North Carolina: LLC Annual and Biennial Report Requirements
The short answer
Yes. An ordinary North Carolina LLC and a registered foreign LLC file an annual report with the Secretary of State by April 15 each year, beginning in the year after formation or authorization. The base fee is $200; online payment totals $203 by credit card or $202 by ACH. There is no separate statutory late fee, but a domestic LLC becomes eligible for administrative dissolution when the report is 60 days late, followed by notice and another 60-day cure period.
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This is the general rule in North Carolina. Ezel applies current North Carolina law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Periodic report obligation | Yes — an annual report for each ordinary domestic LLC and registered foreign LLC. Professional LLCs governed by Chapter 55B are excluded and do not file this report (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 57D-2-24(a); Secretary of State guidance) |
|---|---|
| Frequency and first report | Every year. The first report is due in the year after the calendar year in which the domestic LLC formed or the foreign LLC received authority; later reports are due each year (§ 57D-2-24(b)) |
| Due date and filing window | April 15. This is a fixed calendar deadline, not an anniversary or fiscal-year deadline. The Secretary of State must notify LLCs of the requirement, but the statute does not make receipt of notice a condition of the duty (§ 57D-2-24(b)) |
| Filing office and method | North Carolina Secretary of State, Business Registration Division. File online through the entity's registry profile, or print the pre-populated report and file by mail or over the counter; paper may be needed to change the registered-agent name |
| Required information | Report year; LLC name; foreign jurisdiction and authorized alternate name, if applicable; registered-office street and mailing addresses, county, agent, and changes; principal-office address and telephone; principal officials' names, titles, and business addresses; and a brief business description. Unchanged filers may certify no change (§ 57D-2-24(a)) |
| Filing fee and related charges | $200 base fee. Current online total is $203 by credit card or $202 by ACH; paper is $200, as of 2026-07-16. A separate domestic reinstatement application costs $100 (§ 57D-1-22(a)(18), (28); Secretary of State fee page) |
| Late fee and delinquency | No separately stated late fee. The report is delinquent after April 15. For a domestic LLC, nonfiling through the 60th day after the deadline is a dissolution ground; missing fees or other Chapter 57D payments for 60 days is a separate ground (§ 57D-6-06(a)). Past-due reports and their $200 fees remain owed |
| Dissolution, reinstatement, and cure | Domestic: after the 60-day-late ground arises, the Secretary mails notice and allows another 60 days to cure before dissolution. Reinstatement has no stated time limit, costs $100 plus cure of the missing reports/fees, and relates back subject to rights of a person who reasonably relied on the dissolution; a taken name must be changed. Foreign: delinquency permits a revocation proceeding, followed by a 60-day notice cure, and a new authority certificate is unavailable until the grounds are corrected (§§ 57D-6-06, 55-14-22, 57D-7-30 to -31) |
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Requirements one by one
First report and April 15 deadline
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 57D-2-24(b) uses one fixed deadline for ordinary LLCs: April 15. The
first report is due in the calendar year after formation or foreign authorization. For example,
an LLC formed on December 30, 2026 files by April 15, 2027; an LLC formed on January 2, 2026
has the same first deadline.
The Secretary of State must notify LLCs of the filing requirement. The statute does not say
that missing or not receiving the notice postpones the deadline. A report returned for missing
required information is different: if the corrected report is delivered within 30 days after
the notice's effective date, subsection (c) treats it as timely.
Contents and filing choices
Section 57D-2-24(a) requires the LLC's name; registered office, county, and agent; principal
office address and telephone; principal officials' names, titles, and business addresses; and a
short business description. A foreign LLC also gives its organizing jurisdiction and any
different name it uses in North Carolina. If nothing changed since the last report, the LLC may
certify that fact instead of restating the information.
Online filing begins from the LLC's business-registry profile. Paper filing is also available
by mail or over the counter, and the agency warns that a registered-agent name change may
require paper. The base charge under § 57D-1-22(a)(28) is $200. The current online total is
$203 by credit card or $202 by ACH because of the electronic-payment charge.
Delinquency and domestic dissolution
North Carolina lists no separate late fee. The report is still overdue immediately after April
15; the absence of a late surcharge is not a 60-day filing extension. Under § 57D-6-06(a),
failure to deliver the report by the 60th day after it was due becomes a ground for domestic
administrative dissolution. Unpaid Chapter 57D fees or payments that remain due for 60 days
are a separate ground.
Once a ground exists, the Secretary mails notice. The LLC then has 60 days after mailing to
file the missing report, pay what is due, or show that the ground does not exist. Only after that
second period may the Secretary file the certificate of dissolution.
Reinstatement and the foreign-LLC difference
Section 57D-6-06(c) sends domestic LLC reinstatement to the corporate procedure in
§ 55-14-22(a)–(c). Neither section states a reinstatement deadline. The LLC must eliminate the
grounds, file the $100 application listed in § 57D-1-22(a)(18), and change its name if a
different entity has taken it. Reinstatement relates back to the dissolution date, except that it
does not defeat the rights of someone who reasonably relied to their prejudice on the filed
dissolution.
A foreign LLC follows § 57D-7-30(a)(1) and § 57D-7-31(b), (f) instead. Annual-report
delinquency permits a revocation proceeding; after notice, the foreign LLC gets 60 days to
correct the ground. If its authority is revoked, it cannot receive a new certificate of authority
until it substantially corrects every ground.
What trips people up
- Using the corporation deadline. A corporation's deadline can turn on its fiscal year.
An ordinary LLC's deadline is April 15 every year. - Assuming online is cheaper. The statutory report fee is $200, but the current electronic
payment charge makes the online total $203 by card or $202 by ACH. - Treating 60 days as a grace period. The report is late after April 15. Sixty days is the
point when domestic administrative dissolution becomes statutorily available. - Applying the rule to a professional LLC. Section 57D-2-24 excludes professional LLCs
governed through Chapter 55B, and the Secretary says professional entities do not file this
annual report.
Common questions
Can I file a no-change North Carolina LLC report?
Yes. If the last report's information remains current, the statute allows a no-change
certification instead of repeating the information.
Is there a separate North Carolina LLC late fee?
The LLC Act lists the $200 report fee but no separate late surcharge. Past reports and their
fees remain due, and continued default can lead to administrative dissolution or foreign
revocation.
Does reinstatement erase the period of dissolution completely?
It generally relates back, but § 55-14-22(c) preserves the rights of a person who reasonably
relied to their prejudice on the certificate of dissolution. Reinstatement also does not itself
erase tax, licensing, or other obligations outside the LLC filing statute.
Statutes and sources
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 57D-2-24. Annual duty, contents, first-report timing, April 15 deadline,
no-change certification, and 30-day rejected-report correction. Official current text
(accessed 2026-07-16). - N.C. Gen. Stat. § 57D-1-22. $200 annual-report fee and $100 domestic reinstatement
application fee. Official current text
(accessed 2026-07-16). - N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 57D-6-06 and 55-14-22. Domestic dissolution, notice and cure,
reinstatement, name availability, and relation back. Official LLC provision
and official incorporated procedure
(accessed 2026-07-16). - N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 57D-7-30 to -31. Foreign-LLC revocation and 60-day notice cure.
Official grounds
and official procedure
(accessed 2026-07-16). - North Carolina Secretary of State. Current April 15 deadline, paper/online filing paths,
and payment totals. Official filing guidance
(accessed 2026-07-16).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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