How to form an LLC in New Hampshire (2026)

What are the steps to form an LLC in New Hampshire?

The steps run from checking the name to the first yearly report, and each state filing in them goes to the New Hampshire Secretary of State, Corporation Division. The list shows the form and fee for each.

1. Check that your LLC name is available with the New Hampshire Secretary of State, Corporation Division. You can reserve a name for $15 for 120 days.
2. Name a registered agent in New Hampshire: a person or company with a New Hampshire address who accepts legal papers for the LLC.
3. File the Certificate of Formation (Form LLC-1) with the New Hampshire Secretary of State, Corporation Division. The state fee is $100. Filing methods: Online (NH QuickStart), by mail or in person.
4. Wait for approval: Online filings: generally no more than 10 business days. Faster options: $25, in person at the Customer Lobby only.
5. Recurring filing: Annual Report (due April 1 each year after the year of registration), fee $100.

New Hampshire keeps the process inside one office. The division that accepts the Certificate of Formation also takes the annual report and the agent change form, and NH QuickStart handles both new business registrations and annual reports online.³

The steps leave out a federal item and an internal one. An EIN comes from the IRS, not the state, and an operating agreement is a private document you keep rather than file. Our guide to what formation packages contain explains where each one fits. If you'd rather pay a service to do the filing, the New Hampshire LLC services compared page shows each one's total here.

Can you reserve a New Hampshire LLC name first?

Yes. New Hampshire lets you hold a name for 120 days for a $15 fee, which is useful if the Certificate of Formation isn't ready yet. Search the state's business records first to see whether the name is taken.²

A reservation is optional and costs far less than the formation fee. It helps when members, money or an agent still need to be lined up and you don't want another business to claim the name in the meantime.

Who can be the registered agent for a New Hampshire LLC?

A New Hampshire registered agent can be an individual who resides in this state and whose residential or business office is identical with the registered office, or a business entity with a matching office in the state. The rule sits in N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 304-C:36.⁶

A registered agent is the person or company that receives lawsuits and state notices on the LLC's behalf. New Hampshire's wording is tighter than a simple "state address" rule. A person qualifies only if their home or business office is the registered office itself. The statute also lists a corporation organized or authorized under RSA 292, 293-A or 294-A, an LLC formed or authorized under RSA 304-C, and limited liability partnerships, each with an office identical to the registered office.⁶

That wording has practical effects.

• An owner who lives in New Hampshire can act as the agent, and the registered office may be the same as any of its places of business.⁶
• An owner who lives elsewhere, including a founder outside the U.S., can't serve personally and needs an agent who meets the rule, such as a paid agent service.

Agent services charge for this every year. Northwest Registered Agent includes an agent with its formation plan, and the agent renews at $125/yr after year 1. Inc Authority includes one for the first year and then bills $249/year. The list of plans that include a registered agent and Northwest's price page give the full terms.^{7, 8}

How do you file the Certificate of Formation, and how fast is it?

You can file online through NH QuickStart, by mail, or in person at the State House Annex. The state says online filings generally take no more than 10 business days, and it charges a $2.00 handling charge on online payments.^{2, 3, 4}

A paper filing goes to the mailing address printed on Form LLC-1 itself, and the same form gives the location for walk-in filings.¹

The in-person rush option

New Hampshire's expedite is tied to a counter. The state offers faster turnaround for an extra $25, but only in person at the Customer Lobby, and it doesn't publish a paid rush option for filings sent online or by mail.⁴

That limits what a formation service can speed up. A service may state its own processing time for preparing and submitting the filing, but the state's published rush is the in-person one, and its online timeline is no more than 10 business days. The LLC timeline guide separates the service's clock from the state's, and the list ordered by stated filing speed compares providers' own claims.⁴

What does a New Hampshire LLC cost in the first and second year?

The first year costs the $100 formation fee plus any plan you buy; the second year costs the $100 annual report fee plus any plan or agent renewal. Online payments add a small $2.00 handling charge.²

The table shows each provider's compared plan with New Hampshire's fees added. Rows follow our rating, highest first, with ties in the editorial order set out in how we rate.

First year: state filing fee plus the provider's compared plan. Second year: the recurring state fee plus the plan's renewal, if it renews.

Totals are our arithmetic on the published figures. Registered agent renewals are extra unless a plan includes the agent. Try other plans in the calculator.

New Hampshire gives a full second-year column because the state's recurring fee is fixed and published. Compare the first and second columns. Inc Authority totals $100 in year one and $100 in year two, both just the state fees. Its included agent, though, renews at $249/year after the first year, and the table leaves agent renewals out. Northwest Registered Agent totals $139 and then $100, plus an agent that renews at $125/yr after year 1.^{7, 8}

Plans billed every year carry their price into year two. Tailor Brands Elite comes to $349 in year one and $349 in year two; ZenBusiness Premium comes to $399 and then $399. Read Inc Authority's profile and Northwest's profile for what each low-cost plan leaves out.

To model your own mix, try the LLC cost calculator. The state fees table puts New Hampshire next to other states, and the national cost guide explains each line.

What does a New Hampshire LLC file after it is formed?

Every New Hampshire LLC files an annual report with the New Hampshire Secretary of State, Corporation Division between January 1 and April 1, for $100. The first report comes the year after formation, and missing April brings a late fee.^{2, 5}

The timing has one quirk. Under state law, the first annual report is due between January 1 and April 1 of the year following the calendar year of formation. A December formation gets extra time, though, because an LLC formed in December files its first report in the second calendar year after formation.⁵

The report lists the registered office and agent, the principal office, the names and business addresses of managers (or at least one member), and a brief description of the business. So the names and business addresses of the people running the LLC go into a state filing every year.⁵

Lateness costs money first and standing second. The state charges a $50 late fee after April 1, and the law allows administrative dissolution after two consecutive years of non-filing. A dissolved LLC can apply to come back for $135, but only within 3 years of dissolution. An application filed more than 120 days after the dissolution notice also needs a tax certificate.²

Some formation services sell or include annual report filing, described in general terms rather than for New Hampshire alone. Tailor Brands includes report filing in its Essential and Elite plans, ZenBusiness sells annual report filing at $100 per report, and Northwest Registered Agent charges $100 + state fees for each filing. Only Northwest Registered Agent's price says the state fee comes on top; the other two don't publish whether the $100 state fee is covered. The first-time founders list shows which plans include the filing.^{2, 9, 10, 11}

New Hampshire business taxes

The state's tax agency names a Business Profits Tax (7.5%) that applies to business organizations above a gross income filing threshold. That threshold was $103,000 for the 2023 to 2024 periods, and the state says thresholds are inflation-adjusted every two years. Whether your LLC crosses it depends on its income, so ask an accountant about your own case.¹²

How do you change a New Hampshire registered agent?

You change agents by filing Form 10, the Statement of Change of Registered Office or Registered Agent or Both, with the New Hampshire Secretary of State, Corporation Division. The fee is $15, and the same form updates the registered office address.^{2, 13}

File the change before ending the old service. New Hampshire treats a gap as grounds for administrative dissolution when an LLC is without a registered agent or registered office in this state for 60 days or more, or when it fails to report an agent/office change within 60 days.¹⁴

An agent can also step down on its own by filing a notice of resignation. When that happens, the SOS mails a copy to the LLC's principal office, and the appointment ends 31 days after filing or on appointment of a successor, whichever is first. Filing Form 10 with a new agent before then avoids a gap.^{6, 13}

What if your LLC was formed in another state?

An LLC formed in another state registers in New Hampshire with Form FLLC-1 and pays $100, the same amount a new domestic LLC pays to file its Certificate of Formation.²

Because the fees match, the choice between registering an existing company and forming a new one turns on how and where the business runs, not on the filing cost. That is a question for an accountant or lawyer. Neighbors Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts each have their own formation pages.