Overview
New Hampshire business registration runs through the Secretary of State (SOS), specifically its Corporation Division, which keeps the official record of entities formed or registered to do business in the state. Filings and searches go through the SOS online system, NH QuickStart.
The recurring filing is an annual report, due by April 1 for corporations, LLCs, and nonprofits. The filing window opens January 1, and an entity formed late in the cycle, between December 1 and April 1, skips the current year and files its first report the following year. A late report draws a $50 penalty on top of the filing fee.
New Hampshire is known as a low-tax state, with no general sales tax and no broad personal income tax. It does levy a Business Profits Tax and a Business Enterprise Tax, but those are administered by the Department of Revenue Administration and are separate from the SOS annual report, which is a registration filing rather than a tax return.
New Hampshire has no state-level beneficial ownership register. At the federal level, the Corporate Transparency Act (2021) created a BOI registry run by FinCEN, but a March 2025 interim final rule lifted the obligation for all U.S. companies and U.S. persons. Only foreign reporting companies remain subject to it.
For KYB and AML work, the free SOS search returns an entity's status, business ID, registered agent, principal office, and the officers, directors, managers, or members named in its filings. New Hampshire collects management data for corporations and LLCs alike in the annual report, so it is refreshed each year and kept current on the public record.
Official Registers
Secretary of State (QuickStart Business Search)
The SOS Corporation Division maintains the official register through its QuickStart business search. It records domestic and foreign corporations, LLCs, nonprofit corporations, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships, along with trade names.
Search and access. The business search is free and needs no account. Search by entity name or business ID. Each record shows the entity name, business ID, type, status, registration date, registered agent name and address, principal office, and the officers, directors, managers, or members reported in the entity's filings.
Business ID. New Hampshire assigns each entity a business ID at registration, a six to seven digit number that is the primary identifier across the register and the key most lookups run on.
Filings. Formation documents go in online through NH QuickStart or by mail. A Certificate of Formation for a domestic LLC and Articles of Incorporation for a domestic corporation each cost $100. Nonprofits file Articles of Agreement, New Hampshire's term for nonprofit formation, at $25. Every online filing carries an additional $2 electronic handling surcharge.
Certificates. Certificates of Good Standing and certified copies of filed documents are available from the SOS for a fee.
Registration and Publication Requirements
Corporations
All domestic and foreign for-profit corporations must register with the SOS and maintain a registered agent at a New Hampshire address.
Annual report. Corporations file an annual report online, due by April 1. The fee is $100, with a $50 late penalty after the deadline. The report carries the principal office, the registered agent, and the names of the officers and directors, all of which become part of the public record.
Failing to file leads the SOS to administratively dissolve a domestic corporation or revoke a foreign corporation's authority to do business. The entity must then be reinstated to return to good standing.
Financial statements. There is no public financial disclosure requirement.
LLCs
All domestic and foreign LLCs must register with the SOS and maintain a registered agent in New Hampshire. Domestic formation costs $100.
Annual report. LLCs file an annual report online, due by April 1, at the same $100 fee and $50 late penalty as corporations. The report confirms the managers or members and the registered agent, so LLC management data is part of the public record and refreshed each year.
Nonprofit corporations
Nonprofits form by filing Articles of Agreement with the SOS at $25, and file an annual report each year, due by April 1, at $25. Directors and officers appear on the public record. Federal 501(c) status comes from the IRS; the state filing does not grant it.
Limited partnerships and LLPs
Limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships register with the SOS and maintain a registered agent in New Hampshire. Both file with the SOS to stay in good standing.
Sole proprietors and general partnerships
Sole proprietors and general partnerships do not register as entities with the SOS and do not appear as registered entities in the business search. A business operating under a name other than the owner's may register a trade name, which is held on file separately.
Summary table
| Entity type | Register with SOS | Annual report | Management data public |
|---|---|---|---|
For-profit corporation | Yes ($100) | Yes ($100, by April 1) | Officers and directors |
LLC | Yes ($100) | Yes ($100, by April 1) | Managers and members |
Nonprofit corporation | Yes ($25, Articles of Agreement) | Yes ($25, by April 1) | Directors and officers |
LP / LLP | Yes | Yes | Partners on file |
Sole proprietor / trade name | No (trade name on file only) | No | No |
With Topograph
Topograph queries New Hampshire's Secretary of State system to return structured company data for entities registered in the state.
Available Data
Company Profile
- New Hampshire business ID
- Entity name
- Entity type and state of formation
- Current status
- Registration date
- Registered agent name and address
- Principal office address
Officers and Management
- Officers and directors as reported in the corporation's annual report
- Managers and members as reported in the LLC's annual report
Available Documents
| Document type | Comment |
|---|---|
Trade Register Extract | A Topograph-generated extract of the entity's SOS record: business ID, entity name, type, state of formation, status, registered agent, principal office, and the officers, directors, managers, or members most recently reported. |
Financial statements aren't filed publicly in New Hampshire. Domestic companies are also exempt from federal BOI reporting following the March 2025 FinCEN rule.
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