Staying compliant in North Dakota

How does the North Dakota annual report work?

Business LLCs and PLLCs file the same annual report each year, and the fee schedule's single line, "Annual Report (domestic and foreign)", sets $50 for domestic and foreign LLCs alike.¹

The state pages checked here describe online registration in FirstStop but don't say how the annual report itself is submitted.

When it is due

The standard date is November 15, every year, and it applies to business LLCs and PLLCs. The Secretary of State adds that farming or ranching LLCs and ALF LLCs file by April 15. If your LLC was organized for agriculture, confirm which category the state has it under before you plan around the November date.¹

The first report comes later than many owners expect. Because the first report is due in the year following the calendar year of registration, an LLC registered in January and one registered in December both file their first report in the following calendar year. Nothing is due in the year of formation.¹

What it asks for

According to the Secretary of State, the report updates your business mailing address, business activities, and stakeholders, and it does not call for financial statements. The report confirms who is behind the business, what it does and where its mail should go.³

Two practical points follow from that list.

• The registered agent is not among the items the state describes. If your agent or registered office has changed, file the separate Registered Agent/Office Change instead of waiting for the report.³
• "Stakeholders" is the state's word, and the pages checked here don't define it. Read the report's own instructions to see whose names it expects.

For how this report compares with other states' versions, see our explainer on annual reports. Owners with LLCs in neighbouring states can compare staying compliant in Minnesota and staying compliant in Montana.

Does North Dakota charge LLCs a franchise tax?

The Secretary of State's yearly charge for an LLC is the $50 report fee; the sources for this page don't mention a franchise or privilege tax, so they neither confirm nor rule one out.¹

That doesn't settle what your LLC owes in tax. The Secretary of State keeps business records; it does not decide your tax obligations. The state's tax agency handles state taxes, and the IRS handles federal returns. Which state registrations and returns apply depends on what you sell, whether you have employees, and how the LLC has chosen to be taxed. A tax professional can answer that for your situation.

Keep a separate list for tax dates. Filing the annual report on time keeps your record with the Secretary of State current, and it has no bearing on whether a tax return is due.

What happens if a North Dakota LLC falls behind?

The sources for this page do not set out North Dakota's late fee for an annual report, but they do show that letting the registered agent lapse is a ground for involuntary termination, after 60 days' notice to cure.²

The annual report

The Secretary of State's materials checked here list the report fee and deadline, and they don't state a late charge or what follows a missed report. Treat November 15 as a firm date, and if you have already missed it, contact the Secretary of State's office to ask what your record now needs.¹

The agent requirement

Here the rule is written down. The LLC chapter lists, among the grounds for involuntary termination, a failure to "Appoint and maintain a registered agent and registered office as provided in chapter 10-01.1" (N.D.C.C. § 10-32.1-90(1)). The state gives 60 days' notice to cure before it acts.²

One way into this problem is an agent that stops serving. A resignation takes effect on the 31st day after the resignation is filed, and the agent must promptly notify the LLC. If that notice goes to an old email address, the owner may not see it until the record already shows no agent.⁴

Naming a new agent takes one Registered Agent/Office Change filing for $10, a fee charged per LLC when the agent is noncommercial.^{3, 5}

Reinstatement

The sources for this page don't include North Dakota's reinstatement fee or time limit. If your LLC has already been terminated, ask the Secretary of State how to restore it, and talk to a lawyer if the business kept trading or signed contracts in the meantime. The North Dakota registered agent guide covers the agent rules in more depth.

How do you keep your agent and records current in North Dakota?

Keep an agent on file at all times, at an address the law describes as "An actual street address or rural route box number in this state", update it through FirstStop whenever it changes, and use the annual report to refresh your mailing address, activities and stakeholders.⁶

The statute puts it plainly: "Every limited liability company shall have a registered office and a registered agent" (N.D.C.C. § 10-32.1-16). Foreign LLCs registered here hold a certificate of authority instead of articles and pay the same report fee; the North Dakota registered agent guide covers what the sources say about their agent.^{1, 6}

The change filing

The Registered Agent/Office Change costs $10 and is filed in FirstStop. Line up the new agent before you cancel the old one, so the record never shows a gap. Our guides to changing a registered agent and cancelling an agent service walk through the order.^{3, 5}

What providers' compliance features would do here

North Dakota is a state where an annual report filing plan has something to file. The list below follows the order of our score, highest first.

• Tailor Brands lists report filing by plan: Included in Essential and Elite (annual compliance report filing and updates); not in Lite. Its site also says Navi AI tracks filings and deadlines and sends reminders.^{7, 8}
• ZenBusiness sells Worry-Free Compliance, included in Pro and Premium, one optional free year on Starter (renews $199/yr).⁹
• LegalZoom sells a one-off annual report filing at $99 + state filing fees, bills once.¹⁰
• Swyft Filings lists ComplianceGuard $199/year, with a 14-day free trial then auto-charged. Cancel during the trial if you don't want the yearly charge.¹¹
• doola has Annual State Report Filing included in the Tax and Compliance and Business-in-a-Box™ plans. Starter does not include ongoing compliance filings.¹²
• Northwest Registered Agent lists its annual report renewal service at $100 + state fees, charged at filing, and says its registered agent customers are enrolled in it automatically.¹³
• Rocket Lawyer files the report for $100 with Pro membership, excluding state fees.¹⁴
• InCorp Services charges $89 + state fees.¹⁵
• Harbor Compliance sells a managed service at $199 per state per year plus filing fees, and its listing says Harbor files annual reports automatically in all states as they come due.¹⁶

Most of these listings say the state's $50 fee is extra; Tailor Brands and ZenBusiness don't say either way. Before buying, check two things: that the plan files North Dakota's report on the November 15 date (or the April date, for farm and ranch LLCs), and whether it renews on its own.

Agent renewals carry their own dates. InCorp Services lists its agent service at $129/year, and Northwest Registered Agent lists its agent service at $125 per year. Harbor Compliance's terms ask for notice of non-renewal at least 90 days before the end of the current term, so a decision to switch has to come early. Prices and terms for every provider are on the North Dakota registered agent comparison, and providers that file reports for you are grouped on our list of services with compliance tools.^{17, 18, 19}

What does a North Dakota LLC compliance calendar look like?

In the year you form there is no report to file; from the next year on, the annual report falls on the same date each year (autumn for most LLCs), with agent renewals on whatever date your service bills.

The year you register

1. Articles filed. You file articles of organization in FirstStop. The North Dakota LLC formation guide covers that step, and the cheapest ways to form a North Dakota LLC adds up the fees.
2. Agent contact details. Confirm the email and phone your registered agent will use for notices, and note the service's renewal date.
3. Tax registrations. Ask the state's tax agency and the IRS which apply, and keep those dates on their own list.
4. No annual report. Nothing is due to the Secretary of State before the end of this calendar year.

The following year and every year after

1. Annual report. File by November 15, or by the April date if your LLC is a farming or ranching LLC. The fee is $50.¹
2. Record check. When you file, look at the agent and registered office on your record. If either has changed, file the Registered Agent/Office Change separately.³
3. Agent renewal. Decide whether to keep your service before any notice deadline in its terms.
4. After a resignation notice, name a new agent at once; the resignation takes effect on the 31st day after the resignation is filed.⁴

The glossary defines terms such as involuntary termination and service of process, and what a registered agent is explains the agent's day-to-day role.