What happens if I file the West Virginia annual report late?

West Virginia Code 59-1-2a authorizes a $50 administrative late fee for an annual delinquency and $100 for a biennial delinquency. The Secretary of State also warns that missing the June 30 deadline may lead to administrative dissolution or revocation of the entity's authority. Businesses more than 30 days delinquent may have their business registration suspended.

Is the annual report the same as the WV business registration certificate?

No. They are separate obligations with different agencies. The annual report is a Secretary of State filing due June 30. The business registration certificate comes from the State Tax Commissioner on Form BUS-APP and is required before conducting business activity; it stays in effect until the name, location, or ownership changes.

Can I file the West Virginia annual report online?

Yes. The Secretary of State accepts annual reports through the Business for West Virginia one-stop portal, which walks through confirming the entity's principal office, officers or members, and registered agent. Filing online is the fastest route and produces an immediate confirmation of payment.

Do foreign LLCs registered in West Virginia file an annual report?

Yes. A foreign LLC holding a certificate of authority in West Virginia files the same annual report on the same January 1 to June 30 schedule and pays the same $25 fee. Failing to file exposes a foreign LLC to revocation of its authority to transact business in the state.

West Virginia LLC Annual Report: $25 Fee, Due June 30 (2026)

Q: How much is the West Virginia LLC annual report fee?

The West Virginia annual report fee is $25, payable to the Secretary of State. West Virginia Code 59-1-2a sets this as the yearly charge for the Secretary of State acting as attorney-in-fact for the entity. An entity that elects biennial filing pays $50 instead. The fee is the same for domestic and foreign LLCs.

Q: When is the West Virginia annual report due?

The filing window opens January 1 and closes June 30 each year. West Virginia LLCs file their first annual report in the calendar year following the year the company was registered. There is no proration and no extension, so an LLC formed in December still files a full report the next June.

Q: Does West Virginia still have a business franchise tax?

No. West Virginia phased out its business franchise tax, so LLCs no longer calculate a franchise tax on capital. The annual report is a $25 Secretary of State filing, not a tax return. Entities taxed as corporations still file West Virginia corporate net income tax returns with the State Tax Division.

Fact-checked by the LegalGlass editorial team against primary sources · Published Aug 20, 2026 · Last updated Aug 20, 2026

Every West Virginia LLC must file an annual report with the West Virginia Secretary of State between January 1 and June 30 each year. The fee is $25. Missing the June 30 deadline adds a $50 delinquency fee and can lead to administrative dissolution or revocation of the company's authority to do business.

Quick Answer

Who files: Every domestic and foreign LLC registered in West Virginia
Agency: West Virginia Secretary of State (not the State Tax Division)
Fee: $25 per year ($50 if filing biennially)
Filing window: January 1 through June 30
Late fee: $50 annual delinquency / $100 biennial delinquency
If ignored: Administrative dissolution or revocation
Franchise tax: None — West Virginia phased out the business franchise tax

What the West Virginia Annual Report Is

The West Virginia annual report is a short informational filing that every registered business entity submits to the Secretary of State once a year. It is not a tax return and it does not report revenue, profit, or payroll. Its purpose is to keep the state's public register current: who runs the company, where its principal office sits, and who may be served with legal process on its behalf. The state uses that information to confirm the entity is still active and reachable.

West Virginia Code §59-1-2a is the statute that sets the charge. It frames the $25 as the yearly fee "for the services of the Secretary of State as attorney-in-fact" for the entity — a reminder that the report and the fee are tied to the state's role as a backstop service agent, not to any measure of business activity. Because it is a flat fee, a dormant single-member LLC and a busy multi-member LLC owe exactly the same $25. See how to form an LLC in West Virginia for the steps that come before your first report.

Deadline: January 1 to June 30

The filing window opens on January 1 and closes on June 30. Unlike states that key the deadline to the anniversary of formation, West Virginia gives every entity the same six-month window, which makes the date easy to remember but also easy to let slide until spring. Your first annual report is due in the calendar year after the year your LLC was registered, so a company formed in 2026 files its first report between January 1 and June 30 of 2027.

There is no proration for a short first year and no extension mechanism. An LLC registered in late December owes the same full report and the same $25 the following June as one registered in January. The practical advice is to file in January rather than June: the portal is less busy, and filing early removes any risk that a forgotten deadline quietly turns into a delinquency.

The $25 Fee and What It Covers

The annual report fee is $25. West Virginia also permits entities to elect a biennial filing arrangement, in which case the corresponding fee is $50 covering the two-year period. Either way, the amount does not vary with the size of the business. The fee is paid to the Secretary of State at the time the report is submitted, and the filing is not complete until payment clears — §59-1-2a also authorizes a returned-payment charge if a check or card is refused by the financial institution.

Item	Authority	Amount	When
Annual report fee	W. Va. Code §59-1-2a	$25	Jan 1 – Jun 30, every year
Biennial report fee (if elected)	W. Va. Code §59-1-2a	$50	Every two years
Annual delinquency fee	W. Va. Code §59-1-2a	$50	If filed after June 30
Biennial delinquency fee	W. Va. Code §59-1-2a	$100	If biennial report is late
Business registration certificate	State Tax Commissioner, Form BUS-APP	Confirm current fee with the State Tax Division	Before conducting business
Federal EIN	IRS Form SS-4	$0 (free)	One-time

How to File

West Virginia routes annual reports through the Business for West Virginia one-stop portal, and the Secretary of State's annual report page links directly into it. The filing itself is short. You confirm or update the entity's principal office address, the names and addresses of the members or managers, the business purpose, and the registered agent. If nothing has changed since last year, the report is largely a matter of reviewing prefilled information and paying the $25.

Have three things ready before you start: the exact legal name of the LLC as registered with the state, its business identification number, and a payment method. If your members, address, or agent have changed during the year, gather the new details first — the annual report is the natural place to bring the public record current rather than filing a separate amendment. For entity-name and record lookups, the Secretary of State's business search is the authoritative source.

Registered Agent Information in the Report

The annual report asks you to confirm the company's registered agent and registered office. Under the West Virginia Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, W. Va. Code §31B-1-105, every LLC must continuously maintain an agent for service of process in the state. The annual report is the routine checkpoint where the state verifies that requirement is still satisfied. If your agent has resigned or moved, correct it here. For the full rules on who may serve and how to change an agent, see West Virginia registered agent requirements and the national registered agent guide.

Late Filing, Penalties, and Dissolution

Missing June 30 has two escalating consequences. First, §59-1-2a authorizes an administrative late fee of $50 for an annual delinquency (or $100 for a biennial delinquency). Second, and more seriously, the Secretary of State warns that failure to file by the June 30 deadline "may result in monetary penalties as well as administrative dissolution or revocation." For a domestic LLC that means dissolution; for a foreign LLC it means revocation of its certificate of authority.

There is a third, easily overlooked consequence on the tax side: an entity that stays delinquent beyond roughly thirty days can have its business registration suspended under the State Tax Division's authority. Losing good standing is not merely cosmetic. Banks, lenders, landlords, and prospective buyers routinely request a certificate of good standing, and a dissolved or revoked entity may find that contracts, financing, and even the exclusive right to its own name become contested. Reinstatement is possible but costs more time and money than the $25 report would have.

West Virginia Has No Business Franchise Tax

A persistent piece of outdated advice says West Virginia LLCs owe a "business franchise tax" alongside the annual report. That is no longer accurate — West Virginia phased the business franchise tax out, and there is no capital-based franchise tax for an LLC to compute today. The $25 annual report is a Secretary of State filing fee, full stop. If a source quotes you a franchise tax figure for a West Virginia LLC, treat it as stale.

What does still apply depends on how the LLC is taxed federally. An LLC treated as a partnership or disregarded entity passes its income through to its owners, who report it on their personal returns. An LLC that has elected corporate treatment falls within the West Virginia corporate net income tax administered by the State Tax Division. See business tax filing and S-corp vs LLC for how that election changes the picture.

The Separate Business Registration Certificate

Do not confuse the annual report with West Virginia's business registration certificate. Under the State Tax Division's rules, every individual or business entity must obtain a business registration certificate from the State Tax Commissioner before conducting business activity in West Virginia. It is applied for on Form BUS-APP or through the Business for West Virginia portal.

The two filings differ in an important way. The annual report recurs every year with the Secretary of State. The business registration certificate, by contrast, remains in effect indefinitely — it is reissued only when the legal name, location, or ownership changes, or if the Tax Commissioner suspends or revokes it. Changes in partners, members, or officers do not by themselves require a new certificate. Local permits are a third, separate layer; see the national business license overview.

Annual Compliance Checklist

A West Virginia LLC in good standing typically keeps up with four recurring items:

Annual report — $25 to the Secretary of State, January 1 to June 30.
Registered agent — maintained continuously under §31B-1-105; pay the agent's own fee if you use a commercial provider.
Business registration certificate — kept current with the State Tax Division; update it when the name, location, or ownership changes.
Tax returns — federal returns matching your entity classification, plus West Virginia returns and any sales or withholding filings that apply.

Keeping the internal paperwork current matters too. Your LLC should be able to show a signed operating agreement and accurate member records if a bank or a court ever asks. If the business has stopped operating, filing articles of dissolution is cheaper than letting annual reports lapse into an administrative dissolution that leaves loose ends. And if you have not yet obtained a federal tax ID, getting an EIN is free directly from the IRS.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the West Virginia LLC annual report fee?

$25 per year to the Secretary of State under W. Va. Code §59-1-2a, or $50 for entities that elect biennial filing. The fee is the same for domestic and foreign LLCs.

When is the West Virginia annual report due?

The window runs January 1 through June 30 every year. Your first report is due in the calendar year after the year the LLC was registered.

What happens if I file late?

A $50 annual delinquency fee ($100 biennial) applies, and the Secretary of State may administratively dissolve a domestic LLC or revoke a foreign LLC's certificate of authority.

Does West Virginia still have a business franchise tax?

No. It was phased out. Entities taxed as corporations still file West Virginia corporate net income tax returns with the State Tax Division.

Is the annual report the same as the business registration certificate?

No. The annual report is a yearly Secretary of State filing. The business registration certificate is issued by the State Tax Commissioner on Form BUS-APP and does not expire annually.

Sources

West Virginia Secretary of State — Annual Reports ($25 fee; January 1 – June 30 window; June 30 deadline; penalties and administrative dissolution).
West Virginia Code — §59-1-2a (annual report fee as attorney-in-fact; $50 annual and $100 biennial delinquency fees; returned-payment charge; suspension after delinquency).
West Virginia Code — §31B-1-105 (Uniform Limited Liability Company Act: continuous registered agent and registered office requirement).
Business for West Virginia — Annual Reporting (one-stop online filing).
Business for West Virginia — One Stop Annual Report Instructions (information confirmed in the report).
West Virginia State Tax Division — Business Registration (certificate required before conducting business; Form BUS-APP; reissued on name, location, or ownership change).
West Virginia Secretary of State — Limited Liability Companies (LLC filings overview).
West Virginia Secretary of State — Business Entity Search (confirm entity name and status).
IRS — Limited Liability Company (LLC) (federal classification).
IRS — Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN is free).
Legal Information Institute (Cornell) — 26 CFR 301.7701-3 (entity classification election).

LegalGlass provides general information for educational purposes and is not legal advice, is not a law firm, and is not a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney or tax professional. Laws, fees, and thresholds change; verify current amounts with the agencies linked above before acting.