year, then $249/yr (not in any plan) | ✓ Guaranteed for 60 days | 4.7 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
| Starting from $0 + $125 state fee | $199 first year, then $199/yr (not in any plan) | ✓ Guaranteed for 60 days | 4.6 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Begins at $0 + $125 state fee | Free first year with formation, then $249/yr | ✗ | 4.5 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Begins at $0 + $125 state fee | $199 first year, then $199/yr (not in any plan) | ✗ | 4.4 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Plans starting at $49 + $125 state fee | $14.99/mo first year, then $14.99/mo (inside its compliance plan) | ✓ Money-back within 30 to 60 days | 4.3 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Begins at $0 + $125 state fee | $596 first year, then $596/yr (billed $149 a quarter; not in any plan) | ✓ Guaranteed for 60 days | 4.2 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Begins at $0 + $125 state fee | Free first year with formation, then $149/yr | ✓ Can be refunded before state payment (typically 24h); $30 fee withheld | 4.1 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Rocket Legal: $39.99/mo / Rocket Legal+: $239.88/yr or $19.99/mo + $125 state fee | $124.99 first year, then $124.99/yr (Plus or Pro membership required) | ✓ Full 30-day money-back guarantee | 3.7 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
Prices checked November 10, 2026. Louisiana's state filing fee is $125.
Each score combines support, price, features, turnaround, ease of use and user ratings.
Refund: 90 days
BBB: No BBB accreditation; A rating
Same & Next Day Filing: No
Free Package Features: No features in free tier
Advisory Services: No
Northwest Registered Agent puts a real person between you and the state. After we placed the order, a Corporate Guide reviewed the account details before the filing moved into the queue.
If anything needs a second look, the team calls within 48 hours instead of just sending another email.
Once Louisiana approved the paperwork, Northwest uploaded a basic operating agreement, initial resolutions and membership certificates automatically.
We never had to ask for any of it, and each document was ready to download the same day it went live.
The tradeoff shows up in how the business address gets used. Northwest keeps a personal address off the public filing, but some banks and state forms still ask for a separate physical office.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Guaranteed for 60 days
BBB: Yes, rated A+ by BBB
Same & Next Day Filing: No
Free Package Features: Customizable website
LegalZoom collects the business details after payment clears, unlike every other service we tested. We paid first. Then we filled in company details on a separate screen before the filing began.
Once the account opened, the document library and attorney directory stood out. Templates for offer letters, contractor deals and NDAs sat next to licensed attorneys ready to answer a question.
Managed Service's Business Advisor Plan renews at $49/month after 30 days if retained; Expert Service renews at $99/month after 30 days if retained. Anyone who signs up should mark the date and decide early.
Get 20% off eligible LegalZoom LLC formation and other services with Venture Smarter code venturesmarter20.
Pros
Cons
The Managed Service Business Advisor Plan renews at $49/month after 30 days if retained. Expert Service renews at $99/month after 30 days if retained, and either plan can be canceled at any time.
Refund: Guaranteed for 60 days
BBB: Yes, BBB-accredited
Free Package Features: LLC filing alongside a 100% accuracy guarantee
Advisory Services: Consultation on accounting included
ZenBusiness gave us the cleanest checkout of the nine services we tested. The order summary stayed visible the whole time, and no paid option came pre-selected before we confirmed the filing.
Velo AI, ZenBusiness's in-account assistant, ran a full check the moment we logged in after paying. It flagged the pending status, noted we hadn't bought an EIN yet, and turned the loose ends into a short list of next steps.
That kind of early nudge matters in Louisiana, where the Initial Report and the anniversary-date annual report are both easy to lose track of once the paperwork is filed.
The one gap we ran into was registered agent service. It isn't part of the starting plan, so it has to be added separately from day one.
Pros
Cons
Pro renews at $199/year and Premium at $299/year. Starter includes an optional free first year of Worry-Free Compliance, which renews at $199/year if retained.
The 30-day website-builder special offer is available with each plan. It renews at $15/month after the trial and can be canceled before or after the introductory period.
Refund: No
BBB: No
Same & Next Day Filing: Yes
Free Package Features: Digital document storage, tax consultation, preparation & filing, Inc Care support, business credit analysis
Advisory Services: Complimentary tax planning session
Inc Authority separates its own price from what the state charges more clearly than any other service we tested. The checkout screen spelled out the state charge on its own line and labeled the formation work as free.
Getting there took patience, since every upsell arrived on its own full-screen offer with a countdown timer running in the corner before we reached the final order review.
Owners who want the lowest first bill can get it here, but only by reading each timed screen slowly and declining anything they don't need.
Pros
Cons
Refund: No
BBB: No
Free Package Features: LLC formation plus 30-day bookkeeping trial
Advisory Services: Business coaching on all plans
A logo generator and a website builder sit right next to the filing status inside Tailor Brands's account, and that combination is the main reason to pick it over a plainer filing service.
Compliance tracking lives in that same account view instead of a separate tool.
We noticed the registered agent option only appears during the application itself. Skip it there and it can't be added back afterward.
Standard processing can run slower than some rivals, so anyone in a hurry should plan around it instead of assuming it's the fastest option.
Pros
Cons
Open any card for the complete review, scores and packages.
Refund: Money-back within 30 to 60 days
BBB: Accredited, A rating
Same & Next Day Filing: No
Advisory Services: Attorney support available as a paid add-on
LLC Attorney puts legal review ahead of a flashy dashboard. Every document we saw, from the Articles of Organization to the operating agreement, is drafted and checked by an attorney familiar with the state's requirements before it goes out.
Phone support answered in under three minutes when we called with a filing question, and follow-up emails came back within a day. That kind of direct access counts for more than a big software menu when accuracy matters more than polish.
The account itself stays simple. Owners who want ongoing reminders, brand assets, or a broad set of business tools should look elsewhere on this list.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Guaranteed for 60 days
BBB: No
Same & Next Day Filing: Premium Package
Free Package Features: LLC filing paired with lifetime customer support
Advisory Services: No
The five-step Swyft Filings application took us under fifteen minutes to finish, with plain instructions at each stage and no confusing detours.
Order tracking stayed current the whole way through, showing exactly where the filing sat in the queue. That kind of visibility beats guessing whether a submission actually went through.
Registered agent service isn't part of the starting filing and renews above what several competitors charge, so it's worth comparing before adding it here.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Can be refunded before state payment (typically 24h); $30 fee withheld
BBB: No
Same & Next Day Filing: Platinum Package
Free Package Features: Business tax consultation, and additional extras
Advisory Services: 1-hour free tax consultation included
One detail surprised us more than anything else in Bizee's checkout. The registered agent handling the account isn't Bizee at all.
Our account showed a separate third-party agent filling that role, with Bizee managing the relationship from the dashboard.
Each upsell during checkout sat on its own screen with a plain decline option, and nothing paid was selected by default. The dashboard afterward tracked filings, mail setup, and compliance tasks in one view.
One compliance date came up faster than expected in our test formation, landing well before the one-year mark. Anyone forming here should check their own deadline the same week the filing clears.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Full 30-day money-back guarantee
BBB: Yes, BBB-accredited
Same & Next Day Filing: No
Free Package Features: No features in free tier
Advisory Services: Legal services: Ask-a-lawyer via email and 30-min monthly phone consultation per new matter (with subscription)
Rocket Lawyer only makes sense once the ongoing legal membership gets used. The seven-day trial that comes with the free filing rolls into a paid annual membership if nobody cancels it first.
Once we cleared that step, document turnaround was quick. Phone support resolved our call on the first try, and formation paperwork typically comes back within two days.
For a single filing with nothing else needed, the membership adds a cost that a plain filing service wouldn't ask for.
Pros
Cons
We scored every service on the same seven-part testing methodology: support, price, features, turnaround, ease of use, user ratings, and how well the service fits Louisiana's own filing rhythm.
Louisiana's Initial Report rides along with the Articles at no extra charge, then the state switches to an anniversary-date annual report instead of a fixed calendar deadline.
The order below reflects what a new Louisiana owner actually gets once the state approves the filing instead of ranking by the lowest number on the first screen.
These two screenshots show what we checked closely: a compliance tab tracking a pending formation and registered agent status, and a second account showing good standing once the paperwork cleared.
Northwest and ZenBusiness gave us the clearest path to a real answer when something needed a second look.
A Corporate Guide called before Northwest's filing even reached the state, and ZenBusiness's Velo AI flagged open items the moment we logged back in.
Northwest scored highest here, with LegalZoom close behind. Northwest and ZenBusiness each offered a support model that moves faster than a generic help ticket, and LLC Attorney earned credit for its attorney-staffed phone line.
We weighed the provider's own fee, the state charge, registered agent economics and what happens at renewal instead of just the number on the first screen. A low starting price meant less when the second-year cost was hard to predict.
Inc Authority scored well here because its entry path stays easy to follow even once the state fee and any add-ons come into play.
ZenBusiness also kept those costs easy to follow in our test, while Rocket Lawyer scored lowest because its membership model adds a recurring cost most competitors don't require.
Feature credit went to services that help after the Articles get filed instead of stopping at the filing itself. Registered agent options, document storage and compliance reminders all counted toward the score.
Northwest and LegalZoom share the highest score here, with ZenBusiness close behind, each pairing the filing with tools an owner actually uses in the following year.
Inc Authority also earned feature credit for its free first-year registered agent service (then $249/yr).
ZenBusiness posted the fastest turnaround among the nine services we tested for Louisiana, with rush processing that moves the internal review to a single business day.
Northwest followed closely, and LegalZoom and Swyft Filings trailed closely enough that the state's own review time decides most of the real-world gap. No provider controls how fast Louisiana itself processes a filing.
ZenBusiness led this category among the nine services, keeping the next task visible instead of buried in a settings menu. Northwest followed close behind, and Tailor Brands scored well by keeping brand tools inside the same account view.
Inc Authority and Bizee scored lower here. Both cut the first bill, but leave more for the owner to track manually afterward.
ZenBusiness and Northwest tied for the strongest user ratings among the nine services we compared for Louisiana, each backed by a large base of verified reviews.
Tailor Brands followed a step behind, while Rocket Lawyer posted the lowest user-ratings score of the group, largely tied to complaints about the membership renewal.
Louisiana fit measured how well each service handles the state's own rhythm: the registered agent requirement, the Initial Report that rides along with the Articles, and the anniversary-date annual report that follows every year after.
Louisiana doesn't give filers much slack on either obligation.
The registered agent has to keep a real Louisiana address staffed during business hours from day one, and the annual report lands on a different date for every LLC since it tracks the anniversary of formation instead of a fixed statewide deadline.
ZenBusiness and Northwest scored highest here, one through account prompts and the other through a named human contact, so neither obligation gets missed by accident.
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy 2025 Louisiana Small Business Profile (Bureau of Labor Statistics Business Employment Dynamics; CRA Aggregate Data, FFIEC).
Louisiana lets owners file the Articles of Organization directly through the Secretary of State without hiring a service. Everything routes through the geauxBIZ portal from start to finish.
Here are the seven steps to form an LLC in Louisiana:
For more detail on the formation process, see our full Louisiana LLC formation guide.
Starting an LLC in Louisiana costs $125 by mail or $130 online through the Secretary of State's geauxBIZ portal.
The Initial Report rides along with the Articles of Organization at no extra state charge. Provider service fees are separate and range from $0 to $299 for the formation packages listed here.
Forming an LLC in Louisiana usually takes one to two business days online through geauxBIZ, or up to a week by mail.
The state offers expedited handling for an extra charge. Provider processing time adds anywhere from same-day to two weeks on top of that, depending on the service.
Yes, every Louisiana LLC needs a registered agent with a Louisiana street address who's available during business hours to accept legal notices. You can act as your own agent or hire a service to handle it.
Yes, Louisiana LLCs file an annual report with the Secretary of State every year on the LLC's anniversary date. The fee is $35 by mail or $40 online through geauxBIZ. Missing the deadline can lead to administrative dissolution.
No, Louisiana's corporate franchise tax was repealed for taxable periods beginning on or after January 1, 2026, under the state's 2024 tax reform package.
Most LLCs pay it as pass-through entities anyway and weren't subject to the franchise tax to begin with.
Yes, you can file directly through the geauxBIZ portal without hiring anyone. A service saves time on the filing, the EIN, the operating agreement, and reminders for the anniversary-date annual report, but the state charge stays the same either way.
References
Northwest is our Best Overall pick for most Louisiana filings. Its first-year registered agent service, Corporate Guide support and predictable $125/year agent renewal give owners help beyond the initial filing.
LegalZoom ranks second for owners who expect to use its legal forms, attorney access or bookkeeping tools; ZenBusiness ranks third for guided online formation and a dashboard that keeps follow-up tasks visible.
Go with LLC Attorney if a licensed attorney reviewing your paperwork settles more nerves than any dashboard could.
Whichever service you pick, mark the anniversary date. Louisiana's annual report is the one deadline that comes back every single year.
Our verdict
$39 + $125 state fee, with the first registered agent year included (then $125/yr). 90-day money-back guarantee.
Prices checked November 10, 2026. Louisiana's state filing fee is $125.