How Much Does an LLC Cost in North Carolina?
By Edmond Hui · Fees verified July 29, 2026 against the North Carolina Secretary of State fee schedule
Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC
Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.
What you actually pay in North Carolina
North Carolina has a modest $125 formation fee but by far the most expensive routine annual report of these five states at $200 per year - more than the cost of forming the LLC. Paper filers pay exactly $200; online filers pay $203 by credit card or $202 by ACH because the state adds its payment-processing charge. The report is due April 15 every year after the year of creation and there is no statutory late fee, so the real penalty for lapsing is administrative dissolution plus a $100 reinstatement. Optional charges are $10 for a name reservation, $15 for a paper Certificate of Existence ($10 electronic), $100 for 24-hour expedited filing and $200 for same-day filing under N.C.G.S. 55D-11.
North Carolina LLC fee breakdown
| Cost | Amount | How often | Charged by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization | $125 | One time | North Carolina Secretary of State |
| Annual Report | $200 | Every year | North Carolina Secretary of State |
| Required state cost, first year | $325 | — | — |
| Franchise Tax (only LLCs that elect corporate tax treatment) — does not apply to a standard North Carolina LLC | $200 | Only after a corporate election | North Carolina Department of Revenue |
| Registered agent service (optional) | $50–$300 | Every year | Commercial provider |
| Expedited processing (optional) — Same-day (document received by 12:00 noon) $200, 24-hour (excluding weekends and holidays) $100 | $100+ | One time | North Carolina Secretary of State |
| Name reservation (optional) | $10 | One time | North Carolina Secretary of State |
| Certificate of good standing (optional) | $15 | Per copy | North Carolina Secretary of State |
N.C.G.S. 57D-1-22 sets a flat $125 regardless of filing method; online filers additionally pay the state's payment-processing charge ($3 by credit card, $2 by ACH).
Franchise Tax (only LLCs that elect corporate tax treatment): $1.50 per $1,000 of the tax base, capped at $500 on the first $1,000,000 of the base, with a $200 minimum. An LLC is not subject to North Carolina franchise tax unless it elects to be taxed as a corporation for federal purposes.
Why the Franchise Tax (only LLCs that elect corporate tax treatment) is not in the total: A default-classified LLC owes no North Carolina franchise tax at all; the $200 minimum bites only after a corporate or S-corp election.
North Carolina imposes no newspaper publication requirement on LLC formation.
Registered agent is listed separately because it is a commercial service, not a state charge. Commercial registered-agent services, not a state charge. Range and $125 midpoint match the assumption used by /tools/llc-true-cost. Most states let you serve as your own registered agent at no cost if you have a physical in-state address. Run your own numbers in the true-cost calculator.
North Carolina LLC cost over five years
State charges only in the first column; the second adds a registered-agent service at the $125/yr market midpoint.
| Period | State cost only | With registered agent |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (formation + first filing) | $325 | $450 |
| Each year after | $200 | $325 |
| Five-year total | $1,125 | $1,750 |
First filing timing: The first annual report is due April 15 of the year following the year of creation, so an LLC created in 2026 files its first report by April 15, 2027.
Is North Carolina expensive compared with other states?
North Carolina ranks 41st cheapest of 50 states on first-year cost — $90.47 above the $234.53 national average. On ongoing annual cost it ranks 42nd.
A cheaper filing fee elsewhere rarely saves money if you live and operate in North Carolina. Doing business here with an out-of-state LLC generally means registering it as a foreign LLC in North Carolina anyway — paying both states. See foreign qualification in North Carolina before forming elsewhere to save on fees.
North Carolina filing deadline and late penalties
Annual Report
| Frequency | every year |
| Due | April 15 of each year after the year of creation |
| Fee | $200 |
North Carolina charges no statutory late fee on a delinquent LLC annual report, but the $200 fee is due regardless and continued failure to file leads to administrative dissolution.
An LLC that fails to file its annual report can be administratively dissolved; the Application for Reinstatement Following Administrative Dissolution costs $100 and all delinquent annual reports must be brought current.
Full North Carolina annual report filing guide · Deadline calculator
Cost traps specific to North Carolina
$200 every single year - the highest recurring report fee in the region
North Carolina's $200 LLC annual report costs more each year than the $125 it took to form the company, and $203 if you pay online by credit card. Over five years that is $1,000-$1,015 in report fees alone.
Entity creation takes 15-20 business days unless you pay to expedite
The Secretary of State's posted turnaround for entity creation is 15-20 business days. Cutting that to 24 hours costs $100 and same-day (documents in by noon) costs $200 under N.C.G.S. 55D-11.
Electing corporate taxation triggers a $200 minimum franchise tax on top of the report
A default-classified LLC owes no NC franchise tax, but an LLC that elects C-corp or S-corp treatment becomes liable for the franchise tax with a $200 minimum - stacking on top of the $200 annual report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where these numbers come from
Every fee above was checked against North Carolina's own published sources on July 29, 2026 — the North Carolina Secretary of State fee schedule, the governing statute, and where a state-level tax applies, the state tax authority. Commercial formation-service pages were not used.
The first-year total is the Articles of Organization fee plus the first year of any recurring state charge. Where a state's first report is not due until the following year, that is noted above. The five-year total is the filing fee plus five years of recurring charges, which avoids the timing question entirely. Registered-agent service is excluded from all state figures.
Primary sources:
- https://www.sosnc.gov/fees/by_title/_Business_Registration_limited_liability_companies
- https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_57D/GS_57D-1-22.html
- https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_55D/GS_55D-11.html
- https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration/annual_report_due_dates
- https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration
- https://www.ncdor.gov/taxes-forms/corporate-income-franchise-tax/corporate-income-and-franchise-tax-rates