Data Sources & Methodology
Transparency about how we collect, verify, and maintain LLC formation fee data.
Our Data Sources
All fee and requirement data comes directly from official state sources:
- Secretary of State websites - Filing fees, forms, and processing times
- State statutes and administrative codes - Legal requirements and fee schedules
- Official state fee schedules - Published PDF or HTML fee lists
- State tax department sites - Franchise taxes and annual fees
We do not rely on third-party aggregators or secondary sources for fee amounts.
Verification Process
Each data point goes through our verification process:
- Direct retrieval - We fetch the official source document or page
- Quote extraction - We capture the exact quote containing the fee
- Hash verification - When possible, we store a hash of the source document
- Manual review - Values are verified by a human before publication
Retrieval Methods
Our data shows how each value was retrieved:
- direct_fetch - Downloaded from the official URL, with content hash
- webfetch - Retrieved via web request, no hash stored
- browser_check - Verified in a browser (site blocked automated access)
- search_index - Found via search engine index (not yet directly verified)
Status Values
- verified - Confirmed against official source
- not_found - Official source did not contain this information
- conflict - Multiple official sources disagree
- stale - Source document may be outdated
- changed - Source document has changed since last verification
Publication Rules
A state page is only published when all four required fields are verified:
- Filing fee
- Annual report fee
- Annual report due date
- Registered agent requirement
Additionally, values retrieved only from search engine indexes (not directly verified) are not published until confirmed via direct fetch or browser check.
Current Coverage
16 of 17 states currently meet publication criteria:
- Florida
- California
- Texas
- Wyoming
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Illinois
- New York
- Arizona
- Michigan
- Virginia
- Colorado
- South Carolina
- Indiana
- Missouri
- Massachusetts
States pending verification:
- Ohio
Data Updates
State fees and requirements can change. We update data when:
- State agencies announce fee changes
- New fiscal year fee schedules are published
- We receive correction reports from users
- Periodic re-verification checks detect changes
Each data point shows its verification date. If you notice outdated information, please report it.
Data Schema
Our data files follow a consistent schema. For each state and field:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| record_id | Unique identifier (STATE-field) |
| state | USPS state code |
| field | Data type (filing_fee, annual_report_fee, etc.) |
| value_usd | Dollar amount (null if formula-based or not applicable) |
| value_text | Full description including conditions |
| agency | Source agency (SOS, DOS, FTB, etc.) |
| source_url | Official source URL |
| source_quote | Verbatim excerpt from source |
| date_retrieved | When data was fetched |
| date_verified | When data was verified |
| status | Verification status |
| retrieval_method | How data was obtained |