How to Start an LLC in North Dakota (2026)
To start an LLC in North Dakota, you file Articles of Organization through the FirstStop portal. You also pay a $135 fee to the Secretary of State.
The Secretary of State's Business Services team runs that portal. A standard Business LLC or PLLC also owes a $50 annual report by November 15 each year. There's no grace period.
This guide covers forming a brand-new North Dakota LLC. If you're registering an LLC formed elsewhere, you file for a Certificate of Authority as a foreign LLC instead.
Quick Summary
- Check your name on the FirstStop portal before you file. A rejected name means resubmitting the whole Articles of Organization.
- A member can serve as your registered agent. Their address becomes part of the public record, so weigh that trade-off first.
- Missing the annual report deadline puts your LLC in Not Good Standing. The state can then move toward dissolving it entirely.
North Dakota LLC Requirements at a Glance
Here's the North Dakota specific answer for each core LLC rule, pulled straight from the Secretary of State's own pages.
| LLC requirement | State-specific answer |
|---|---|
| Filing document | Articles of Organization, filed through the FirstStop portal (N.D.C.C. § 10-32.1-20) |
| Filing authority | North Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services |
| State filing fee | $135 |
| Online filing | Yes, FirstStop |
| Processing time | Not published. Mail and in-person filing are not offered. Articles of Organization are filed exclusively through the FirstStop portal |
| Registered agent | Every LLC must maintain a registered agent with a physical North Dakota street address (a P.O. box does not qualify), in the manner prescribed by N.D.C.C. ch. 10-01.1 |
| Annual report | $50 by November 15 for a Business LLC or PLLC (Farm/Ranch and ALF LLCs: April 15) |
| Publication required? | No publication requirement is stated on any Secretary of State registration or maintenance page |
| State business tax | No franchise, privilege or gross-receipts tax applies to LLCs. North Dakota taxes LLC income as pass-through. Single-member LLCs count as disregarded entities and multi-member LLCs as partnerships, unless the LLC elects C-corporation taxation. The Office of State Tax Commissioner administers this |
| Last verified | September 4, 2026 |
How to Start an LLC in North Dakota: 5 Steps
Forming a North Dakota LLC comes down to five steps, all handled through the state's FirstStop portal. Follow them in order and you'll have a filed LLC by the time you're done.
Step 1: Choose and check your LLC name
Your name must contain limited liability company, LLC or L.L.C. It also has to read as different from any other name on file in North Dakota [1].
Search the name first on the FirstStop Portal Business Search and Trademark Search. If it's available but you're not ready to file, reserve it for up to a year through the Reserved Name Application for a $10 fee.
Step 2: Appoint a registered agent
North Dakota law requires an LLC to have a registered agent. That agent needs a physical street address inside the state instead of a P.O. box.
A member or manager can serve at no cost. Or hire registered agent services in North Dakota instead, to keep your own address off the public record.
Agents resign sometimes, and businesses swap them for other reasons too. Here's how to change your registered agent in North Dakota if that ever comes up.
Step 3: File the Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State
File the Articles of Organization through the FirstStop portal with the Secretary of State's Business Services office. Pay the required filing fee at the same time.
This follows the same overall process as our guide to how to start an LLC. It's just adapted to the state's own agency, fee and portal.
If you'd rather not handle the filing yourself, LLC formation services in North Dakota can file it on your behalf. The next section walks through exactly what the form asks for, field by field.
Step 4: Create an operating agreement
North Dakota law doesn't force an LLC to adopt an operating agreement. Yours can be oral, written or implied if you make one. Skip one anyway, and North Dakota's own LLC Act governs how your company runs instead of your own terms.
Step 5: Get an EIN
An EIN is free at irs.gov, and the online application issues it immediately once the IRS approves your finished application.
Get yours right after your Articles of Organization are filed. You'll need it to open a business bank account or register for North Dakota tax accounts.
Filing the Articles of Organization in North Dakota: What to Expect
Here's what actually happens once you sit down to file, field by field and dollar by dollar. Bookmark the FirstStop portal before you start.
1. What the form asks for
The Articles of Organization ask for the LLC's name and the registered agent's name. If the agent is noncommercial, that includes a street address too.
It also needs the principal office address, plus the name and address of each organizer who signs it. You can set an effective date too. It just has to land within 90 days of the date you file.
2. Fee and payment methods
The state filing fee is $135. That's the same whether you're forming a standard Business LLC, a Farming or Ranching LLC or a Professional LLC.
FirstStop's own support pages explain how to create a login and submit the filing. They don't spell out which payment methods the portal accepts, so have a card ready.
3. Processing times
The Secretary of State doesn't publish a standard turnaround time for filings made through FirstStop. It doesn't offer a mail-in or walk-in option either, as the next section explains.
All original Articles of Organization filings go through the online portal instead. For timing across other formation methods, see how long it takes to form an LLC in North Dakota.
| Filing method | Processing time |
|---|---|
| Online | Not published |
| Not offered. Articles of Organization are filed exclusively through the FirstStop portal | |
| In person | Not offered as a filing channel. The same pages describe only FirstStop portal filing, and in-person appointments are for consultation rather than filing submission |
| Expedited | Not offered |
| Current state estimate | Not published |
4. Where to file by mail or in person
There isn't a mail or in-person filing option for this form. The state's own step-by-step registration guide ends at filing in FirstStop.
No mailing address or walk-in counter shows up as an option. For anything else, the office address is 600 E. Boulevard Avenue, Dept 108, Bismarck, ND 58505.
5. Common reasons filings are rejected
The one rejection reason the Secretary of State names is a naming conflict. Say your proposed name matches one that's already registered or reserved.
FirstStop won't process the filing until that's fixed. Change the name, attach a signed Consent to Use Business Name form with its $10 fee, or submit a certified court judgment proving your prior right to it.
6. What you receive when it is approved
Once the Secretary of State accepts your filing, it's official. A certificate of organization goes out to the organizers named on it.
FirstStop keeps that certificate, along with any other records tied to the filing, ready to download in your account. There's no separate mailed copy to wait on.
What It Costs to Start an LLC in North Dakota
Here's each fee North Dakota charges to form and maintain a Business LLC, pulled straight from the fee schedule. For the fuller cost picture across any formation option, see our North Dakota LLC cost guide next.
| Cost item | Amount |
|---|---|
| State filing fee | $135 |
| Name reservation | $10, reserves the name for up to 1 year (Reserved Name Application in the FirstStop Portal) |
| Registered agent | $0 when a member or manager serves as the registered agent. Changing to a different registered agent costs $10 for a noncommercial agent |
| Certified copy | $0.50 per page to copy the record plus $10 to affix the Secretary of State's certificate and seal |
| Expedited filing | Not offered. No expedite tier appears on the fee schedule or on the LLC, Register a Business or Business Services pages |
| Annual report | $50 by November 15 for a Business LLC or PLLC (Farm/Ranch and ALF LLCs: April 15) |
| Other mandatory state fees | None beyond the $135 registration and $50 annual report. The fee schedule lists no other mandatory formation fee for a standard Business LLC |
Only the state filing fee is mandatory to form your LLC. Reserving a name, getting a certified copy or paying for a paid registered agent are all optional costs you can skip if money's tight.
North Dakota-Specific Rules That Change the Process
1. Naming restrictions and restricted words
Some words need extra sign-off first. Names with bank, banker, banking, trust or trust company need written approval from the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions. The state won't accept them without it.
A name also can't include corporation, incorporated or similar terms reserved for other entity types. You can check existing names any time using our guide to look up an LLC in North Dakota.
2. Professional LLC rules
Licensed professionals form a different kind of LLC. Architects, dentists and accountants, for example, form a Professional LLC (PLLC) instead of a standard one.
The Articles of Organization must include a Certificate of Professional License (SFN 13610) from the licensing board. A board certification for each licensed governor and member works too.
3. Member and manager disclosure
A standard Business LLC's Articles of Organization never ask for member or manager names. Only the organizer, the registered agent and the principal office address show up on the public filing.
Farming, Ranching and Authorized Livestock Farm LLCs are the exception. They must disclose each member's name, address and ownership share when they file.
4. Publication and initial report
North Dakota doesn't ask a new LLC to publish a formation notice in a newspaper. A standard LLC doesn't file a separate initial report either, so the first report you owe is the regular annual report.
5. Annual report deadline and state business tax
A standard Business LLC or PLLC owes $50 by November 15 every year, filed through FirstStop. Farming, Ranching and Authorized Livestock Farm LLCs file the same $50 report by April 15 instead. File late and the state adds a $50 penalty on top.
There's no franchise, privilege or gross-receipts tax behind that report. North Dakota taxes LLC income as pass-through unless you elect C-corporation treatment [2].
6. Foreign LLC registration
An LLC formed in another state registers as a foreign LLC by filing for a Certificate of Authority with the Secretary of State. The fee matches a domestic filing.
7. Reinstatement after a missed annual report
Miss enough annual reports and the state notices. It places your LLC into Not Good Standing, then dissolves it within 6 to 12 months if the report stays unpaid.
You get a full year total to fix this before it becomes permanent, and coming back costs $135. If that isn't the right move anymore, here's how to dissolve an LLC in North Dakota instead.
What to Do After Your North Dakota LLC Is Approved
Banks want your certificate of organization and EIN before they'll open a business account. Once you have both, do it.
North Dakota has no general state business license, so the next question is whether your job needs one. Contractors, home inspectors and lobbyists get their licenses from the state.
Alcohol, gaming and tobacco businesses go through the Attorney General instead. Check with your city or county too, since local business licenses run on their own separate system.
If you'll sell taxable goods or services, apply for a Sales Tax Permit through ND TAP. Hiring employees works the same way.
Apply for a withholding account through the same system. Both fall under the Office of State Tax Commissioner rather than the Secretary of State.
From here, compliance is mostly about not missing dates. Put your annual report deadline on a recurring reminder. Keep your registered agent and principal office address current too, so notices from the state reach the right place.
| Compliance item | Deadline, fee and department |
|---|---|
| Initial report | None required for a standard Business LLC (only Farm/Ranch and Authorized Livestock Farm LLCs must disclose ownership and land details at formation) |
| Annual or biennial report | $50 by November 15 for a Business LLC or PLLC (Farm/Ranch and ALF LLCs: April 15), filed through the FirstStop Portal |
| State tax registration | A Sales Tax Permit (if selling taxable goods or services) and a Withholding Account (if hiring employees), both registered through ND TAP with the Office of State Tax Commissioner |
| Renewal deadline | Not applicable. North Dakota has no general state business license to renew. Renewal deadlines apply only to specific occupational or local licenses |
| Late fee | $50 additional late fee once the annual report is filed after the deadline (total $100). If the LLC is administratively terminated for nonpayment, reinstatement costs $135 |
| Responsible state department | North Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services (filings and annual reports). North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner (sales tax and withholding) |
FAQs
Can I Be My Own Registered Agent in North Dakota?
Yes, you're allowed to be your own registered agent in North Dakota. You just need to list a physical street address in the state, since a P.O. box doesn't qualify. Switching to a different noncommercial registered agent later costs $10 to file.
Does North Dakota Charge a Franchise Tax on LLCs?
No, North Dakota doesn't charge a franchise tax on LLCs. The state taxes single-member LLCs as disregarded entities and multi-member LLCs as partnerships by default. That changes only if the LLC elects C-corporation treatment with the Office of State Tax Commissioner.
What Payment Methods Does North Dakota's FirstStop Portal Accept?
North Dakota's Secretary of State doesn't publish which payment methods the FirstStop portal accepts for a filing. Keep a backup card ready in case your first one is declined during the online submission.
What Does North Dakota's Secretary of State Send Me After Approval?
North Dakota's Secretary of State sends a certificate of organization once your Articles of Organization are approved. FirstStop makes that certificate available for download to every authorized user on your account rather than only the person who filed.
References:
- https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t10c32-1.pdf
- https://www.tax.nd.gov/starting-new-business
