How to Form an LLC
in North Dakota

North Dakota charges a $135 Articles of Organization filing fee under NDCC § 10-32.1-21, submitted online through the Secretary of State's FirstStop business portal at firststop.sos.nd.gov. The filing fee includes the mandatory $35 registered agent acceptance and consent-to-serve processing embedded in the Articles submission. Eleet AI charges $284 all-inclusive — that covers the $135 state fee, Articles of Organization preparation, filing through FirstStop, and first-year ND registered agent service. National services commonly advertise ND formation packages at $0–$149 then add the $135 state fee, a mandatory registered agent ($100–$299/yr), and various upsells, pushing the realistic first-year total to $275–$500+. North Dakota's filing fee sits in the middle of the US range: below high-cost states (MA $500, TX $300, NY $200 + publication, IL $150+), above cheapest-tier states (MT $35, KY $40, AR $45, CO $50, MI $50, MS $50, NM $50). What ND lacks in filing-fee cheapness it makes up in very low ongoing compliance cost ($50/yr annual report), among the lowest US state income taxes (2.50% flat top under SB 2011), and a uniquely stable fiscal environment backed by the $11B Legacy Fund + Bank of North Dakota state-owned banking infrastructure.

Yes — North Dakota requires a $50 Annual Report filed online under NDCC § 10-32.1-91, due by November 15 each year (a fixed calendar date for all ND LLCs regardless of formation month). Miss the November 15 deadline and the state imposes a $10 late fee ($60 total) until the LLC is involuntarily dissolved under NDCC § 10-32.1-119 for failure to file two consecutive annual reports; reinstatement requires payment of all delinquent annual reports plus a $25 reinstatement fee. At $50/yr, ND's annual report is in the lower third of US states — comparable to SD $50, VA $50, PA $70, MI $25, AR $150, lower than FL $138.75, OR $100, DE $300 franchise, MA $500, CA $800 minimum franchise tax, NY $25 LLC filing fee + varying IT-204-LL based on gross income. 10-year North Dakota state compliance cost = $135 formation + 9 × $50 = $585 total, which is cheaper than most East Coast + West Coast states (CA $7,270, MA $5,000, DE $2,810, WA $660) and comparable to Midwest peers (KS $165 + 9 × $50 = $615, NE $110 + 9 × $20 = $290 biennial with occupation tax separately, SD $150 + 9 × $50 = $600, IA $50 + biennial $45 = $455). Eleet AI tracks your November 15 due date and sends a courtesy reminder 45 days before the deadline; optional $49 filing service covers the annual report preparation and submission on your behalf.

North Dakota has among the LOWEST state personal income taxes in the United States on pass-through LLC members. Under SB 2011 (2023, effective tax year 2023), ND moved from a 5-bracket progressive system topping at 2.9% to a compressed 2-bracket-plus-flat-top structure with a zero-bracket exemption: 0% on taxable income up to $44,725 (single) / $74,750 (married filing jointly), 1.95% on income between those thresholds and $225,975 (single) / $275,100 (MFJ), and 2.50% flat on income above those upper thresholds. For an ND-resident single-member LLC with $150K pass-through income (single filer), state tax is roughly $2,050 — dramatically lower than OR 9.9% / MN 9.85% / CA 13.3% / HI 11% / NY 10.9% / NJ 10.75% on comparable income. ND's 2.50% top rate beats even traditionally low-tax states like UT 4.85%, CO 4.4%, IN 3.0% flat, PA 3.07% flat, IL 4.95% flat, MT 5.9%, AZ 2.5% flat (tied). Only the eight no-income-tax states (AK, FL, NV, NH, SD, TN, TX, WA, WY) beat ND on personal tax. Corporate income tax on ND LLCs electing C-corp status is graduated 1.41%–4.31% under NDCC § 57-38-30. ND does NOT impose a franchise tax. ND offers a Pass-Through Entity (PTE) tax election under NDCC § 57-38-01.35 (SB 2009, 2021) at 2.50% entity level as federal SALT-cap workaround — the election is beneficial for LLC members who itemize and hit the $10K federal SALT cap.

Yes. North Dakota imposes a 5% state sales tax under NDCC Chapter 57-39.2, which with local sales taxes (city + county) totals roughly 6%–8.5% combined depending on location. Major city combined rates: Fargo 7.5% (5% state + 2% city + 0.5% county), Bismarck 7% (5% state + 1.5% city + 0.5% county), Grand Forks 7.25% (5% state + 2.25% city), Minot 7.5% (5% state + 2% city + 0.5% county), Dickinson 6.5%, Williston 7.5%, Jamestown 7.5%. ND is a member of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA), so out-of-state remote sellers meeting Wayfair (138 S. Ct. 2080, 2018) economic nexus thresholds ($100K/yr in ND sales) must register and collect. For a Bakken-area service LLC or Fargo-based retail LLC, sales tax registration at the North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner (tax.nd.gov) is mandatory. North Dakota exempts most groceries from sales tax under NDCC § 57-39.2-04(16) (unusual among the 45 sales-tax states — most tax groceries at a reduced rate or in full). Prescription drugs, medical devices, and clothing are NOT exempt.

Yes. North Dakota is one of approximately 18 US states with statutory series-LLC authorization under NDCC § 10-32.1-11, added when ND adopted the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act via SB 2217 of 2015 (effective July 1, 2015). A series LLC lets one "parent" LLC create internal "protected series" that each have liability separation from each other and from the parent, filing only a single Articles of Organization and single annual report at the parent level while maintaining asset-segregation records internally. This is valuable for real-estate investors holding multiple rental properties (each property in a separate series), fund structures (each fund / class in a separate series), and holding-company architectures where you want asset-level liability separation without filing multiple full LLCs. Among the series-LLC states: DE (1996, original), IL, TX, IA, NV, OK, TN, UT, AL, VA, WY, KY, WI, IN, MO, ND, PR, plus a few others. Among ND's Great Plains + Mountain West peers (MT, WY, SD, NE, MN, ID, MT), only WY + ND permit series LLCs — neither MT, SD, nor NM permits series, so ND offers a unique structural advantage over its regional peers. The series-LLC case law is most developed in Delaware; ND has only limited reported caselaw interpreting § 10-32.1-11, so conservative practice recommends documenting series separateness rigorously (separate books, separate bank accounts per series, separate contracts).

Yes — if you have real operations in the Williston Basin / Bakken / Three Forks formation, ND is the natural formation state. North Dakota is the #3 US oil producer (~1.1M bbl/day peak 2019, currently ~1.1–1.2M bbl/day), trailing only Texas and New Mexico. The Bakken Formation underlies approximately 200,000 sq mi across western ND (primary production), eastern MT, and southern Saskatchewan. Continental Resources (formerly NYSE: CLR, taken private 2022 by Harold Hamm), ConocoPhillips (via 2021 Concho Resources acquisition), Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES, ~$15B+ Bakken operations, pending Chevron acquisition), Marathon Oil (pending ConocoPhillips acquisition), XTO Energy (ExxonMobil subsidiary), Enerplus (acquired by Chord Energy 2024), Oasis Petroleum (became Chord Energy), and EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG) are the largest operators. Williston + Dickinson + Watford City + New Town are the operational hubs, with Bismarck as the regulatory hub (ND Industrial Commission at the state capitol, Department of Mineral Resources including the Oil and Gas Division). The Bakken ecosystem supports hundreds of Tier-1 / Tier-2 service-company LLCs in drilling, completions, hydraulic fracturing (frack), wireline, coiled tubing, cementing, directional drilling, production chemistry, flowback testing, sand + proppant logistics, salt water disposal, trucking, lodging / man-camps, electric line construction, and field services. For a Bakken service LLC, North Dakota formation provides direct operational proximity, favorable state tax environment (2.50% top personal income tax, no franchise tax), and access to the oil-and-gas-specific Oil Extraction Tax (5%) + Gross Production Tax (5%) regulatory framework under NDCC Chapter 57-51. Honest disclosure: ND Bakken activity is cyclical with WTI crude prices; during 2015–2016 oil price collapse and 2020 COVID demand collapse, ND rig count dropped 70%+ and service-company LLCs faced severe cash-flow stress.

Standard online processing through the North Dakota Secretary of State's FirstStop business portal at firststop.sos.nd.gov is typically 1–3 business days for fully-complete filings, with most filings clearing within 1–2 business days. Paper filings accepted by mail take 5–10 business days. North Dakota offers a paid expedited service: $100 additional fee for same-day processing (filed by 1 PM CST cutoff) under NDCC § 10-32.1-21(4). In practice, most ND LLC filings clear within 2 business days without paid expedite, which is comparable to middle-of-pack US processing times — similar to KS 1–3 days, MO 1–3 days, AR 1–3 days, CO 1–2 days; faster than NY 2–4 weeks, MA 5–10 days, PA 7–10 days; slower than MT same-day, ID 1 day, OR same-day. Eleet AI's standard ND filing submits through FirstStop same-business-day and typically delivers filed Articles of Organization within 2 business days.

Yes. Under NDCC § 10-01.1-13 (the ND Model Registered Agents Act) and NDCC § 10-32.1-32, every North Dakota LLC must designate and continuously maintain a registered agent with a physical North Dakota street address — no P.O. boxes, no private mailbox services (UPS Store / PostNet / Mail Boxes Etc. addresses do not qualify), no virtual-office-only addresses. The agent must be available during normal business hours to accept service of process and official state correspondence. North Dakota uses standard "registered agent" terminology (not "resident agent" like MI/MD/MA, not "statutory agent" like AZ/OH). You can serve as your own registered agent only if you personally have a North Dakota street address where you are available during business hours. If you do not live in North Dakota, you MUST use a commercial registered agent with a ND physical address. Commercial registered agent services typically cost $100–$299 per year when purchased separately. Eleet AI includes first-year North Dakota registered agent service free with every ND LLC formation, then $100/yr after — the same flat rate we charge in all 50 states.

No to both. North Dakota has NO newspaper publication requirement (unlike New York, Arizona, Nebraska, Pennsylvania). You do not need to publish your LLC formation in any ND newspaper. North Dakota also has NO separate initial report filing requirement — the Articles of Organization itself includes all initial disclosures, so there is no second-step document due 30/60/90/120 days after formation (unlike Louisiana La. R.S. 12:1305, Washington RCW 25.15.073, Alaska AS 10.50.071). North Dakota's ONLY state-level formation-timeline filings are: (1) the one-time $135 Articles of Organization at formation, and (2) the $50 Annual Report due every November 15 starting the year AFTER formation. There is no second-step document, no newspaper cost, no 120-day initial report. FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting is a separate FEDERAL filing required of all US LLCs within 30 days of formation, filed free at fincen.gov/boi — this applies regardless of state.

The Bank of North Dakota (BND) is the ONLY state-owned commercial bank in the United States, founded 1919 by a Nonpartisan League-dominated state legislature frustrated with out-of-state bank lending practices that disadvantaged ND farmers. Headquartered in Bismarck, BND operates on a unique partner-bank model: it does NOT compete directly with local ND community banks — instead, it partners with ~80 ND community banks to originate and participate in business loans, agricultural loans, student loans, and economic development financing. BND holds ~$10B in assets and is the state's depository for state tax revenue, agency funds, and most state-government cash balances. Why it matters for your ND LLC: (1) BND offers SBA 7(a) + 504 loan participation programs that many ND community banks use, meaning a ND community bank can offer you a larger loan than its own balance sheet would otherwise permit because BND participates on the back end. (2) BND operates the PACE (Partnership in Assisting Community Expansion) interest-buydown program, where eligible ND LLCs in targeted industries receive a below-market interest rate subsidized by BND. (3) BND runs the Beginning Entrepreneur Loan Guarantee Program (BELGP) specifically for new ND LLCs — guarantees up to 80% of loans up to $1M for eligible startups. (4) BND Flex PACE for underserved populations. (5) BND acts as the central bank for ND-chartered banks and ND-chartered credit unions. For ND operating LLCs — especially in agriculture, energy services, manufacturing, and tech — the BND partner-bank ecosystem is a genuine competitive advantage unavailable in any other US state. Compare to the North Dakota Development Fund (NDDF, separate state economic development loan fund), Bank of North Dakota College SAVE 529 plan, and the ND Housing Finance Agency — ND has an unusually robust state-level financing infrastructure layered on top of normal commercial banking.