How to form an LLC in North Carolina (2026)

What are the steps to form an LLC in North Carolina?

North Carolina keeps formation and the yearly report with one office, the Secretary of State's Business Registration Division. The list below gives each step with its form and fee.⁶

1. Check that your LLC name is available with the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division. You can reserve a name for $10 (G.S. 57D-1-22); see note.
2. Name a registered agent in North Carolina: a person or company with a North Carolina address who accepts legal papers for the LLC.
3. File the Articles of Organization (Form L-01), $125 with the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division. The state fee is $125. Filing methods: Online, or on paper (Form L-01) by mail.
4. Wait for approval: Entity creation: 5 to 10 business days (the SOS says online filing is always faster). Faster options: $200 for same-business-day filing if received by 12:00 noon ET; $100 for filing within 24 hours (weekends and holidays excluded).
5. Recurring filing: Annual Report: $200 on paper or $203 online, due April 15 each year after the year of formation, fee $200 by paper, $203 online.

Checking the name first lowers the chance of a rejected filing, and the LLC needs a registered agent under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 55D-30, so settle on the agent before you start the Articles.⁷

The last step comes due long after formation. The first annual report is owed in the calendar year after the LLC is created, not on the anniversary of filing, so an LLC formed late in the year can owe its first report within a few months. If you'd rather hand the filing to a formation service, the North Carolina LLC services comparison lists each provider's totals for this state.

How do you check and reserve a North Carolina LLC name?

Search the Secretary of State's business records before filing to see whether a similar name is already registered. If you need time before filing, the state lets you reserve a name with Form BE-03.⁸

The reservation fee is a point to confirm. The state's fee schedule lists $10 for an LLC name reservation, while its common-forms list shows Form BE-03 at $30.00. Ask the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division which fee applies before you pay.⁸

Owners who are ready to file the Articles right away can skip the reservation.

Who can serve as a North Carolina registered agent?

Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 55D-30, a person can serve as agent if the description fits: "An individual who resides in this State and whose business office is identical with the registered office." Owners who don't fit that rule can hire a registered agent service.⁷

Either way, the agent receives lawsuits and official state mail for the LLC.

Read the individual rule closely. The person's business office has to be the same as the registered office, which is the address listed for the agent. So a North Carolina resident can name themselves, but only with an office address that matches what goes on file.

That address goes on file with the state, and it shows up again every year on the annual report, which lists the Registered agent and office. Hiring an agent service puts the service's address there instead. Northwest Registered Agent lists its agent at $125 per year, and Inc Authority includes the agent for the first year with formation, then renews at $249/year. The Northwest pricing page and the Inc Authority pricing page give the renewal terms, and the plans that include a registered agent are listed together.^{9, 10, 11}

How do you file the Articles of Organization, and how fast is approval?

You file the Articles online or on paper by mail, and the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division lists entity creation at 5 to 10 business days. It also states that online filing is always faster.³

The online route works by creating a new online filing based on a series of questions and answers, so you answer prompts rather than fill in a blank form. The paper version is Form L-01, mailed to the Business Registration Division at P.O. Box 29622, Raleigh, NC 27626-0622. The state pages in our record describe only those two routes.^{1, 6}

Faster review for a fee

North Carolina sells two expedite levels for a new filing.

1. $100 for filing within 24 hours (weekends and holidays excluded).⁴
2. $200 for same-business-day filing if received by 12:00 noon ET.⁴

The cheaper level can make sense when a bank account, lease or contract is waiting on the approval. A formation service's own stated speed is a different clock: it measures how fast the service submits, while the state's review runs on the times above unless someone pays the expedite fee. The LLC timeline guide explains both, and the providers ranked by stated speed compare the services' side.

What does a North Carolina LLC cost in its first and second year?

Year one costs the $125 filing fee plus any plan, expedite or agent fee you choose. Year two adds the annual report, $200 by paper or $203 online, and any plan or agent renewal.^{2, 5}

The table shows the first- and second-year totals in North Carolina for each provider's compared plan. Rows follow our rating, 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.

Unlike states with no state report fee, North Carolina gives every row a second-year figure, because the report fee is a fixed state charge. The table uses the paper fee. Filing online by card costs a little more, since the online figure includes a $3.00 electronic filing fee for credit cards; for online payment by bank transfer, ACH carries a $2.00 fee instead.⁵

The second-year column counts the report fee and the plan's own renewal, but not a registered agent that renews after a free period. Inc Authority comes to $125 in year one, the state fee alone, and $200 in year two, yet its agent then renews at $249/year unless cancelled. Northwest Registered Agent totals $164 and then $200, and its included registered agent renews at $125/yr after year 1. The Inc Authority profile and the Northwest profile list what else each plan leaves out.^{11, 12}

To price your own mix of plan, expedite and agent, use the LLC cost calculator. The national LLC cost guide and the lowest-cost services list answer the same question beyond North Carolina.

What does a North Carolina LLC file each year?

A North Carolina LLC files an annual report with the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division, due April 15 each year, starting the year after formation. The fee is $200 by paper or $203 online.⁵

The report asks for the Registered agent and office, the principal office address and phone, the names/titles/addresses of principal company officials, and a brief description of the business. Because the report asks for officials' business addresses, an owner who doesn't want a home address on a state filing can list a separate business address.⁹

What happens when the report is late? Our record shows no late fee in the LLC fee statute. The risk is larger than a fee, though: failure to file within 60 days after the due date is grounds for administrative dissolution. An LLC dissolved this way can apply for reinstatement with Form L-08, which costs $100.^{1, 13}

Some formation services sell annual report filing for a fee on top of the state's. Northwest Registered Agent charges $100 + state fees, charged at filing, and its page adds, "When you sign up for our registered agent services, you'll automatically be enrolled in our renewal service." InCorp Services lists its annual report service at $89 + state fees. Some plans list report filing in their price instead. The North Carolina services comparison shows which plans do, and the package contents guide separates filings from reminders.^{14, 15}

How do you change a North Carolina registered agent?

You change the agent by filing Form BE-06, the statement of change of registered office or registered agent, with the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division. The fee is $5.^{1, 2}

File the change before you cancel the old service. A gap carries a real risk: grounds for administrative dissolution include an LLC that is without a registered agent or office for 60+ days, or one that fails to report an agent change or resignation within 60 days.¹³

An agent can also step down. It files a statement of resignation certifying it has notified the LLC, and the Secretary of State mails copies. The appointment ends on the 31st day after filing. The weeks before that date are the time to appoint a replacement with Form BE-06.^{1, 16}

What if your LLC was formed in another state?

An LLC formed elsewhere that does business in North Carolina files an Application for Certificate of Authority, and the fee is $250.⁸

That fee is higher than the $125 cost of forming a new North Carolina LLC. Registering an existing company and forming a new one in North Carolina are different choices with tax and contract effects, so an accountant or lawyer should weigh them for your business. The state fees table shows formation and registration fees side by side, including South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.²