Ready to file in New Hampshire?
The certificate of formation prepared and filed for you, the state fee shown on its own line before you pay, and the approved copy emailed.
File your New Hampshire LLCat america-llc-filing.com, or start on Standard Filings
What registering an LLC in New Hampshire means
New Hampshire keeps the register of companies formed under its law. Your LLC is on it the moment the New Hampshire Secretary of State files a Certificate of Formation. From that day the company can open a bank account, sign contracts and be sued in its own name rather than yours. The registration does not include a federal tax number, a New Hampshire tax account or a local business license; those come after and are separate registrations with other offices.
People use "register", "form" and "file" for the same act. In New Hampshire the act is one document, a Certificate of Formation, and one fee, $100. The step-by-step for everything around it, from the operating agreement to the bank account, is in how to start an LLC in New Hampshire; this page is about the registration itself.
- New Hampshire
- Certificate of Formation
- New Hampshire
- The New Hampshire Secretary of State (quickstart.sos.nh.gov)
- New Hampshire
- $100
- New Hampshire
- Required; New Hampshire street address
- New Hampshire
- Paper filings: a filed copy within 30 days.
- New Hampshire
- Not published
- New Hampshire
- $100/year, due april 1
What it costs to register an LLC in New Hampshire
The filing fee is set by New Hampshire and is the same whether you file it yourself or a service files it for you. New Hampshire charges $100 for the Certificate of Formation.
- Amount
- $100
- Notes
- Paid once, to the state
- Amount
- Not published
- Amount
- $100/year
- Notes
- Due april 1
- Amount
- $50, added by the state to a late report.
State fees verified October 2026 and set by the state, not by us. Online filing prices. Yearly costs, the five-year total and how New Hampshire compares are in New Hampshire LLC cost.
Step 1: Confirm New Hampshire is the state to register in
Register where the company will actually operate. An LLC that does business in New Hampshire but registers elsewhere has to register in New Hampshire anyway, as a foreign LLC, and pay two states.
Wyoming, Delaware and Nevada come up because of privacy, case law or taxes. They make sense for a holding company or a business with no fixed location. A company that operates in New Hampshire and registers somewhere else ends up registered in both. The comparison is in cheapest states to form an LLC.
Step 2: Clear the name with New Hampshire
New Hampshire requires a name distinguishable from every company on its records, with an LLC designator. Search the state's business records at quickstart.sos.nh.gov before you file.
Rules on designators, restricted words and the distinguishability test are in LLC name rules. A rejection for a name conflict costs days and, in some states, a second fee.
Step 3: Name a New Hampshire registered agent
New Hampshire requires a registered agent with a New Hampshire street address, available in business hours. On the filing: Not on the paper LLC-1 and not in RSA 304-C:36 text. The agent must be an NH-resident individual or an NH corporation/LLC/LLP, with a business office identical to the registered office.
Who may serve, whether the agent signs, and what becomes public: New Hampshire registered agent requirements.
Step 4: Prepare a Certificate of Formation
The New Hampshire form asks for the company name with its LLC designator, the registered agent and its New Hampshire street address, the principal or mailing address, and the organizer who signs. Signed by a manager, else a member, OR 'any authorized person' including an attorney-in-fact (RSA 304-C:28 V). The authorization need not be filed. The signer must state name and capacity. A filing service can sign as authorized person. Everything on it becomes a public record; what New Hampshire shows is listed below.
The document itself, and what every state's version asks for, is explained in articles of organization.
Step 5: File a Certificate of Formation and pay the $100 fee
Filed with the New Hampshire Secretary of State (quickstart.sos.nh.gov). The state fee is $100, paid once. New Hampshire publishes this guidance on processing: Paper filings: a filed copy within 30 days.
New Hampshire takes the filing from the public at quickstart.sos.nh.gov. Ready to file? The Certificate of Formation prepared and filed for you, with the state fee on its own line: form your New Hampshire LLC at america-llc-filing.com.
Step 6: Complete the New Hampshire registrations that follow
One registration follows in New Hampshire: (1) Annual Report. Then the federal tax number and the operating agreement.
The order and the deadlines are in what to do after forming an LLC. The recurring state report is the one owners forget.
What becomes public when you register in New Hampshire
Everything on a Certificate of Formation is a public record once New Hampshire files it; anyone can pull it from the state's business search. On the New Hampshire filing: Registered agent, signer (name and title), and optionally the members/managers the LLC chooses to list.
Signed by a manager, else a member, OR 'any authorized person' including an attorney-in-fact (RSA 304-C:28 V). The authorization need not be filed. The signer must state name and capacity. A filing service can sign as authorized person. The operating agreement, the ownership split and the tax election are not filed with New Hampshire and stay private. Do you need an operating agreement?
How long New Hampshire takes to register an LLC
New Hampshire publishes this guidance on processing: Paper filings: a filed copy within 30 days. New Hampshire publishes no expedite tier for online LLC filings that we could verify. The figures are the state's own and move with its workload; a rejection for a name conflict or a missing agent consent restarts the clock. Every state's published time is in how long it takes to form an LLC.
Ready to register your New Hampshire LLC?
Name checked, Certificate of Formation prepared and filed with New Hampshire, the $100 state fee on its own line, approved copy emailed.
After registration in New Hampshire
The state registration is the first of several. These are the ones New Hampshire owners run into, in the order they usually come up.
- Annual Report. Due april 1 each year after the year of formation. Cost: $100 (+$50 late fee).
- Federal tax number (EIN). Issued by the IRS after the state registration, at no charge; the bank asks for it. How to get one: New Hampshire EIN number.
- Operating agreement. Not filed with New Hampshire, but the document that says who owns the company and who can sign for it.
The recurring report is where most companies lose good standing. When it is due, file the New Hampshire report at america-llc-filing.com, or the New Hampshire LLC annual report page has the due date, fee, late penalty and portal.
Before you file in New Hampshire
From New Hampshire's published forms and filing instructions:
- An agent you appoint yourself must reside in NH with an NH street address.
- 'Your application will not be processed... if an out of state address is listed.'.
Sources
The New Hampshire facts on this page come from the state's own forms, fee schedules and statutes, read for the October 2026 fee audit. Fees change; the state's page is the final word.
- gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXVIII/304-C/304-C-31.htm
- gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXVIII/304-C/304-C-28.htm
- gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXVIII/304-C/304-C-36.htm
- gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXVIII/304-C/304-C-191.htm
- sos.nh.gov/corporations-0/forms-and-fees/limited-liability-companies
- sos.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt561/files/documents/2023-12/form_llc-1_-10-2018.pdf
- mclane.com/insights/limited-liability-companies-in-new-hampshire/
Standard Filings is a filing service, not a law firm. This page is general information from New Hampshire's published filing rules and fee schedules, not legal or tax advice.
New Hampshire LLC registration FAQ
How much does it cost to register an LLC in New Hampshire?+
New Hampshire charges $100 to file the Certificate of Formation, paid once to the state and the same whether you file yourself or use a service. After that, the recurring requirement is $100/year, due April 1. State fees verified October 2026; the full picture is in New Hampshire LLC cost.
Where do I register an LLC in New Hampshire?+
With the New Hampshire Secretary of State (quickstart.sos.nh.gov). That is the only office that creates the company. Tax accounts, the registrations listed above and local licenses are registered separately afterwards.
How long does New Hampshire take to register an LLC?+
New Hampshire publishes this guidance on processing: Paper filings: a filed copy within 30 days. New Hampshire publishes no expedite tier for online LLC filings that we could verify.
Do I need a New Hampshire registered agent?+
Yes. New Hampshire requires a registered agent with a New Hampshire street address, available in business hours. On the filing: Not on the paper LLC-1 and not in RSA 304-C:36 text. The agent must be an NH-resident individual or an NH corporation/LLC/LLP, with a business office identical to the registered office. Who may serve and what becomes public is in New Hampshire registered agent requirements.
Can I register a New Hampshire LLC from out of state?+
Yes. New Hampshire takes filings from anyone, but the registered agent must have a New Hampshire street address, so an out-of-state owner names a New Hampshire resident or a registered agent company. If the company does business where you live, it registers there too, as a foreign LLC.
What do I file in New Hampshire every year?+
New Hampshire's recurring requirement: $100/year, due April 1. Late: $50, added by the state to a late report.
More on New Hampshire
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