How to start an LLC in North Carolina

North Carolina charges $125 to file the Articles of Organization, the document that creates an LLC there, with the North Carolina Secretary of State. After that, budget $200 a year in state fees.

File with the North Carolina Secretary of State

Good to know about North Carolina

North Carolina charges LLCs $200 for the annual report against $25 for corporations. Every entity is identified by its SOSID.

Step by step

1. Check that the name is free

   Start from our North Carolina business lookup or go straight to the official North Carolina search. Search the proposed name in the Secretary of State's Business Registration Search; an available name can be reserved for a nonrenewable 120 days ($10 for an LLC, $30 for a corporation).

   It also needs an LLC ending, such as "LLC". For when two names count as the same, see checking LLC name availability.

2. Reserve the name, if you want to hold it

   Optional. If you are not ready to file, a reservation costs $10 and holds the name for 120 days, not renewable. Source, checked 2026-10-26

3. Appoint a registered agent

   Every North Carolina LLC names one in its filing: a person or company with a street address in North Carolina who accepts legal papers for it. You can be your own agent, but your address then goes on the public record. More in what a registered agent does.

4. File the Articles of Organization

   File the Articles of Organization with the North Carolina Secretary of State. The state fee is $125. Source, checked 2026-10-26

5. Get an EIN from the IRS, free

   With the approval in hand, get the LLC's federal tax number, the EIN, from the IRS online application. It costs nothing and gives the number at once. Banks ask for it before they open a business account.

6. Write an operating agreement

   North Carolina does not collect it, but write one anyway, even for a one-person LLC: it settles ownership, decisions and exits on your terms instead of the state's default rules. What goes in an operating agreement.

7. Keep it in good standing

   Annual Report: $200, every year, due April 15, starting the year after formation. Source, checked 2026-10-26

   An LLC that falls behind on these, or is left without a registered agent, can be dissolved by the state.

After filing, the LLC shows up in the North Carolina business lookup with its status and agent. The bank account and local licenses come next; how to start an LLC covers them.