Does my teenager need an LLC?

Probably not to start. For a small service business earning a few hundred dollars, an LLC is usually premature.

Here is the reasoning. An LLC exists to separate the business from personal assets. That protection is worth paying for when there is something to protect and a real chance of being liable. A fourteen year old with no equipment and four lawn customers has neither yet.

There is also a practical wrinkle. Minors generally cannot be held to a contract, so a parent typically has to sign the agreements and open the accounts regardless. The entity does not remove you from the picture the way people assume it does.

Wait, and revisit when any of these are true:

Real revenue is coming in consistently. Your teen owns equipment worth real money. The work could damage someone's property. The work could hurt someone. A customer asks them to sign something. Your teen starts paying a friend to help.

That last one changes more than parents expect, because your teen becomes an employer at that point.

The reason this question matters is not the filing fee. It is that forming an entity is the most comfortable way for a family to spend three weeks not starting. It feels like progress and produces no customers. Start, get paid once, then handle the paperwork that actually applies.

Full breakdown: what your kid legally needs to start a business.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state.