What the LLP route actually costs (and how long it takes)

This is the guide that answers the two questions founders actually ask on calls: what’s this going to cost me, and how long until the money can move? Everything below is a working range from real cases — CA firms quote differently, banks behave differently, government charges drift. Treat it as orientation, budget the top of each range, and get your own quote in writing.

The US-parent leg: what you’ll pay

The structure being priced is the standard one — one LLP per founder subscribing to a Delaware C-Corp (the why and how live in the LLP route guide). Two of these lines surprise people every time. The bank’s own ODI fee — ₹20–30k on top of the CA’s fees — because founders assume the CA quote is the whole bill. And the ROC charges, because “government fees” sounds like hundreds and arrives as thousands. Read any CA quote carefully for what it excludes.

In short — per founder: ~₹17–27k to exist (LLP + ROC), ₹55–75k to move the money (CA + bank’s own fee), $500–999 for Delaware. The bank’s separate ODI fee is the one people forget.

The calendar: where the weeks go

1. LLP formation + bank account — 10 to 14 days per founder, and founders can run in parallel. The bank account is the variable: KYC on the sliver partner is a common stall.

2. Capitalise the LLPs — days, once you’ve decided the number (the 400% logic is in the capitalising guide).

3. US incorporation — days, via an incorporation platform.

4. ODI: file → UIN → remittance — the long pole: 4 to 6 weeks of CA-and-bank choreography. Let your CA drive the bank conversation.

5. Shares issued, certificates back to the bank — prompt once money lands.

Total: one to two months from first signature to a funded, FEMA-clean C-Corp. Faster happens; plan as if it won’t.

In short — four to six weeks for the ODI leg drives everything; LLPs run in parallel; one to two months all-in.

The leg nobody budgets: the Indian subsidiary

The LLP route gets you the US parent — but the whole reason the structure exists is the Indian subsidiary that employs your team. Notice the direction change: money flowing from your Delaware parent into the Indian subsidiary is foreign direct investment into India — a different rulebook from the ODI you just completed, with its own filings. Same CA firm usually handles both; it’s still a separate line on the invoice: about ₹30k for the Pvt Ltd, ₹10k in FDI-handling fees, and ~$500 to notarise and apostille the parent’s documents.

In short — add ~₹40k plus $500 of document work when the Indian subsidiary follows — and remember that money going into India is FDI, a different track from the ODI going out.

What does it cost every year after?

The honest recurring bill: each LLP files with the MCA and the tax department annually, plus the foreign-holding report every December — multiplied per founder — and the Delaware side has its franchise tax, the subsidiary its own compliance. The one number this guide still won’t give you is a single annual per-LLP figure: it’s the line most sensitive to your CA firm and city, so we’ve left it for your own written quote rather than print a number that misleads.

Careful — these are working ranges, not quotes.

Working ranges from real founder cases, current as of mid-2026 — not quotes, not advice. CA fees vary by firm and city, banks price ODI differently, government charges change, and platform prices are the platforms’ to change. Confirm your numbers in writing before budgeting, and have your CA confirm what their quote excludes.

The short version

Per founder: ₹17–27k to exist, ₹55–75k to move the money, $500–999 for Delaware, plus your capitalisation — then roughly ₹40k and $500 more when the subsidiary follows. Four to six weeks for the ODI leg; one to two months all-in. If a quote is wildly below these ranges, ask what it excludes. If it’s wildly above, ask what it includes.

Want your specific number — founders, capitalisation, subsidiary timing — instead of ranges? Book a free call.

Related guides

The LLP route · Capitalising your US C-Corp · Stripe Atlas & incorporation platforms · US parent or Indian parent?