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A limited liability company in North Dakota is created by filing articles of organization with the Secretary of State. You file in the FirstStop Portal, and the registration fee is $135. Each year the LLC files a $50 annual report. This page covers the start; our North Dakota business guide covers searching records and the registered agent rules.
Which kind of LLC are you forming?
North Dakota lists four types: a business LLC, a farming or ranching LLC, an authorized livestock farm LLC and a professional LLC. Most people want the first. The farming or ranching type is unusual. It is for one or more individuals, with no more than 15 members, and it must be engaged in farming or ranching. Members must be related individuals or certain trusts and estates. At filing it also discloses its members, their relationships and any land. Its annual report is due April 15, not in November.
How do you pick the name?
The name must contain "limited liability company", "LLC" or "L.L.C.". North Dakota judges names on a "distinguishable on record" standard under N.D. Admin. Code ch. 72-03-02. Names must also use ASCII characters, so no accents.
Use the portal's Business Search and Trademark Search. Read how to check LLC name availability for the habits that work in any state. If the name is already held, the filing cannot be processed unless you change it, send a signed Consent to Use Business Name form with a $10 fee, or hold a certified North Dakota court judgment giving you prior right.
Words such as bank and trust need written approval from the Department of Financial Institutions. The office warns you not to commit money to a name before your filing is registered and acknowledged.
A reservation costs $10 and holds the name for 12 months, renewable. See name reservation for when it helps.
Who is the registered agent?
Every LLC must keep a North Dakota registered agent with a physical address in the state. The articles name either a commercial registered agent, or a noncommercial agent with a North Dakota address. The rules, the $10 change fee and what happens without one are in the registered agent section of our North Dakota guide.
What are the steps?
- Check the name in the portal.
- Choose your agent and confirm their North Dakota address.
- Open the Start a Business service in FirstStop.
- File the articles of organization and pay $135.
- Keep the certificate of organization and the registration record, which the annual report later updates.
Under NDCC 10-32.1-20 the organizers can be individuals aged 18 or older, or other persons. The articles state the name, the registered agent, the principal executive office address and each organizer's name and address. They may set a later effective date, up to ninety days after filing. The LLC is formed when the articles are filed or on that later date, and the Secretary of State issues a certificate of organization.
North Dakota's register-a-business page tells you to settle structure, name and agent first, and then file. The pages we read do not state a processing time or a paid expedite, so we list none.
What comes after filing?
Write your operating agreement and get an EIN; the steps are in how to get an EIN. Out-of-state owners can form here, and LLC for non-residents covers the points to watch.
What does upkeep cost?
The annual report costs $50 for an LLC. A business LLC files by November 15, and the first report is due in the year after the calendar year of registration. It updates your mailing address, business activities and stakeholders, with no financial statements. A late LLC report adds $50. Miss it and the business moves to Not Good Standing.
The office warns about letters from third parties that ask large fees to file your annual report. You can file it yourself in FirstStop.
A foreign LLC pays the same $135 to register. A Certificate of Good Standing costs $20.
Compare neighbours Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana. When you are ready, use the start an LLC form.