A Wyoming LLC owned by another Wyoming LLC is the most privacy-hardened domestic structure available today. Both layers have no public member names, no state income tax, and statutory charging order protection, giving you two walls between a plaintiff and your identity.
Delaware Anonymous LLC
Delaware does not require member or manager names on the Certificate of Formation, so the public filing is clean by default. The registered agent's name and address are all that appears. Annual franchise tax is $300 flat regardless of revenue or assets, which is predictable, and state filing fees are modest at around $90 to form. The catch is that Delaware has a Court of Chancery with deep corporate case law, which attracts litigation from sophisticated plaintiffs who know how to pierce the veil through discovery. Delaware is the right pick when you need credibility with institutional investors or when you are layering it inside a multi-entity structure, not when privacy is your only goal.
Wyoming Anonymous LLC
Wyoming requires no member or manager names in any public filing and goes further than Delaware by statute: it explicitly allows nominee members and managers, and the state has no state income tax, no franchise tax, and no information return that could surface ownership data. Annual report fee is $60 minimum (0.0002 times assets located in Wyoming, minimum $60). Wyoming also has strong charging order protection written into statute, meaning a creditor who wins a judgment against you personally cannot force a liquidation of the LLC, they can only sit and wait for distributions. For pure privacy combined with asset protection, Wyoming is the stronger domestic choice.
Using a Nominee to Deepen Anonymity
In both states, you can hire a nominee member or manager whose name technically appears on any operating agreements or, where required, on filings. Wyoming's statute explicitly contemplates nominee arrangements, which gives you cleaner legal footing. The risk in either jurisdiction is the same: if the nominee gets sued or goes bankrupt, their interest in your LLC becomes an asset of their estate. A well-drafted nominee agreement with an irrevocable assignment back to you mitigates this, but it does not eliminate it entirely. The cleaner solution is a two-layer stack: a Wyoming LLC as the member of a Delaware LLC, so neither public filing surfaces your name and the Wyoming entity absorbs the charging-order protection.
Which State Wins for Your Situation
If you are operating a domestic business, holding U.S. real estate without your name on title, or structuring for asset protection, Wyoming wins on cost and statutory privacy protections. Delaware wins when you need to raise outside capital, deal with venture-backed counterparties, or operate in an industry where Delaware domicile signals legitimacy. For real estate held anonymously, many practitioners use a Wyoming LLC as the owning entity and register it as a foreign LLC in the state where the property sits, keeping the Wyoming entity's lean public record as the only searchable trail. Formation costs through a registered agent service run $300 to $700 for either state when you include the first year of registered agent service.
Things people ask first.
Can I really keep my name off public records in Delaware and Wyoming?
Yes. Neither state requires member or manager names on the formation document. Your name does not appear in any secretary of state database as long as you use a registered agent and do not sign the formation documents in your personal name.
Does an anonymous LLC protect me from a subpoena?
No. If you are a party to litigation or a government investigation, a court can subpoena your registered agent, bank, or attorney to identify the beneficial owner. Anonymous LLCs stop casual public searches, not legal process.
Do I need to register a Wyoming LLC in my home state if I live there?
If you are conducting business in your home state, most states require you to foreign-qualify the LLC there, which usually means disclosing a registered agent address in that state. The Wyoming entity's internal records remain private, but the foreign qualification filing is public.
Which state has stronger charging order protection, Delaware or Wyoming?
Wyoming. Wyoming's charging order statute explicitly makes it the exclusive remedy for a creditor, and case law supports that position. Delaware's charging order protection exists but is less clearly exclusive and has been tested less favorably in some circumstances.
Can I use one of these LLCs to buy real estate without my name on the deed?
Yes. The LLC takes title, so the deed shows the LLC name only. You then keep the LLC's ownership records private by having no public member names in Wyoming or Delaware. The county recorder sees only the entity name.
What does it cost to maintain both a Wyoming and a Delaware LLC annually?
Wyoming costs $60 per year in state fees plus registered agent fees, typically $50 to $150. Delaware costs $300 in franchise tax plus registered agent fees. Running both for a two-layer stack totals roughly $500 to $700 per year in overhead.
Want the full stack for keeping your name off public records?
The Offshore Playbook covers domestic anonymous LLCs alongside offshore holding structures, nominee arrangements, and property ownership strategies that work together. If Wyoming and Delaware are just one layer, gramps.chat can walk you through how to build the rest.
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