North Carolina Company Formation

Forming an LLC in North Carolina

The Process

North Carolina LLCs are formed by filing Articles of Organization with the North Carolina Secretary of State. The formation process takes 7-10 business days, albeit the state offers speedier filing of one business day at an additional charge.

Name Identifiers and Abbreviations

The name of the North Carolina limited liability company must end with one of the following words or abbreviations:

• LLC
• L.L.C.
• Limited Liability Company
• Limited Liability Co.
• Ltd. Liability Company
• Ltd. Liability Co.

Operating Agreement

A formal Operating Agreement will help to protect your company’s limited liability status and prevent your company from being run by the default rules created by the state. Whilst North Carolina does not mandate that all LLCs have an Operating Agreement, it is strongly recommended that you have one.

Additional Filings

Depending on the nature of your business, some additional filings may be necessary to complete the proper set-up of your LLC.

• EIN (tax ID) – available as an optional extra for non-US residents.
• Sales tax registration
• Payroll registration & business licensing