Virginia LLC formation · CIS
Virginia LLC Filing on the SCC Clerk's Information System (CIS)
A Virginia LLC is created by filing Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1011) with the State Corporation Commission, almost always through the Clerk's Information System, CIS. This page goes through CIS screen by screen, Virginia's unusual rule on who can be a registered agent, what the SCC reports about processing on CIS, and the annual registration fee that follows on the same system. Or we prepare the articles and file them on CIS for you.
Updated November 1, 2026. Facts checked October 2026.
Have it filed on CIS for you
One short application. We check the name, draft the Articles of Organization and submit it through CIS.
Form Your Virginia LLCWhat CIS Is
CIS is the Clerk's Information System of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, run by the Clerk's Office, at cis.scc.virginia.gov. It is where Articles of Organization are filed, where Virginia's business records are searched, and where each LLC pays its annual registration fee every year. When the articles are filed on CIS without an uploaded document, the system builds the filing from the answers given, and the SCC reports that most such filings are processed at the time of filing; uploading your own articles sends the filing to staff review instead.
Virginia keeps no record of an LLC's members or managers, so the form asks for none. Its strict part is the registered agent. Not just any Virginia resident can serve: an individual agent must be a Virginia resident who is a member or manager of the LLC (or holds a related role in an entity that is one) or a member of the Virginia State Bar; otherwise the agent must be a business entity authorized to do business in Virginia. The agent's qualification is a required checkbox, and CIS will not file without it.
We prepare Virginia articles of organization filings and submit them through CIS for customers, the way an accountant or attorney would. Virginia's fee is the same whether you file on CIS yourself or we file for you; this page explains both routes so you can pick one.
- Filing portal
- SCC Clerk's Information System (CIS)
- Run by
- Virginia State Corporation Commission, Clerk's Office
- Document filed
- Articles of Organization
- State fee
- $100
- Typical state processing
- The state reports that most online filings are processed at the time of filing when no document is uploaded; uploading your own articles adds about 5 business days.
- State expedite tiers
- Next-day, same-day
- Facts checked
- October 2026
Expedite amounts are the state's own and sit in the facts box on the Virginia LLC page. See expedited options by state.
Before You Start on CIS
- An account. You sign in to CIS with an account, and the company's record, the annual registration fee and later filings all live under it.
- Virginia's agent rule. If you plan to be your own agent, you must be a Virginia resident and a member or manager of the LLC (or a Virginia State Bar member). The organizer alone cannot serve. Otherwise the agent is a company authorized in Virginia, which is how our registered agent service qualifies.
- The registered office. The agent's own Virginia business office, with its county or independent city. A virtual office, mail drop or commercial mail receiving agency is not accepted, and a PO box only in a town or city with a population under 2,000. Virginia supplies no SCC-designated registered office for domestic LLCs.
- Skip the upload. CIS offers an optional upload of your own articles. Taking it sends the filing to a staff review the SCC puts at about five business days, so most filers answer the questions and let CIS build the document.
The CIS LLC Filing, Step by Step
Step 1: Sign in to CIS and start a new Virginia LLC
Sign in at cis.scc.virginia.gov, choose a new business entity and the Virginia limited liability company articles. CIS asks for the company's email and contact number first (both optional on paper).
Step 2: Enter the name (Section I)
The name must contain Limited Liability Company, Limited Company, LLC, L.L.C., LC or L.C. and be different from every name on the Commission's records. It cannot refer to another business type, such as a corporation, or suggest a service the company will not provide, such as banking. CIS runs a name availability check before the filing can continue.
Step 3: Answer the online-only questions
An industry code (most choose 0 - General), the company's duration (most choose perpetual) and the management structure. None of these appear on the paper form.
Step 4: Give the principal office address (Section II)
The complete physical address of the company's principal executive office, with a street number and name. A PO box is not accepted.
Step 5: Name the registered agent and check the qualification (Sections III and IV)
The agent's name and an optional email, then one qualification box: a Virginia resident who is a member of the Virginia State Bar, a member or manager of the LLC, or an officer, director, general partner, trustee, member or manager of an entity that is itself a member or manager of the LLC; or a corporation, LLC or registered LLP authorized to do business in Virginia. The LLC cannot be its own agent and can have only one.
Step 6: Give the registered office address (Section V)
The Virginia physical address of the agent's business office and the county or independent city it is in. No virtual office, mail drop or commercial mail receiving agency.
Step 7: Sign as organizer (Section VI)
All organizers sign, with printed name and date. A business entity can be the organizer if the signature block names the entity and the individual signing for it, with their title; when we file, we sign that way. Signing a document known to be false is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Step 8: Decline the upload, pay and receive the acceptance
Leave the optional upload empty so CIS builds the articles from your answers, pay Virginia's fee by card and check out. The SCC sends a receipt email and an acceptance email, and the company appears in CIS with its SCC ID.
Rather not work through CIS yourself?
One short application covers the name search, the Articles of Organization and the submission through CIS.
Form Your Virginia LLCWhy CIS Filings Get Rejected
- Answers entered on CIS that do not match the articles uploaded with them.
- Name errors: a missing LLC identifier, a name already on the Commission's records, or wording that implies another type of entity or a service the company will not provide.
- The wrong form, such as the general LLC articles used for a professional LLC.
- Documents other than the articles of organization uploaded with the filing.
- Missing information, including incomplete addresses, or a registered office at a virtual office, mail drop or PO box.
A rejection costs the days the filing sat in the queue, and in some states the name you wanted. Our name check and field review happen before the filing goes to CIS, which is most of what you pay us for. The form itself, field by field: the Virginia Form LLC1011.
Processing and Checking Status
The SCC reports that most articles filed on CIS without an uploaded document are processed at the time of filing; it sends a receipt email and an acceptance email after checkout. Uploading your own articles adds about five business days for staff review, and paper filings receive an acceptance letter once approved. Those are the state's own figures, not a promise from us.
The SCC sells faster review for online filings only, in two tiers: next business day and same day. Paper submissions cannot be expedited. The amounts are in the facts box on our Virginia LLC page, and most CIS filings never need them.
To check a filing, sign in to CIS and open the company's record, or search the name in CIS's business entity search; a filed LLC shows its SCC ID and status.
Official pages: Clerk's Information System (cis.scc.virginia.gov).
The speed we control is when the filing reaches Virginia: same-day LLC filing sends it to CIS the business day your details are in.
After Approval on CIS
- The annual registration fee. Each year, starting the year after formation, the company pays the SCC's annual registration fee on CIS by the last day of its anniversary month. It is a fee payment, not a report: Virginia asks for no updated information with it. Paying late adds a $25 penalty, and an LLC that still has not paid by the last day of the third month after the due date is canceled.
- Changing the registered agent. Because the registration fee carries no report, an agent change in Virginia is its own filing on CIS, a statement of change of registered office or agent.
- The SCC ID. The Commission assigns each filed company an SCC ID. The annual registration fee, amendments and every later CIS filing are found by it, so keep it with the company's records. Virginia has no newspaper publication requirement for LLCs.
Pay the Virginia annual registration fee online, or have it handled · Annual registration fee on CIS
Filing It Yourself vs Having Us File It
The state fee is the same either way; what changes is who does the work and who is watching when CIS answers.
| Filing it yourself on CIS | Having us file it | |
|---|---|---|
| Checking the name | You search Virginia's records yourself; CIS does not warn you about a taken name before you pay. | We search Virginia's records before anything is submitted and tell you the same day if there is a conflict. |
| Drafting the Articles of Organization | You type each field into CIS and read the state's instructions as you go. | We draft every field the way CIS expects, from one short application. |
| The registered agent | You name one who qualifies under Virginia's rule. | Yours, checked against Virginia's rule, or our registered agent service as an add-on. |
| Watching for a rejection | You watch the email CIS has on file and resubmit if the filing bounces. | We watch the filing through to approval, and a rejection is corrected and refiled. |
| When it is submitted | Whenever you sit down to finish the form. | Standard orders go to Virginia within 3 business days; same-day submission by 2 PM Eastern goes in that business day. |
| Who answers questions | The Virginia State Corporation Commission's help pages and phone line. | A person on our team, by email, Monday to Friday. |
| The state fee | Paid to Virginia on CIS. | Paid to Virginia, the same amount, itemized before you pay. |
CIS LLC Filing Questions
Can I file on CIS myself?+
Yes. Sign in to CIS, answer the questions, leave the upload empty and pay Virginia's fee by card; the fee is the same whether you file or we do. What you take on is the name check, Virginia's agent qualification rule, a registered office that is a real business office, and the annual registration fee each year after. When we file, each of those is checked before the filing goes in.
Who can be a Virginia registered agent?+
Either a Virginia resident who is a member or manager of the LLC (or holds a related role in an entity that is one), or a member of the Virginia State Bar, or a business entity authorized to do business in Virginia. A Virginia resident with no role in the company cannot serve as an individual agent, and the LLC cannot be its own agent. The registered office must be the agent's own Virginia business office.
How fast does Virginia approve?+
The SCC reports that most articles filed on CIS without an uploaded document are processed at the time of filing: the system builds the filing from your answers and the acceptance email follows checkout. Uploading your own articles adds about five business days of staff review. Those are the SCC's own figures; we do not promise the state's time, and when we file we send you the accepted articles the moment they come back.
Is the annual registration fee a report?+
No. Virginia's yearly obligation is a fee paid to the SCC on CIS by the last day of the company's anniversary month, starting the year after formation. No information is updated with it. A late payment adds a $25 penalty, and a company that has not paid by the end of the third month after the due date is canceled. Virginia annual registration fee
Is America LLC Filing the SCC?+
No. CIS belongs to the Virginia State Corporation Commission, Clerk's Office, the government body that files Virginia LLCs. America LLC Filing is a private company. We prepare your Articles of Organization and submit them through CIS for you, and our fee is for that work, separate from the state's own fee.
What is the SCC ID?+
The identification number the State Corporation Commission assigns to a company when it files the articles. It identifies the company in CIS and on every later filing, including the annual registration fee. It appears in the acceptance email the SCC sends after the articles are filed.
Have Your Virginia LLC Filed on CIS
Name checked, Articles of Organization drafted and submitted through CIS, approval sent to your inbox.
Form Your Virginia LLC