What happens if I file my North Carolina LLC annual report late?

North Carolina charges no statutory late fee on a delinquent LLC annual report, so filing after April 15 does not add a dollar penalty. The $200 fee is still owed, and the real risk is administrative dissolution: once the report is more than 60 days past due the Secretary of State can begin dissolution, and it sends a 60-day cure notice before acting. Bringing the company back costs $100 for the Application for Reinstatement Following Administrative Dissolution, and every delinquent $200 annual report must be brought current at the same time. File through the North Carolina Secretary of State's online portal at https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration as soon as you realize you have missed the deadline.

How do I file my North Carolina LLC annual report?

You can file your North Carolina LLC annual report online through the NC Secretary of State at sosnc.gov, or on paper by mail. The filing asks for your LLC name, file number, registered agent information, principal office address, and the names and addresses of your members or managers. A paper report costs exactly $200; the online filing costs $203 by credit card or $202 by ACH because the state adds a payment-processing charge on top of the $200 fee. The report is due April 15 of each year after the year your LLC was created, so an LLC created in 2026 files its first report by April 15, 2027 and nothing in 2026. North Carolina charges no statutory late fee, but a report left unfiled can lead to administrative dissolution. Filing online takes only a few minutes and gives you immediate electronic confirmation. Visit https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration to start.

How much does it cost to file a North Carolina LLC annual report?

The North Carolina LLC annual report fee is $200, payable to the North Carolina Secretary of State. That is the exact cost of a paper report; online filers pay $203 by credit card or $202 by ACH because the state adds its payment-processing charge. North Carolina charges no statutory late fee, so a late report costs the same $200 as an on-time one, but leaving it unfiled can lead to administrative dissolution and a $100 reinstatement filing. There are no exemptions, discounts, or reduced rates: every LLC pays the same $200 regardless of revenue or employee count, which makes the cost predictable. Budget $200 a year into your LLC's operating expenses and set a calendar reminder for April 15. File through the Secretary of State's online portal at https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration or send the paper report by mail.

When is the North Carolina LLC annual report deadline?

North Carolina LLCs file their annual report with the Secretary of State by April 15 of each year after the year the LLC was created. The first-year rule matters: an LLC created in 2026 owes nothing in 2026 and files its first annual report by April 15, 2027. After that the April 15 date is the same for every LLC no matter what month it was formed. The fee is $200, which is $203 online by credit card or $202 by ACH once the state's payment-processing charge is added. Missing April 15 does not trigger a state late fee, because North Carolina charges none. What it does trigger is administrative dissolution: the Secretary of State can dissolve an LLC whose report is more than 60 days past due, after a 60-day cure notice. Dissolution ends the company's authority to do business in the state other than winding up. Set a reminder for early April to gather your current registered agent, principal office, and member or manager details. Your next step: file electronically through the Business Registration section of the Secretary of State's site at https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration, or mail the paper report to the same division.

Are there any exemptions from filing the NC LLC annual report?

No. Every active North Carolina LLC files an annual report with the Secretary of State, and there are no exemptions based on size, revenue, or activity level. An LLC that earned nothing and did no business during the year still files to stay in good standing. The only way to stop the obligation is to formally dissolve the LLC by filing Articles of Dissolution with the Secretary of State. Simply ignoring the report can lead to administrative dissolution, which ends the company's authority to do business in North Carolina other than winding up, and reinstating it costs $100 plus every delinquent $200 report. To stay compliant, file the annual report by April 15 of each year after the year your LLC was created and pay the $200 fee. If you are unsure whether your LLC is still active, look it up in the business registration search at https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration before the deadline.

North Carolina LLC Annual Report: $200, Filed Every Year

Everything you need to know about the $200 NC LLC annual report, due April 15 of each year after the year your LLC was created, including fees and step-by-step instructions.

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: October 2026

North Carolina LLC annual reports are due April 15 and cost $200 to file. See details below.

Filing for a corporation instead? See the North Carolina corporation annual report.

Ready to file?

Go directly to the North Carolina Secretary of State website.

File with the North Carolina Secretary of State →

When is the North Carolina LLC annual report due, and what does it cost?

Due Date	April 15
Fee	$200
Filing Method	Online or mail
Late Penalty	No monetary late fee, administrative dissolution grounds after 60 days past due, with a 60-day cure notice
Official state page	www.sosnc.gov

Step diagram for filing the North Carolina LLC annual report, $200 filing fee, due April 15. — Filing the North Carolina annual report, with the state's own fee and deadline. Source: North Carolina Secretary of State.

How do you file the North Carolina LLC annual report?

1
Gather Required LLC Information
Collect your LLC's registered agent information, principal office address, member and manager details, and any changes since your last filing. You'll need your North Carolina LLC file number, the number the Secretary of State assigned when it accepted your Articles of Organization.
2
Access the NC Secretary of State Portal
Visit the North Carolina Secretary of State website at sosnc.gov and navigate to the business registration section at https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration. Create an account or log into your existing account to access the annual report forms.
3
Complete the Annual Report Form
Fill out the LLC annual report with current information about your business, including any address changes, registered agent updates, or management structure modifications. Review all information carefully for accuracy.
4
Pay the $200 Filing Fee
The annual report fee is $200. A paper report costs exactly $200; filing online costs $203 by credit card or $202 by ACH because the state adds its payment-processing charge. If filing by mail, include a check or money order payable to the NC Secretary of State.
5
Submit and Keep Confirmation
File your annual report online or mail the completed form to the NC Secretary of State. Save your confirmation receipt and any correspondence. Your LLC remains in good standing once the report is successfully filed.

Do You Need a Paid Service to File?

No. You can file this report yourself, using the filing method in the table above, and pay only the state's own fee shown there, with no service fee on top.

Hiring a registered agent service is a separate choice, and it is optional too. Every LLC must keep a registered agent, but in most states the LLC's owner, or another individual who qualifies, may serve as its registered agent themselves, generally subject to that state's rules on keeping a street address in the state and being available there during normal business hours. The North Carolina registered agent requirements set out what North Carolina itself asks.

Registered agent services for North Carolina LLCs

Affiliate disclosure: Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom pay us a commission if you sign up through our link, at no extra cost to you. We list only the registered agent services we have an affiliate relationship with, so this is not a survey of the whole market.

This list is not scored. The four are listed cheapest annual renewal first, and every claim below is about the services listed here rather than the whole market.

Northwest Registered Agent$125/yr renewal
Best for: Privacy-focused owners and anyone who just needs an agent, not a formation bundle
Bizee$149/yr renewal
Best for: A free first year (some visitors are being shown shorter free periods, so confirm at checkout), renewing at $149/yr, if you're comfortable with the BBB caveat
ZenBusiness$199/yr renewal
Best for: First-time founders forming a new LLC who want phone, email and chat support
LegalZoom$249/yr renewal
Best for: Complex structures that want attorney consultations, which come with LegalZoom's $299 formation plan (and, in one version of its plans, the $249 plan) rather than this renewal price

Note: Bizee holds a C rating from the BBB and is not accredited. BBB's profile carries a live alert describing a pattern of complaints about unexpected charges, difficulty canceling and filing delays, and Bizee has posted a response to it. We flag this so you can make an informed choice.

Annual renewal is each provider's own standard published rate. Check the current terms at each provider before you buy. The scored ranking, and the formula behind it, is in our full formation services review →

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state publishes about filing deadlines, fees, and the consequences of missing them, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you what your own company owes: the date turns on when and where you formed, states change these rules between our reviews, and in several states an entity-level tax falls due in a year when no report does. Confirm your own dates with the filing office named on this page before you rely on one here, because missing a deadline can cost the company its good standing or, in many states, its existence.

Read this guide for another state:

Frequently Asked Questions

: North Carolina charges no statutory late fee on a delinquent LLC annual report, so filing after April 15 does not add a dollar penalty. The $200 fee is still owed, and the real risk is administrative dissolution: once the report is more than 60 days past due the Secretary of State can begin dissolution, and it sends a 60-day cure notice before acting. Bringing the company back costs $100 for the Application for Reinstatement Following Administrative Dissolution, and every delinquent $200 annual report must be brought current at the same time. File through the North Carolina Secretary of State's online portal at https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration as soon as you realize you have missed the deadline.
: You can file your North Carolina LLC annual report online through the NC Secretary of State at sosnc.gov, or on paper by mail. The filing asks for your LLC name, file number, registered agent information, principal office address, and the names and addresses of your members or managers. A paper report costs exactly $200; the online filing costs $203 by credit card or $202 by ACH because the state adds a payment-processing charge on top of the $200 fee. The report is due April 15 of each year after the year your LLC was created, so an LLC created in 2026 files its first report by April 15, 2027 and nothing in 2026. North Carolina charges no statutory late fee, but a report left unfiled can lead to administrative dissolution. Filing online takes only a few minutes and gives you immediate electronic confirmation. Visit https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration to start.
: The North Carolina LLC annual report fee is $200, payable to the North Carolina Secretary of State. That is the exact cost of a paper report; online filers pay $203 by credit card or $202 by ACH because the state adds its payment-processing charge. North Carolina charges no statutory late fee, so a late report costs the same $200 as an on-time one, but leaving it unfiled can lead to administrative dissolution and a $100 reinstatement filing. There are no exemptions, discounts, or reduced rates: every LLC pays the same $200 regardless of revenue or employee count, which makes the cost predictable. Budget $200 a year into your LLC's operating expenses and set a calendar reminder for April 15. File through the Secretary of State's online portal at https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration or send the paper report by mail.
: North Carolina LLCs file their annual report with the Secretary of State by April 15 of each year after the year the LLC was created. The first-year rule matters: an LLC created in 2026 owes nothing in 2026 and files its first annual report by April 15, 2027. After that the April 15 date is the same for every LLC no matter what month it was formed. The fee is $200, which is $203 online by credit card or $202 by ACH once the state's payment-processing charge is added. Missing April 15 does not trigger a state late fee, because North Carolina charges none. What it does trigger is administrative dissolution: the Secretary of State can dissolve an LLC whose report is more than 60 days past due, after a 60-day cure notice. Dissolution ends the company's authority to do business in the state other than winding up. Set a reminder for early April to gather your current registered agent, principal office, and member or manager details. Your next step: file electronically through the Business Registration section of the Secretary of State's site at https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration, or mail the paper report to the same division.
: No. Every active North Carolina LLC files an annual report with the Secretary of State, and there are no exemptions based on size, revenue, or activity level. An LLC that earned nothing and did no business during the year still files to stay in good standing. The only way to stop the obligation is to formally dissolve the LLC by filing Articles of Dissolution with the Secretary of State. Simply ignoring the report can lead to administrative dissolution, which ends the company's authority to do business in North Carolina other than winding up, and reinstating it costs $100 plus every delinquent $200 report. To stay compliant, file the annual report by April 15 of each year after the year your LLC was created and pay the $200 fee. If you are unsure whether your LLC is still active, look it up in the business registration search at https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration before the deadline.

Sources

3 documents

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified North Carolina sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.

sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registrationNorth Carolina Secretary of State: business entity filings
ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_57D/GS_57D-2-24.pdfNorth Carolina statute: Annual Report
sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration/annual_report_helpNorth Carolina agency guidance: Annual Report

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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.

How we check facts

When is the North Carolina LLC annual report due, and what does it cost?

How do you file the North Carolina LLC annual report?

Gather Required LLC Information

Access the NC Secretary of State Portal

Complete the Annual Report Form

Pay the $200 Filing Fee

Submit and Keep Confirmation