How Much Does a North Dakota LLC Cost in 2026?

North Dakota LLC one-time costs

What North Dakota charges once, when the LLC is formed, and the optional costs that arrive at the same time. The state fee is the same whether you file yourself or use a service.

State fees verified October 2026 and set by the state, not by us. Online filing prices; a few states charge a different amount on paper.

North Dakota LLC ongoing costs

What North Dakota charges to keep the LLC in good standing, when it is due, and what the state does when a report is late or missed.

State fees verified October 2026 and set by the state, not by us. Due rules, penalties and dissolution triggers are read from each state's statute or filing office page; the reinstatement figure is the state's own total at that point.

North Dakota LLC annual fee

North Dakota's recurring requirement: $50/year, due November 15. North Dakota calls the filing the Annual Report, and it goes to the North Dakota Secretary of State at firststop.sos.nd.gov. The Annual Report is due November 15, every year.

If you file late: $50 added by the state for a late report. After one missed report, North Dakota administratively dissolves the LLC, and the state's total to reinstate it at that point is $235.

The due date, filing window and portal are covered step by step in North Dakota LLC annual report.

Other recurring obligations

• Annual report. November 15, starting the calendar year after the year of registration. $50 (late fee applies).

North Dakota LLC filing fee: $135

The filing fee is what North Dakota charges to file your Articles of Organization, the document that creates the company. North Dakota charges $135. It is the one cost nobody can avoid: it is the same whether you file directly with the state or hire a service, and no legitimate service can waive it. Which form North Dakota uses, where it is filed and what it asks: how to register an LLC in North Dakota.

North Dakota posts its current processing times on its own site; we do not quote one.

North Dakota does not sell expedited review of the formation filing.

By filing fee, North Dakota ranks 37 of 51 jurisdictions, cheapest first; the median state charges $100.

Five-year North Dakota LLC cost: $385

$135 to form, plus $50 a year in report fees for five years, comes to $385 paid to North Dakota over five years, assuming every report is filed on time. One late report adds $50. Taxes on the company's income, licenses and a registered agent service are separate.

What the North Dakota state fee does not include

The filing fee buys the state's approval of the Articles of Organization and nothing else. These are the costs that sit outside it.

• Registered agent. North Dakota requires one, with a street address in the state. Serving as your own agent is free; the address becomes public record. Our registered agent service can be added in the application. North Dakota registered agent requirements.
• Operating agreement. Not filed with the state and free if you write it yourself. Our self-help template is available after checkout.
• Business licenses and permits. Set by the city, county or licensing board for your line of business, not by the formation filing. Many North Dakota LLCs need none; a restaurant, contractor or salon usually needs several.
• Taxes. An LLC's income is taxed through its owners' returns unless it elects otherwise, and sales tax or employer registrations are separate state accounts with no formation fee attached.
• Filing service. Our fee is itemized on the checkout review screen before you pay, with same-day submission as an option. The state fee is identical either way.

How to pay less for a North Dakota LLC

• File the Articles of Organization yourself. North Dakota takes it online at firststop.sos.nd.gov for the $135 state fee alone.
• Be your own registered agent if you have a North Dakota street address and are there during business hours. The trade-off is privacy: the address goes on the public record.
• Write your own operating agreement. No state charges for it and North Dakota does not file it.
• File the Annual Report on time. A late one costs $50 more, and a missed one leads to dissolution and a reinstatement bill of $235.
• Form where you do business. An LLC that operates in North Dakota but is formed elsewhere must register in North Dakota as a foreign LLC anyway, paying North Dakota's registration fee and its recurring report on top of the home state's.

How North Dakota compares

By filing fee, North Dakota is number 37 of 51 jurisdictions, cheapest first. The filing fee is paid once; the recurring line is what separates states over time.

State fees verified October 2026 and set by the state, not by us.

Every state's fee is in LLC cost by state, and the case for and against forming elsewhere is in cheapest states to form an LLC.

Filing yourself vs. using us

Filing directly with North Dakota costs only the state's own fee: $135. The state takes formations at firststop.sos.nd.gov. Through us, you pay our service fee plus the North Dakota filing & processing, for the name check, the Articles of Organization prepared and submitted, the approved documents emailed to you and North Dakota's deadlines in writing. Both lines are itemized on the checkout review screen before you pay.

Sources

State fees verified October 2026; page last updated November 1, 2026. The figures above are read from North Dakota's own fee schedule, forms and statutes:

• ndlegis.gov (ndlegis.gov/cencode/t10c32-1.pdf)
• ndlegis.gov (ndlegis.gov/cencode/t10c01-1.pdf)
• sos.nd.gov (sos.nd.gov/business/business-services/business-structures/limited-liability-comp...)
• sos.nd.gov (sos.nd.gov/business/business-services/register-business)
• sos.nd.gov (sos.nd.gov/business/business-services/business-structures/limited-liability-comp...)
• firststop.sos.nd.gov (North Dakota Secretary of State, Annual Report filing)