How to Start an LLC in Rhode Island: Department of State Steps and Fees (2026)
A Rhode Island LLC exists the moment the Rhode Island Department of State, Division of Business Services accepts your Articles of Organization. The document is Form 400, the official filing fee is $150, and the whole process runs under the Rhode Island Limited Liability Company Act (formation authorized by R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-16-5, fee set by § 7-16-65(1)). Here is the full sequence with the real form names and the real numbers.
The Paperwork and the Numbers
- Articles of Organization, Form 400: $150, paid once to the Department of State
- Annual report, Form 632: $50 every year, filed in the February 1 through May 1 window
- Minimum annual tax to the RI Division of Taxation: $400, owed regardless of income
- Our formation service: $199, covering preparation, filing, and your first year of registered agent service, then $99 per year for the agent after that
You can file on paper or electronically through the RI Business Services Online Filing System. One thing to know about the online route: the portal adds a small enhanced access fee to each online filing. That charge goes to the RI.gov portal vendor, not to the state, so the official filing fee is $150 either way.
The Six Steps, In Order
- Confirm your name is available. The name must contain "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," or "L.L.C." and be distinguishable from every entity already on file. Run it through the state's corporate database at business.sos.ri.gov before you print anything or buy a domain.
- Line up a registered agent. Rhode Island's statute calls this role the resident agent (R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-16-11), and it means the same thing: the party that accepts service of process for the company. The agent must be an individual who lives in Rhode Island, or a corporation, limited partnership, or LLC that is domestic or authorized to transact business in the state. A Rhode Island street address is required; a PO box does not satisfy the statute.
- File Articles of Organization, Form 400. Submit the Form 400 PDF on paper or file through the online system, and pay the $150 fee. The form asks for your LLC name, the resident agent and agent address, and your management structure.
- Put an operating agreement in writing. Rhode Island does not ask you to file one, but banks ask for it, courts read it in disputes, and without one the default rules of chapter 7-16 decide questions you would rather decide yourself.
- Request an EIN from the IRS. Free, direct from IRS.gov, usually issued on the spot. Nobody needs to charge you for this.
- Mark the annual report window. Form 632, $50, filed between February 1 and May 1 every year except the year you organized. The state mails a courtesy reminder to your registered agent before February 1, and a $25 penalty attaches on June 1 if the report still is not in.
Keeping the LLC in Good Standing
Ready to get started?
Get StartedThree obligations recur. Keep a registered agent on file continuously, with the address current per § 7-16-11(c). File Form 632 inside the February through May window each year. Pay the $400 minimum tax to the Division of Taxation. Letting the report or the agent lapse leads to revocation proceedings under § 7-16-66, and with them the liability shield you formed the LLC to get.
If you ever switch agents, that is Form 642, a $20 filing.
Start Your Rhode Island LLC the Right Way
File Form 400 yourself through the Department of State for $150, or have us prepare and file it. Our $199 formation service includes your first year of registered agent service, which renews at $99 per year.