Virginia LLC Annual Registration Fee: $50, Due Date, $25 Penalty and Automatic Cancellation
Virginia does not require an LLC to file an annual report. Each Virginia LLC instead pays a $50 annual registration fee to the State Corporation Commission (SCC) every year. If the payment is late, a $25 penalty applies. If the fee is still unpaid at the end of the third month after the due date, the LLC's existence is canceled automatically. This guide covers the annual registration fee for a Virginia LLC, how the due date works, how to pay, and what cancellation means for you.
Virginia LLCs Do Not File an Annual Report
If you searched for a Virginia LLC annual report, here is the correction you need: a Virginia LLC does not file one. The yearly obligation is a payment, not a form. The SCC assesses the $50 annual registration fee, and the LLC pays it. For most owners, this payment is the Virginia LLC renewal they are looking for.
Do not confuse this with the $100 Articles of Organization (Form LLC1011). That is a one-time formation filing, so it is not the annual fee. Corporations work differently, and the corporation section below explains the difference.
How Much the Fee Is
The fee is $50 per year for each Virginia LLC, each protected series and each foreign LLC registered in Virginia (Va. Code 13.1-1062). A foreign LLC pays the same $50 and counts from the month it registered in Virginia.
The SCC registration fee is a state charge with a fixed amount. It does not change based on your revenue, your number of members or your number of employees.
When the $50 Fee Is Due
The first payment is due on or before the last day of the 12th month after the month the LLC was organized. After that, the fee is due on the same date every year.
For example, an LLC organized in March 2026 pays by March 31, 2027, and then by March 31, 2028. Count from the month of organization, not the day you filed. A foreign LLC follows the same pattern, counted from the month it registered in Virginia.
The SCC Notice and What to Do If It Does Not Arrive
The SCC assesses the fee and mails a notice to your registered agent about two months before the due date. Your registered agent must forward that notice to you. You cannot pay before the SCC has made the assessment, so the notice is the step that makes the fee payable.
A missing notice does not move the due date. The fee is still owed. If you have not seen a notice, take these steps:
- Ask your registered agent whether the SCC sent a notice and whether it was forwarded to you.
- Check the entity in Business Entity Search in the SCC Clerk's Information System (CIS) at cis.scc.virginia.gov.
- Request a copy through the SCC's online forms request.
How to Pay the Fee
Pay online through CIS by card. Online payment has no processing fee. You must pay the full amount due, because the system will not accept a partial payment.
You can also mail a check or money order to the SCC Clerk's Office, P.O. Box 1197, Richmond, VA 23218-1197. You can pay in person at 1300 E. Main St., first floor, Richmond.
Watch for mail or emails that imitate the SCC and ask for payment. Pay only through CIS or at the addresses above, and check any request against the entity record in CIS first.
The $25 Late Penalty
A payment received after the due date adds a $25 penalty. Weekends and holidays do not extend the deadline, so if the due date falls on a weekend or holiday, pay before it.
If the SCC imposed a penalty in error, write to the Clerk of the Commission. A penalty you already paid is not refunded.
Automatic Cancellation After the Third Month
If the fee is not paid by the last day of the third month after the due date, the LLC's existence is canceled automatically under Va. Code 13.1-1050.2. The SCC's example: a fee due in April cancels at the end of July if it is still unpaid.
Cancellation is automatic. It happens even if you never received the SCC notice, so tracking the due date is your responsibility. A second automatic path exists: if the registered agent resigns and no replacement is appointed, the LLC is also canceled. Virginia entities must keep a registered agent, and our registered agent guide covers those requirements.
What Cancellation Means for Members and Managers
When an LLC is canceled, its properties and affairs pass automatically to its managers or members, who act as trustees in liquidation. No member or manager is personally liable solely because the LLC's existence was canceled (Va. Code 13.1-1050.2(C) and (D)).
Contracts, bank accounts and property do not vanish with the LLC, so ask an attorney how cancellation affects your specific situation before you act.
Reinstating a Canceled Virginia LLC
To reinstate a canceled LLC, you pay $100 plus all unpaid fees within five years. Our reinstatement guide, Reinstating a Virginia LLC, walks through that process step by step.
Closing the LLC Instead
If you no longer want the LLC, file articles of cancellation for $25 with an effective date on or before the due date. If the articles take effect by then, the fee for that year is not owed. Our Virginia LLC dissolution guide covers the rest of the process.
Corporations Have a Different Annual Filing
Stock and nonstock corporations do file an annual report, which is why the terms get mixed up. The annual report itself carries no fee. Corporations also pay an annual registration fee, set as follows:
- Nonstock corporation: $25.
- Stock corporation: based on authorized shares. The SCC schedule starts at $100 for up to 5,000 authorized shares, plus $30 for each additional 5,000 shares. Confirm the current amount on the SCC annual fee schedule at scc.virginia.gov/businesses.
The annual registration fee for a corporation is due the last day of the formation month. The annual report is due the last day of the 12th month after formation. A corporation that misses the deadline pays a penalty of 10 percent or $10, whichever is more, and is terminated after the fourth month.
The Fee Is Not a Business License
The SCC forms entities and issues no business license. Virginia has no general statewide business license. A local business license is the Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) tax under Va. Code 58.1-3700 et seq., administered by each city or county, usually through the Commissioner of the Revenue. Not every locality levies a general BPOL license (Va. Code 58.1-3704), so check with your locality. Localities set their own rates and filing deadlines.
Virginia also has no state franchise tax. The $50 LLC fee is a registration fee, separate from local BPOL taxes and from income tax.
Practical Checklist for the Annual Fee
- Write down the due date when you form the LLC: the last day of the 12th month after the organization month.
- Confirm with your registered agent that the SCC notice is being forwarded to you.
- If no notice arrives, check the entity in CIS before the due date.
- Pay the full amount in CIS, or by check or money order at the SCC Clerk's Office address above.
- Keep your payment confirmation with your company records.
Confirm the Details and Get Advice
This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Confirm current amounts and deadlines with the SCC at scc.virginia.gov/businesses before you pay. Talk to a Virginia attorney or CPA if your LLC has multiple members, a protected series, a foreign registration or a cancellation history.