This page describes Minnesota law in general terms. It is not legal advice about your business, and reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship.
This page is about money, not about which entity is right for you. Which entity is right depends on liability, taxes, who is investing, and what you are actually doing — and those questions are worth an hour with someone who can hear your facts.
But the cost side is knowable, published, and frequently misstated online. Here it is, straight off the Secretary of State’s fee schedule.
Starting
| Entity | By mail | Online / in person |
|---|---|---|
| Limited liability company | $135.00 | $155.00 |
| Business corporation | $135.00 | $155.00 |
| Limited liability partnership | $135.00 | $155.00 |
| Limited partnership | $100.00 | $120.00 |
| Nonprofit corporation | $70.00 | $90.00 |
| Assumed name (DBA) | $30.00 | $50.00 |
| Out-of-state LLC registering here | $185.00 | $205.00 |
| Out-of-state corporation registering here | $200.00 | $220.00 |
An LLC and a corporation cost exactly the same to form in Minnesota. If anyone tells you one is cheaper to start, they are talking about something other than the filing fee.
Keeping it alive
This is where the entities actually diverge.
| Entity | Annual renewal |
|---|---|
| Limited liability company | No fee |
| Business corporation | No fee |
| Nonprofit corporation | No fee |
| Limited partnership | No fee |
| Assumed name (DBA) | No fee |
| Out-of-state LLC registered here | No fee |
| Limited liability partnership | $135.00 / $155.00 every year |
| Out-of-state corporation registered here | $115.00 / $135.00 every year |
Two observations worth more than the rest of this page:
A Minnesota corporation renews for free. A foreign one does not. If you are weighing incorporating in Delaware and registering to do business in Minnesota against simply forming here, add $115–$135 per year, forever, to the Delaware column — on top of Delaware’s own franchise tax and registered agent fees. For a company with no outside investors and no plan to raise, that recurring cost buys very little.
The LLP is the outlier. Every year, $135 or $155, for as long as it exists. LLPs exist for good reasons, mostly in professional practice, but nobody should pick one without knowing it carries a permanent annual line item that the LLC does not.
The costs that are not on the schedule
The filing fee is rarely the whole number.
- Newspaper publication for an assumed name. Minn. Stat. § 333.01 requires publication in a qualified newspaper for two successive issues. The paper bills separately and rates vary widely by county. See the assumed name step almost everyone skips.
- Registered agent service, if you do not want your home address permanently public. Optional, but a real annual cost if you use one.
- An EIN from the IRS. Free. If a website charges you for one, you are paying for a form you can file yourself in about ten minutes.
- Local licensing, zoning, and permits. Entirely separate from the Secretary of State and highly variable by city.
- Getting it wrong later. Reinstatement after a missed renewal runs $65–$85 plus a late penalty of up to $40 under Minn. Stat. § 5.60. For a public benefit corporation that misses its benefit report, it is $540–$560.
Mail, online, or in person
Three ways to file, three prices:
- Mail is cheapest, first-come first-served, no expediting.
- Online costs $20 more for most filings, is expedited, typically processes in 2–5 business days, and returns the filed documents by email.
- In person, by appointment at the St. Paul counter, is the same price as online, expedited, and processed while you wait — you leave holding filed documents.
The $20 is worth it if a bank, a landlord, or a counterparty is waiting on proof the entity exists. It is not worth it if nobody is waiting.
The full schedule, by entity, is on the costs page.
Sources
Every source below was retrieved and checked against this page on August 7, 2026.
- Business Filing and Certification Fee Schedule — Minnesota Secretary of State
- Minn. Stat. § 5.60 (late renewal penalty) — Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- Minn. Stat. § 333.01 (commercial assumed names) — Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes