$185 to form your North Dakota LLC

North Dakota LLC Cost: $135 Filing + $50/Yr Annual Report (2026)

Forming an LLC in North Dakota costs $135 to file Articles of Organization with the North Dakota Secretary of State, plus $50/yr for the annual report (due November 15 of each year). No franchise tax for pass-through LLCs. No publication requirement. Year-one cost (DIY): $135. Five-year cost: $335. North Dakota’s LLC structure is straightforward and predictable: a flat filing fee, a flat annual report fee, and no surprise minimum taxes. ND is rarely picked for non-resident formation but is structurally fine for in-state operators.

Reviewed by LLC Formation Cost Editorial Team, fact-checked against primary government sources • Last updated 2026-05-31 • 5 primary government sources cited

TL;DR

North Dakota LLCs file Articles of Organization with the North Dakota Secretary of State for $135. The annual report (also $50) is due by November 15 of each year, not the LLC’s anniversary date, an unusual fixed-date approach. No franchise tax for pass-through LLCs. No publication requirement. No state-level operating agreement requirement. The North Dakota Limited Liability Company Act (NDCC § 10-32.1, the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act as adopted by ND) is straightforward and the SOS office processes filings reliably within 5 business days. ND has a flat 1.95% state personal income tax (one of the lowest non-zero rates in the country) and a 4.31% corporate income tax for LLCs that elect C-corp status, but the entity-level cost stack is genuinely simple: $135 to form, $50/yr to maintain, no hidden fees. North Dakota is rarely chosen for non-resident formation because of the limited registered-agent service market and the unusual November 15 filing deadline, but for in-state operators (especially oil-and-gas-adjacent businesses in western ND, agricultural operations in the Red River Valley, and Bismarck-area state-government contractors), the formation cost is reasonable and the maintenance burden is genuinely light. The Bank of North Dakota, the only state-owned bank in the US, provides a non-commercial banking option through its partner-bank network for ND LLCs.

North Dakota LLC cost breakdown (2026)

Line item	Cost	Source
Articles of Organization	$135	sos.nd.gov
Annual Report	$50/yr	sos.nd.gov
Franchise Tax (pass-through LLCs)	$0	tax.nd.gov
State Personal Income Tax (pass-through)	1.95% flat	tax.nd.gov
Corporate Income Tax (LLCs electing C-corp)	4.31% on taxable income	tax.nd.gov
Registered Agent service	$50-$200/yr	sos.nd.gov
Expedite filing	$0 (no expedite tier)	sos.nd.gov
Name reservation (optional)	$10	sos.nd.gov
Year 1 total (DIY, no RA service)	$135
Year 1 with commercial RA service	$185-$335
Year 2+ ongoing (DIY)	$50/yr
5-year total (DIY)	$335

All figures verified 2026-05-31 from the North Dakota Secretary of State.

Why North Dakota is the most predictable mid-range state

North Dakota is not the cheapest state and not a popular non-resident formation state, but its LLC cost structure is genuinely predictable:

• $135 flat filing fee. No tiers, no surcharges, no optional add-ons buried in the form.
• $50/yr flat annual report. No revenue-tied scaling, no per-member surcharges, no minimum tax floor.
• No franchise tax. Pass-through LLCs owe nothing at the entity level. LLCs that elect C-corp status pay the 4.31% corporate income tax, which is the same tax C-corporations pay.
• No publication requirement. Unlike Nebraska (a neighboring state), ND does not require newspaper publication.
• No expedite tier. ND processes all filings at standard speed (5 business days) for the flat $135 fee. There is no $100-$500 expedite option because there is no separate expedite queue, online filings move through at uniform speed.

The fixed-date annual report (November 15) is the one minor quirk, founders who form in October are caught by the November 15 deadline in their first year, even though they have owned the LLC for only weeks. Every other state uses the LLC’s anniversary date or a tax-year-aligned date; ND uses a uniform November 15.

Filing steps (DIY, no service)

1. Pick a name. Search availability at the North Dakota Business Records Search. Names must include “Limited Liability Company,” “Limited Company,” “LLC,” “LC,” “L.L.C.,” or “L.C.” under NDCC § 10-32.1-04.
2. Designate a registered agent. Required by NDCC § 10-01.1-04. Must have a North Dakota street address.
3. File Articles of Organization. $135 online via FirstStop, or by mail to ND Secretary of State, 600 E. Boulevard Ave. Dept. 108, Bismarck, ND 58505.
4. Get a federal EIN. Free at irs.gov.
5. Draft an operating agreement. Not statutorily required to be filed with ND, but recognized under NDCC § 10-32.1-13 as binding. Strongly recommended for multi-member LLCs.
6. Register for state taxes. Sales tax permit (free) via the ND Office of State Tax Commissioner if selling tangible goods. Employer registration if hiring W-2 employees.
7. Open a business bank account. ND banks (Bank of North Dakota, BankNorth, Starion Bank) accept Articles + EIN + operating agreement.
8. File FinCEN BOI report. Required under the Corporate Transparency Act within 30 days of formation. Free at fincen.gov/boi.
9. File annual report by November 15. $50. Online via FirstStop.
10. Maintain registered agent service. Renew annually if using a commercial agent.

Standard online filings are processed within 5 business days. ND does not offer expedite tiers, all filings move at the standard speed.

Page-unique facts

• The annual report is due by November 15, not the LLC’s anniversary date. This is unusual; most states use anniversary-month deadlines.
• North Dakota has the only state-owned bank in the United States. The Bank of North Dakota (established 1919) handles a significant share of ND business banking and is a viable alternative to commercial banks for new ND LLCs.
• ND has a flat 1.95% personal income tax (2026). One of the lowest non-zero personal income tax rates in the country. Pass-through LLC profits flow to ND-resident members’ returns at 1.95%.
• No publication requirement. Despite being adjacent to Nebraska (which requires LLC publication), ND has no publication mandate.
• No expedite filing. ND processes all filings at the same 5-business-day standard. There is no $100-$500 expedite option, the SOS does not run a separate priority queue.
• Bakken-region oil-and-gas LLC formation is concentrated in Williams, Mountrail, and McKenzie counties. Williston (Williams County) saw the most LLC formations per capita in ND during the 2010s shale boom, much of it small operating LLCs serving the oil patch.
• ND requires a continuing ND-resident registered agent. Out-of-state founders must maintain an ND commercial RA service or know an ND resident willing to serve, the registered-agent service market is thinner than Wyoming or Delaware.
• Series LLCs are not authorized in ND. Unlike WY, DE, TX, and IL, North Dakota has not adopted Series LLC statutes.
• Single-member LLCs are explicitly authorized under NDCC § 10-32.1-04. ND was one of the early Uniform Limited Liability Company Act adopters; single-member LLCs have been clearly legal since 1995.

ND 5-year cost projection

The North Dakota cost stack is genuinely flat:

• Year 1 (DIY): $135 filing + $50 annual report (if formed before November 15 of formation year) = $185. If formed after November 15, the first annual report is the following November 15, so year-1 cost is just $135.
• Years 2-5: $50/yr annual report.
• 5-year DIY total: $335 (formed in early year) or $285 (formed late).
• 5-year total with commercial RA service ($120/yr): add $600.
• Comparable mid-tier states: Wyoming ($340), Colorado ($150), Florida ($704), Texas ($300), Virginia ($350). ND sits in line with Colorado and Wyoming but lacks the privacy and asset-protection features that make those states attractive for non-residents.

For in-state ND operators, this is a clean, predictable cost structure. For non-residents, ND offers nothing that Wyoming or New Mexico does not offer at lower cost with better infrastructure.

FAQ

Why is the ND annual report due November 15?

NDCC § 10-32.1-49 sets a uniform statewide deadline of November 15 for all LLC annual reports. The state administers reports in a batch rather than on a rolling anniversary basis. This means an LLC formed in October owes its first annual report in November of the same year, with only ~30 days of operation, which surprises founders who expected a 12-month grace period. Source: sos.nd.gov annual report page, verified 2026-05-31.

Does North Dakota have a franchise tax?

Not for LLCs. ND does not impose a franchise tax on LLCs taxed as pass-throughs. LLCs that elect C-corp status pay the 4.31% corporate income tax on ND taxable income, the same rate any ND corporation pays. There is no franchise minimum, no privilege tax, and no flat business-entity tax. Source: tax.nd.gov.

Does ND require an operating agreement?

Not statutorily. NDCC § 10-32.1-13 recognizes operating agreements (oral or written) as binding between members but does not require one to be filed with the state. Banks and ND courts typically expect a written operating agreement for practical reasons. Source: NDCC Chapter 10-32.1.

How long does ND LLC formation take?

Standard online filings via FirstStop are processed within 5 business days. ND does not offer expedite tiers, the SOS runs one processing queue at uniform speed. For founders who need faster turnaround, Wyoming (1-2 day online) or Nevada (1-2 day online) are alternatives. Source: North Dakota FirstStop.

Can I form an anonymous LLC in North Dakota?

Partially. ND requires the organizer’s name and the registered agent’s name on the public Articles of Organization. Member names are not required on the Articles by default. Using a commercial registered agent as both organizer and RA achieves member-level anonymity at the state level. FinCEN BOI reporting (federal, non-public) still applies. Source: ND SOS Business Records Search.

What is the Bank of North Dakota and why does it matter?

The Bank of North Dakota, established in 1919, is the only state-owned bank in the United States. It services ND state agencies, but also partners with local commercial banks on small-business loans and lines of credit. For ND LLCs, the BND is a viable banking option through its partner network, especially for agriculture-adjacent or rural businesses where commercial-bank coverage is thin. The BND also runs the PACE (Partnership in Assisting Community Expansion) loan program, which provides interest-rate buy-downs on commercial loans through participating ND banks, useful for ND LLCs financing equipment, real estate, or expansion. Source: Bank of North Dakota.

Does ND have a state personal income tax?

Yes, a flat 1.95% on most income under 2024 reforms (down from a progressive structure with a top bracket of 2.9%). North Dakota simplified its personal income tax under HB 1158 (2023 session) to a flat 1.95% effective 2024. Pass-through LLC profits flow to ND-resident members at 1.95%, one of the lowest non-zero state personal income tax rates in the country. Source: North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner.

When North Dakota is the right choice

ND is rarely picked over Wyoming, New Mexico, or Montana for non-resident formation, but for specific in-state operators it is the right choice:

• Bakken-region oil-and-gas operating businesses. Roustabout services, water-hauling, frac-sand transport, well-pad construction. These businesses generate ND-source income that requires ND tax compliance regardless of formation state, so forming in ND streamlines the tax footprint.
• Red River Valley agricultural operations. Wheat, sugar beet, soybean, and sunflower operations in eastern ND (Cass, Grand Forks, Walsh counties) benefit from forming where the land is, simplifying property tax and ag-loan documentation.
• Bismarck-area state government contractors. ND state contracts often require the bidder to be ND-organized, especially for service contracts above certain dollar thresholds.
• Real estate holding LLCs for ND property. Forming in ND for ND real estate avoids foreign-qualification cost in the state where the property is located.

For founders without these specific use cases, Wyoming or New Mexico will be cheaper and offer stronger anonymity. ND’s value is operational simplicity for ND-tied businesses, not tax arbitrage for non-residents.

State quirk: the November 15 batch deadline

North Dakota is the only state in the United States that uses a single fixed annual report deadline for all LLCs (November 15) rather than an anniversary-based or tax-year-aligned schedule. The system dates to the 1995 ND Limited Liability Company Act, which centralized all annual reporting into one batch for administrative simplicity. The SOS processes thousands of ND LLC annual reports in the November 1-November 15 window each year, mostly online through FirstStop. The quirk creates two effects: (1) founders who form between October 1 and November 15 owe their first annual report within weeks of formation, not 12 months later, and (2) the SOS office is briefly overwhelmed in early November, which can slow processing of new filings during that window. For founders planning a ND LLC, file in January-September to give a full year of operation before the first annual report. Filing in October or November means an immediate November 15 obligation.

Common mistake in North Dakota

The most common North Dakota LLC mistake is misunderstanding the November 15 deadline. Founders who form their LLC in October or early November often assume they have until October-November of the following year to file the first annual report, and miss the immediate-year November 15 deadline. The late penalty is $50 ($50 fee + $50 penalty = $100 to cure), and after 90 days of non-compliance the LLC enters delinquent status. The fix: calendar November 15 the moment you form, regardless of the formation date. Set the reminder for November 1 to give two weeks of margin. The second common mistake: founders who relocate out of ND often forget to maintain the ND registered agent, ND requires a continuing ND-resident agent, and using your home address from another state triggers administrative dissolution. The third common mistake: choosing ND for non-resident formation because of the low 1.95% state income tax, without realizing that the operating state taxes the LLC’s source income regardless of formation. A California-resident forming an ND LLC to run a California consulting business owes California income tax (up to 13.3%) on California-source earnings; ND’s 1.95% rate applies only to ND-source income, which a California-based operator has none of. The ND formation does not change the tax outcome, it just adds the $50/yr ND maintenance cost on top.

Sources

1. North Dakota Secretary of State Business Services, last verified 2026-05-31
2. North Dakota FirstStop Business Portal, last verified 2026-05-31
3. North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner, last verified 2026-05-31
4. North Dakota Century Code Chapter 10-32.1 (LLC Act), last verified 2026-05-31
5. IRS Publication 3402, Taxation of Limited Liability Companies, last verified 2026-05-31

About the author

Aissam Baidi is the founder and researcher behind llcformationcost.com. He verifies North Dakota LLC fees directly from sos.nd.gov on a quarterly cycle and cross-references the ND Office of State Tax Commissioner for changes to the corporate and personal income tax brackets. North Dakota’s combination of the November 15 fixed-date deadline, the limited registered-agent service market, and the unique tribal-jurisdiction overlay in the western counties makes this one of the more operationally nuanced states despite its modest cost structure. Connect on LinkedIn.

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Not legal advice. Estimates based on publicly available data from each state’s Secretary of State office. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.