Starting a business in Fort Worth? File the LLC right the first time.
Fort Worth sits inside the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and Tarrant County. Texas LLCs are filed with the Secretary of State for $300 plus a $200 franchise tax annual report. Choosing between an LLC, S-corp election, series LLC, or PLLC is the most common business question a Fort Worth attorney handles. These 10 firms regularly form entities for tradespeople, restaurants, oil-and-gas operators, real estate investors, and tech founders.
These 10 firms handle LLC and business formation matters for Fort Worth businesses, individuals, and entrepreneurs. The list mixes large established firms, mid-market players, and specialized boutiques so you can match the firm to your case size.
How we picked these 10: We cross-referenced published peer rankings (Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, Chambers and Partners), bar association recognition, Avvo and Justia profiles, and verifiable firm websites. Firms appearing consistently across at least two independent sources made the list. We do not accept payment for placement, and we do not write sponsored reviews. More on our methodology →
Practice focus: Entity formation, business succession, corporate governance
Trusted North Texas business law firm. Counsels clients through entity selection, prepares organizational documents, and provides ongoing corporate governance support for for-profit and nonprofit entities.
Practice focus: Business formation, family business succession, contracts
Decades of experience advising family businesses, entrepreneurs, and established companies. Strong on entity selection matched to management style, capital structure, and risk tolerance.
Practice focus: Business formation, contracts, regulatory compliance
Over 30 years combined legal and financial experience. Specializes in helping Fort Worth and Tarrant County entrepreneurs form entities and stay compliant.
Practice focus: LLC formation, business law, complex commercial disputes
Houston-founded full-service business law firm serving the DFW metroplex for 35+ years. Handles startup formation through complex commercial disputes.
Practice focus: Corporate formation, transactional, energy and real estate
Fort Worth's largest home-grown firm. Active in oil and gas, real estate, and technology entity formation. Best Lawyers Tier 1 in corporate law.
Practice focus: Corporate formation, family-owned business, energy
Founded in 1882. Long history serving Tarrant County entrepreneurs, oil and gas operators, and family businesses. Corporate practice covers entity formation through M&A.
Practice focus: Business formation, M&A, contracts
Fort Worth mid-market firm representing closely-held businesses through formation and growth. Active commercial transactional bench.
Practice focus: Corporate formation, partnership disputes, business succession
Long-established Fort Worth firm. Handles entity formation, partnership and shareholder agreements, and business transitions.
Practice focus: Startups, intellectual property, business formation
Serves DFW startups and entrepreneurs. Experienced in business formation laws and helping new ventures get started across Dallas and Fort Worth.
Practice focus: Business formation, contracts, real estate
Texas business formation boutique. Active in LLC and corporation formation across Tarrant and Parker counties.
Tell us about your situation and we'll match you with vetted business formation attorneys in Fort Worth. Free, confidential, no obligation.
Request Free Consultation →LLC formation in Texas: 3-5 business days for standard filing, 1-2 days for expedited ($25 fee). EIN from IRS: same day online. Operating agreement drafting: 1-3 weeks. Series LLC setup: 2-4 weeks. S-corp election: must file Form 2553 within 75 days of formation or by March 15 of the year you want it effective.
Single-member LLC with simple operating agreement: $500-$1,500 flat. Multi-member LLC with custom operating agreement: $1,500-$4,500 flat. Series LLC: $2,500-$5,000. PLLC: $750-$2,000. Corporate formation with bylaws and shareholder agreement: $2,500-$6,000. S-corp election filing: $250-$500. Ongoing annual support: $500-$2,500/year.
Texas LLC vs Series LLC. Texas allows series LLCs — multiple 'cells' under one parent entity, each with separate liability. Real estate investors and franchisees use these heavily. Set up wrong, the liability shield fails.
$300 to form, $200/year franchise tax. The Texas Comptroller franchise tax report is the most-missed deadline by new owners. Miss it twice and your entity is forfeited.
Assumed name (DBA) at the county. Texas requires a DBA filing with the Tarrant County Clerk's office in addition to the Secretary of State filing. Banks ask for both.
PLLC for licensed professionals. Doctors, lawyers, CPAs, and architects in Texas must use a PLLC, not an LLC. The naming and ownership rules are stricter — get this wrong and your license board will not register the entity.
Most firms on this list offer a free initial consultation or a low-cost intake. Use it. Before you sign, run the same set of questions past two or three of them. The answers tell you almost everything.
Guaranteed outcomes. No ethical attorney can guarantee a result. If a firm promises a specific dollar amount, approval, or dismissal, walk away.
The disappearing partner. You meet a senior partner at intake, then never speak to them again. The case is handled by an unsupervised junior or a paralegal. Ask in writing who will be your day-to-day attorney.
Pressure to sign immediately. Reputable firms give you the engagement letter in writing, time to read it, and the option to take it home. High-pressure intake is almost always a sign of a volume mill.
Vague fee terms. "Don't worry about cost" is a red flag. Every legitimate Fort Worth attorney will give you a written engagement letter that spells out the fee structure, what's covered, what triggers extra charges, and what happens if you change firms.
No verifiable track record. The firm should be able to point to peer rankings, bar association recognition, or published case results. "Thousands of satisfied clients" is marketing. Specifics are evidence.
Tell us a little about your situation. We'll send your information to vetted Fort Worth firms that handle business formation matters and can call you back, usually the same business day.
Most small businesses form as an LLC and elect S-corp tax treatment after they're earning over $40,000-$60,000/year in profit. The LLC gives you liability protection and flexibility; the S-corp election saves self-employment tax on distributions. A Fort Worth business attorney can model the numbers.
Texas doesn't require one, but you should still have one. Banks and the IRS ask for it. Single-member LLCs without operating agreements have lost liability protection in court (the 'alter ego' problem).
Standard online filing: 3-5 business days. Expedited ($25 add-on): 1-2 business days. Walk-in filings at the Secretary of State's Austin office are same-day. You can sign contracts in the LLC name as soon as the SOS confirms the filing.
Yes. The Texas SOS has online filing. But the LLC itself is 5% of the work. The operating agreement, the EIN, the S-corp election, the Tarrant County DBA, the BOI report, the bank account, the franchise tax registration — that's the rest. A flat-fee Fort Worth attorney bundles all of this for $750-$2,000.
A Series LLC is one parent entity with separate 'series' under it, each with separate liability. Common for real estate investors with multiple properties. Set up wrong, courts pierce through. Get a Texas attorney with specific series LLC experience.
The federal Corporate Transparency Act Beneficial Ownership Information report. As of 2026, the rule has been narrowed (foreign-owned only after the March 2025 interim rule). Confirm current requirements with your Fort Worth attorney — the regulations have shifted four times in two years.
One last thing. Choosing a lawyer is personal. Read the reviews. Call two or three firms before you sign. Ask each one: How many matters like mine have you handled in the last three years, and what were the outcomes? The answer tells you everything. — The LawFirmSquare team