South Dakota LLC: How to Start One in 2026

South Dakota LLC at a glance

A South Dakota LLC costs $150 to form online and $55 a year to keep in good standing. The state has no corporate income tax, and the Secretary of State processes online filings immediately.

Fees in this table come from the Secretary of State’s filing fee schedule. To see how South Dakota compares with other states over several years, use our LLC state fee comparison tool.

How to start an LLC in South Dakota

You start a South Dakota LLC by checking the name, naming a registered agent and filing Articles of Organization online with the Secretary of State. Online filings are approved on the spot, so you can move straight to the EIN and tax registrations.

1. Choose and check the name. Under SDCL 47-34A-105, the name must contain "limited liability company" or "limited company", or the abbreviation "L.L.C.", "LLC", "L.C." or "LC". It must be distinguishable from other names on record; the Secretary of State’s business FAQs explain that a different spelling of a name that sounds the same is not enough. You can reserve a name for $25.
2. Appoint a registered agent with a physical and mailing address in South Dakota (see below). Our registered agent service covers this if you have no one in the state.
3. File the Articles of Organization. File online through the Secretary of State’s business registration system for $150. The system accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. You can also print the form and mail it for an extra $15 paper processing fee ($165). Our articles of organization guide explains the fields.
4. Choose member-managed or manager-managed. The FAQs explain that in a member-managed LLC all members can act for the business, while a manager-managed LLC separates ownership from management.
5. Sign an operating agreement. It is not filed with the state, but it records ownership, voting and profit shares, and banks often ask for it.
6. Get an EIN. The EIN is free from the IRS. With an SSN or ITIN you can apply online; without one you apply by fax, mail or phone, as the IRS EIN page explains. Our EIN application service handles the no-SSN route.
7. Register for sales tax with the Department of Revenue if you sell taxable goods or services into South Dakota.
8. Diary the annual report. It is due every year on the first day of your anniversary month. Our compliance deadline calendar can remind you.

Want our filing team to handle it? We check the name, prepare and submit the Articles, arrange the agent and track everything in your portal. The general process is in our how to start an LLC guide.

South Dakota LLC cost

A South Dakota LLC costs $150 to form online and $55 for each annual report after that. Filing on paper adds $15 to each document.

The arithmetic for a small LLC filing online: $150 at formation, then $55 for each annual report. So the first two years cost $150 + $55 = $205 in state fees, and every year after that costs $55. A South Dakota series LLC (master series Articles) costs $200 instead of $150. Card charges, if any, are extra.

South Dakota LLC annual report

Every South Dakota LLC files an annual report each year: $55 online or $70 on paper. The Secretary of State’s FAQs say reports are due every year on the first day of the anniversary month of the original filing, and you can file up to two months before the due date.

• How to file: through the online annual report system, where the search tool also shows your due date. You can print the report and mail it instead for the extra $15 paper fee.
• Late: the FAQs say that if the report is not filed within two months of the due date, the LLC becomes delinquent and is charged a $55 late fee. (The online filing instructions still mention $50; the fee schedule and FAQs say $55.)
• Dissolution: an LLC that stays delinquent may be administratively dissolved, and reinstatement costs $150 plus the missing reports and fees.

Annual report due date change from 2027

South Dakota changed the annual report timing in 2026. Under SDCL 59-11-25 as amended by SL 2026, ch 203, from 1 January 2027 an entity files either in its anniversary month each year or on or before 31 January each year starting the calendar year after formation. A new entity indicates its choice on the formation document, and an entity in good standing can switch by filing a change-of-filing-date form. Our LLC annual report service tracks whichever date applies to you.

South Dakota registered agent

Every South Dakota LLC must have a registered agent who is a South Dakota resident with both a physical and a mailing address in the state, according to the Secretary of State’s FAQs. The agent can be a noncommercial agent (an individual or a registered entity), a commercial registered agent listed with the state, or an office holder.

The agent receives legal papers for the LLC, so its address must be reliable during business hours. To change the agent or its address, file a Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Address, which costs $10 on the fee schedule; there is also a Statement of Resignation form for an agent who stops serving. Our registered agent service covers South Dakota.

South Dakota LLC registration: processing time

Online South Dakota LLC registration is processed immediately, and the Secretary of State’s FAQs put paper filings at 1 to 3 business days on average. The fee schedule does not list a separate expedite service for LLCs. Our team submits once your order and documents are complete, and we cannot make the state move faster than it publishes.

State taxes that affect a South Dakota LLC

South Dakota’s main business taxes for a small LLC are sales and use tax, not income tax. The Department of Revenue’s business taxes page says South Dakota does not impose a corporate income tax, and the taxes it administers do not include a personal income tax.

• Sales and use tax: the state rate is 4.2%, per the department’s sales and use tax page. Municipal taxes can apply on top.
• Remote sellers: a seller outside the state needs a South Dakota sales tax license once its gross revenue from sales into South Dakota exceeds $100,000 in the previous or current calendar year. Marketplace providers that meet the threshold collect on sales they facilitate. Our sales tax registration service can file the application.
• Owners’ home-country tax: the lack of a state income tax does not remove federal tax or tax where the owners live. Ask a licensed tax professional about your situation.

Forming a South Dakota LLC as a non-resident

You do not have to live in South Dakota or the US to form a South Dakota LLC. You need a registered agent with a South Dakota address, and the LLC files its annual report each year like any other.

South Dakota’s $150 formation fee and $55 annual report are reasonable, and it has no corporate income tax. Even so, founders outside the US with no South Dakota activity usually compare it with Wyoming and New Mexico, which have lower or no yearly state fees; our Wyoming vs Delaware vs New Mexico LLC comparison and best state for an LLC guide set out the numbers. If you form elsewhere and then do business in South Dakota, the LLC registers there with a Certificate of Authority ($750 online).

• Form 5472: a single-member LLC wholly owned by a foreign person files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, even with no income, and it cannot be e-filed. See our Form 5472 guide.
• BOI: US-formed LLCs, including those owned by non-US persons, no longer file beneficial ownership reports with FinCEN under the final rule published 14 August 2026.
• Address: banks usually want a business address separate from the registered agent, which our US business address service provides.

How to dissolve a South Dakota LLC

To close a South Dakota LLC you file Articles of Termination with the Secretary of State, which cost $10 on the fee schedule. The form is on the Secretary of State’s LLC forms page.

• Before filing: wind up the business, settle debts and bring the annual reports up to date.
• Taxes: close the sales tax license with the Department of Revenue and file the final federal return, including a final Form 5472 if it applies.
• If you stop filing instead: the LLC becomes delinquent and may be administratively dissolved. The FAQs say that reinstating a dissolved domestic entity later requires a Tax Clearance Certificate, so a clean termination is simpler.

Our LLC dissolution service handles the state filing and the final federal steps.

Doing it yourself vs using Borderless Filings

You can form a South Dakota LLC yourself online for $150 and file the $55 annual report each year. The online system is quick.

What our service adds is preparation and checking before filing (name rules, agent, management type), submission by our filing team, tracking and secure storage in your portal, the EIN without an SSN for non-residents, a US address with mail forwarding, and reminders before each annual report is due. Prices are on our pricing page with the state fee at cost, and you can start your order when you are ready. Neighboring options are on our North Dakota LLC, Wyoming LLC and US LLC states pages.

Sources

• South Dakota Secretary of State: Filing fees
• South Dakota Secretary of State: Business services FAQs
• South Dakota Secretary of State: Register a business instructions
• South Dakota Secretary of State: File an annual report
• South Dakota Secretary of State: Limited liability company forms
• South Dakota Secretary of State: Commercial registered agents
• South Dakota Legislature: SDCL 47-34A-105, LLC name
• South Dakota Legislature: SDCL 59-11-25, Time for filing annual report
• South Dakota Department of Revenue: Business taxes
• South Dakota Department of Revenue: Sales and use tax
• IRS: Get an employer identification number
• IRS: Instructions for Form 5472
• FinCEN: Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting

Fees, deadlines and rules on this page were last checked on 27 September 2026.