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North Dakota keeps its business register at the Office of the Secretary of State, run by its Business Services team. Lookups happen in the FirstStop Portal, where Business Search lets you check registered businesses by name and see whether they are active or in Good Standing. The same portal handles registrations, annual reports and certificate orders, so the search and the paperwork live in one place. There is also a Trademark Search for state marks.
North Dakota LLC and corporation search in FirstStop
Open the FirstStop Portal Business Search and enter the business name. Some points specific to this state:
- Names on the register must be in ASCII characters, the plain English letter set. If you are looking for "Café Nord", search "Cafe Nord".
- A trade name is its own record. A shop that trades as "Prairie Print" may be registered to an LLC with a different legal name, so search both.
- The office treats acronyms and shortened versions of a legal name as trade names. If a company uses initials on its sign, that short form may have a separate trade name record.
- For a name check, run the Trademark Search too. Registered marks are on the list of names a new LLC must be distinguishable from.
Our LLC lookup guide covers general search habits that work in most state portals.
Reading a North Dakota record
The status line is what most people need. North Dakota uses Good Standing for a business that is current. A business that fails to file its annual report is placed in Not Good Standing. If it still does not file, it is usually involuntarily terminated or dissolved within 6 to 12 months. An out of state company in the same position has its authority to transact business revoked. A business has 1 year to reinstate. For what these words mean in practice, see our guide to business entity status.
Do not expect the record to name the owners. The Secretary of State says a business registration does not document ownership. The annual report lists officers, directors, managers, governors or general partners. Shareholders show up only for professional, farm or ranch, and authorized livestock farm corporations. Our business owner lookup guide suggests other places to look.
Name rules and reserving a name
North Dakota judges names under a "distinguishable on record" standard set out in North Dakota Administrative Code ch. 72-03-02. For LLCs, NDCC 10-32.1-11 requires the name to be distinguishable from other companies, reserved names, fictitious partnership names, trade names, and trademarks or service marks. The Secretary of State makes the final call, and the office warns against committing money to a name before your filing is accepted.
An LLC name must contain "limited liability company", "LLC" or "L.L.C.". A business corporation name must contain "company", "corporation", "incorporated" or "limited", or an abbreviation. Words such as "bank", "banker", "banking", "trust" and "trust company" need written approval from the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions. If your name is already held by someone else, a signed Consent to Use Business Name form with a $10 fee can clear it.
A name reservation costs $10 under NDCC 10-32.1-92. It holds the name for twelve months and can be renewed for further twelve month periods. Transfer and cancellation are also $10 each. See our name reservation guide before you file one.
Annual reports and good standing
Most North Dakota businesses file an annual report through FirstStop. It updates addresses, business activities and stakeholders, and it does not ask for financial statements. Deadlines depend on the entity type:
- LLCs and PLLCs: November 15, fee $50
- Domestic business and professional corporations: August 1, fee $25
- Foreign business and professional corporations: May 15
- Farm or ranch and authorized livestock farm LLCs and corporations: April 15
A late LLC report adds $50, and reinstating a terminated LLC costs $135. Registration fees are $135 for a domestic or foreign LLC, $100 for a domestic corporation, $145 for a foreign corporation and $40 for a nonprofit corporation. North Dakota's Maintain Registration page warns about third party letters that offer to file annual reports for large fees. Our annual report deadlines page puts these dates next to other states.
For proof of status, a Certificate of Good Standing is $20 through a Request Certificate form in FirstStop. Trade names cost $25 to register and expire every 5 years, which our DBA search guide explains.
Buying North Dakota business data
There is no free bulk file. The Secretary of State sells data lists through FirstStop as Excel spreadsheets, and you need an ND Login to order. A one time list of active business records is $40 per selected type, and a monthly subscription to new records is $40 per type each month.
Registered agent in North Dakota
Every North Dakota LLC must keep a registered agent with a physical address in North Dakota. The Secretary of State's register a business page applies the same rule to corporations and to partnerships other than general partnerships. The agent is also called a resident agent or a statutory agent. It accepts any notice of legal action, notice or demand for the business and passes it on to you.
Your articles name either a commercial registered agent, or a noncommercial agent with an address in the state. The Secretary of State sends notices about annual reports, Not Good Standing and dissolutions to the agent's address on your record, so a stale address means missed warnings.
To change the agent or office, file the update in FirstStop. The Maintain Registration page lists the fee as $10, and says it applies per entity when the agent is noncommercial. If your agent resigns or no longer has a North Dakota registration, you must appoint a new one. Without one, the business can be placed in Not Good Standing or be involuntarily dissolved or terminated. A foreign company can have its authority revoked. See our North Dakota LLC page for forming here and being your own registered agent for the owner option.
Business license in North Dakota
The Secretary of State's pages we read do not describe one general state business license. They say that, depending on the nature of your business, you may need to obtain licenses, permits and registrations. The office's Start a Business page has a "Getting Licensed" section for this, marked as needed only if required. Your LLC registration is filed in the FirstStop portal, and it creates the company, not a license.
The permit most sellers need comes from the Tax Department. Its sales and use tax page says sellers of taxable tangible personal property, admissions to recreational activities and rental of lodging must obtain a sales tax permit. Apply 30 days before you open. If you buy an existing business you need a new permit, because permits are not transferable. Filing can be monthly, quarterly or annual, and the Tax Department sets it when you apply.
We did not read a fee for the permit, so we quote none. Industry licenses, city permits and professional boards are outside what we read. If you need an EIN, see our EIN guide. Our state tax ID lookup page explains which numbers are public.
Starting a company here? Read our guide on how to start an LLC in North Dakota.