Business Registers in North Dakota: Secretary of State (FirstStop)

Overview

North Dakota business registration runs through the Secretary of State (SOS), 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, FirstStop.

North Dakota sets a different annual report deadline for each entity type, so the due date depends on what kind of entity is being checked. Domestic corporations file by August 1 and foreign corporations by May 15, LLCs file by November 15, and nonprofits by February 1. Each entity files every year; only the date and fee differ.

North Dakota is also one of the few states with an anti-corporate farming law. Under North Dakota Century Code chapter 10-06.1, corporations and LLCs generally may not own farmland or carry on farming and ranching, apart from entities that meet a narrow family-farm exception, such as having fewer than 16 shareholders who are all related individuals. Recent changes have loosened the rules for some livestock operations. For KYB work on agricultural entities, this means a North Dakota corporation or LLC active in farming has to fit the statutory family-farm structure, which itself says something about its ownership.

North Dakota 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, ID number, registered agent, principal office, and the officers, directors, or managers named in its filings.

Official Registers

Secretary of State (FirstStop Business Search)

The SOS maintains the official register through its FirstStop 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 ID number. Each record shows the entity name, ID number, type, status, registration date, registered agent name and address, principal office, and the associated individuals reported in the entity's filings.

ID number. North Dakota assigns each entity an ID number at registration, which is the primary identifier across the register and the key most lookups run on.

Filings. Formation documents are filed online through FirstStop. Articles of Organization for a domestic LLC cost $135. Articles of Incorporation for a domestic corporation cost $100. Nonprofit Articles of Incorporation cost $40.

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 North Dakota address.

Annual report. Corporations file an annual report at a $25 fee. Domestic corporations are due by August 1; foreign corporations are due earlier, by May 15, which is worth noting when checking out-of-state entities registered in North Dakota. 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. A farming or ranching corporation must also meet the requirements of the anti-corporate farming law and report accordingly.

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 North Dakota. Domestic formation costs $135.

Annual report. LLCs file an annual report, due by November 15, at a $50 fee. The report confirms the registered agent and principal office and the managers or members where the LLC reports them, so management data is part of the public record and refreshed each year.

Nonprofit corporations

Nonprofits file Articles of Incorporation with the SOS at $40 and file an annual report each year, due by February 1, at a $10 fee. 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 North Dakota. 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

With Topograph

Topograph queries North Dakota's Secretary of State system to return structured company data for entities registered in the state.

Available Data

Company Profile

• North Dakota ID number
• 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

Financial statements aren't filed publicly in North Dakota. Domestic companies are also exempt from federal BOI reporting following the March 2025 FinCEN rule.

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