NYS DOS LLC Filing vs. ZenBusiness New York LLC Filing

Yes. The NYS Department of State accepts Articles of Organization directly from business owners, online or on paper, and no state requires you to use a formation service or a lawyer.

Filing with NYS DOS on your own means running your own name search, completing the Articles of Organization, coordinating the newspaper publication New York requires within 120 days and filing a Biennial Statement every two years after that. The $205 New York filing fee applies either way, so the question is how much of that work you want to handle.

New York charges $200 to file Articles of Organization, the same amount online or on paper, and the fee is nonrefundable.

Filings through ZenBusiness come to $205, because we also request a plain copy of your Articles of Organization from the state, a $5 optional fee, so you have documentation of the filing. That $205 is the figure used throughout this page.

Publication is the larger cost. New York requires most new LLCs to publish a notice in two newspapers for six weeks and then file a Certificate of Publication with a $50 state fee. County and newspaper charges vary widely, and ZenBusiness estimates total publication costs of $600 to $1,200 depending on county.

After that, a Biennial Statement costs $9 every two years.

The total cost to form is the same. The ZenBusiness Starter package has a $0 service fee, so you pay New York’s $205 filing fee and nothing more.

Filing with NYS DOS on your own is not cheaper, because that $205 is a New York state fee that applies no matter who submits the paperwork. The difference is who prepares the filing, who reviews it before it reaches the state and who handles the publication requirement afterward.

If you want more handled up front, ZenBusiness Pro is $199 per year plus the $205 New York filing fee and adds 1-business-day submission, an EIN and an operating agreement template.

Section 206 of the Limited Liability Company Law requires most New York LLCs to publish a notice of formation once a week for six successive weeks, in two newspapers in the county where the LLC’s office is located.

The county clerk designates which newspapers can be used, one printed daily and one printed weekly. Each newspaper provides an affidavit of publication, and those affidavits are attached to a Certificate of Publication filed with the Department of State along with a $50 fee. All of it has to be done within 120 days of formation.

ZenBusiness offers a New York publication service that coordinates the county clerk, the newspapers and the Department of State filing. The service fee is $200, separate from the $50 state fee and the county and newspaper charges.

The Department of State suspends the LLC’s authority to carry on, conduct or transact business in New York if publication is not completed and the Certificate of Publication is not filed within 120 days.

The LLC continues to exist and its contracts and liability shield remain intact, but a suspended authority causes problems for banking, licensing and any transaction where a counterparty checks the state record. Theatrical production companies with the words limited liability company in their names are exempt from the requirement.

Online filings are the fastest route, and the Department of State sends an email acknowledgement of the filing. Paper filings take considerably longer, and the state offers expedited handling of $25 for 24-hour processing, $75 for same-day and $150 for two-hour processing, which applies to paper and fax submissions rather than online.

That review time applies no matter who submits the filing. Where the paths diverge is how fast the Articles of Organization get there. Filing with NYS DOS yourself, you submit as soon as your paperwork is ready. With ZenBusiness, the Starter package submits in 7 to 10 business days and the Pro and Premium packages submit in 1 business day.

Not in the way most states do. New York designates the Secretary of State as the LLC’s agent for service of process, and the Articles of Organization ask for an address where the Department of State forwards any process it accepts. Naming a separate registered agent is optional.

That address matters more in New York than in most states, because it appears in the newspaper notice as well as in the public record. For a business run from home, that means a home address published for six weeks. Registered agent service changes which address appears, and it is available as an add-on with the Starter and Pro packages and included in ZenBusiness Premium at $399 per year plus the $205 New York filing fee.

The Department of State notes that companies often move and neglect to update the address on file. When process is served on the Secretary of State and forwarded to an old address, that can end in a default judgment.

Every two years, during the calendar month in which the Articles of Organization were filed, at a $9 filing fee. New York has no annual report for LLCs.

The Department of State sends an email notice at the beginning of the month it is due, but only if an email address has been provided through its Email Address Submission/Update Service. Filing on your own means opting into that notice, because nothing arrives automatically.

Worry-Free Compliance includes one report filing and up to two amendments a year, and sends reminders before each deadline. State fees are separate. The Starter package includes a free first year.

New York records the LLC as past due in the filing of its Biennial Statement. Unlike some states, it does not administratively dissolve the business for a missed statement.

Past due status appears on any Certificate of Status obtained from the Department of State, which may prevent the business from completing certain transactions. A past due Biennial Statement can be filed at any time, including online.

No. ZenBusiness is an independent business formation service with no affiliation with, endorsement from, or sponsorship by the NYS Department of State, its Division of Corporations, or the State of New York.

ZenBusiness prepares and submits filings to the state on behalf of its customers. The Department of State reviews and approves the filing in either case.

Every option below includes New York’s $205 filing fee, because the state charges it regardless of who submits the Articles of Organization.

• Filing with NYS DOS yourself: $205 total.
• ZenBusiness Starter: $0 service fee plus the $205 New York filing fee. Does not renew.
• ZenBusiness Pro: $199 plus the $205 New York filing fee. Adds 1-business-day submission, an EIN and an operating agreement template. Renews at $199 per year, without the state fee.
• ZenBusiness Premium: $399 plus the $205 New York filing fee. Adds registered agent service and advanced compliance protection. Renews at $399 per year, without the state fee.

Publication is separate from all of these. The state Certificate of Publication fee is $50, county and newspaper charges vary, and the ZenBusiness publication service fee is $200. The Biennial Statement is a separate $9 every two years.