2025 fees North Carolina Secretary of State Rank #42 of 51

LLC Costs in North Carolina (NC)

$450 all-in for your first year - $125 to file, $200 annual report, plus a registered agent. North Carolina is $67 (17%) more expensive than the national average for first-year LLC costs.

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Annual report ($200) is due by April 15 each year. North Carolina has a growing business environment, particularly in the Research Triangle area. Annual report is higher than many states but formation costs are moderate.

Updated 2025 · Source: North Carolina Secretary of State

Higher periodic report fee

Higher periodic report fee. Annual Report at $200 sits in the dearer third of report fees among states that still charge one. North Carolina's first-year total of $450 (#42 of 51) folds in filing, registered agent and the Annual Report. Fees are those published by the North Carolina Secretary of State; registered agent is a $125/yr market-rate line, not a vendor quote.

According to the North Carolina Secretary of State fee schedule; registered agent normalized at $125/yr. See methodology. How we calculate →

$125
One-time filing fee
$200 /yr
Annual report
$450
First-year total
#42 of 51
Cost rank (1 = cheapest)

Published SOS fee schedule

Fee strip NC · North Carolina SOS FY 2026 · rank #42

North Carolina · FY 2026 · 5-7 business days · no pub

  • SCHEDULE Online filing
  • REPORT www.sosnc.gov
  • RANK 5-7 business days
  • AGENT +$100 expedite
  • PROC near Alabama
  • VS-AVG 17% above avg

Dear-third stack: stamps derive from this state's Secretary of State fee schedule, not a recommendation of where to form. Read with tax planning against a dear SOS stack → · All 51 SOS fee rows →

1. Florida$3892. Nebraska$4013. Alabama$4254. Texas$4255. North Carolina$4506. Alaska$475
1. Florida$3892. Nebraska$4013. Alabama$4254. Texas$4255. North Carolina$4506. Alaska$475
First-year SOS-fee total for North Carolina and nearest-cost peers. Source: each Secretary of State + 51-row aggregate.

Cost vs. speed: where North Carolina sits among all 51 filing offices

North Carolina bucks the pattern: a 6-business-day turnaround that's faster than the national median, despite formation costing more than average -- speed and price don't move together the way the fee total alone suggests. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 30 entities by First-year cost ($) (X) and Processing time (business days) (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. Slow & expensiveCheap but slowFast but priceyFast & cheap $0$500$1,000$1,500 0d10d20d30d First-year cost ($) Processing time (business days) Cost vs. speed: where North Carolina sits among all 51 filing offices
North Carolina bucks the pattern: a 6-business-day turnaround that's faster than the national median, despite formation costing more than average -- speed and price don't move together the way the fee total alone suggests.
North Carolina bucks the pattern: a 6-business-day turnaround that's faster than the national median, despite formation costing more than average -- speed and price don't move together the way the fee total alone suggests. National median processing time: 6 business days; national average first-year cost: $383. Source: each state's Secretary of State published processing-time guidance + the 51-row SOS fee aggregate.

How the dear-third $450 stack breaks down

How your $450 first-year total breaks down Annual Report (yr 1) drives 44% of a top-third first-year total.
  • State filing fee $125
  • Annual Report (yr 1) $200
  • Registered agent $125
Cost Item Amount
State Filing Fee $125
Annual Report $200
Registered Agent $125/yr
Expedited Filing (optional) $100
Total, First Year $450

Ongoing tax burden after formation

North Carolina's 2.5% corporate tax rate ranks among the lowest corporate tax burdens nationally (#7 of 51 lowest), a durable advantage beyond the $450 formation cost above.

Corporate income tax
2.5%
2.5% corporate tax rate, #7 of 51 lowest nationally
Effective property tax rate
0.66%
Of assessed property value, per year

Sources: Tax Foundation state corporate tax rates, Census ACS effective property tax rates.

Fee check: Dear-third first-year stack, verify current North Carolina SOS fees before filing at https://www.sosnc.gov. Not legal or tax advice.

North Carolina LLC quick facts (dear third)

Filing Fee $125
Annual Report $200 /yr
Processing Time 5-7 business days
Expedited $100 → Same business day
Online Filing Available
First-Year Total $450
File with North Carolina SOS

Similar Cost States

Maine $385 Washington $385 Florida $389 Nebraska $401

Lower-cost escapes

Looking to file lighter than top-third NC? These states charge less in year one:

Nebraska $401 Alabama $425 Texas $425

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified. Report a data error on this page.

Sources used on this page
  • North Carolina Secretary of State - LLC filing fee, annual-report requirement, and processing time. www.sosnc.gov
  • Federation of Tax Administrators - cross-check of state fee and tax figures. taxadmin.org
LLC fees and requirements sourced from the North Carolina Secretary of State. See our methodology for details.

Verify with the North Carolina Secretary of State →