How much is the North Carolina LLC annual report?

$200 by paper. $203 online by credit card, or $202 by bank draft — the difference is a payment-processing fee, not a different filing fee.

When is the NC LLC annual report due?

April 15 every year, beginning the year after your LLC is formed.

What happens if I miss the NC annual report deadline?

Nothing immediately. Sixty days after the due date, grounds for administrative dissolution arise and the Secretary of State mails a Notice of Grounds. You then have another 60 days to fix it before dissolution is filed.

Is there a deadline to reinstate a dissolved NC LLC?

No. North Carolina repealed its reinstatement time limit in 1995. The practical risk is that another business takes your name in the meantime.

Compliance

The NC annual report, and what happens if you miss it.

Every LLC registered in North Carolina files one report a year. It is the single most common reason a business quietly loses its good standing — and the single easiest thing to fix.

This guide is general educational information for North Carolina business owners — not legal or tax advice for your specific situation. Rules and fees change; verify with the official sources linked, and apply for free help when you need specifics worked through with you.

Published 3 August 2026 · Last reviewed 3 August 2026 · Applies to: North Carolina, Charlotte & Mecklenburg County · Primary source: NC Secretary of State

Who has to file

Every LLC, LLP, LLLP, and business corporation registered in North Carolina — including out-of-state companies registered to do business here. Sole proprietorships and general partnerships do not file. Neither do nonprofit corporations.

What it costs

$200 — paper filing
$203 — online with a credit card ($200 plus a $3 electronic filing fee)
$202 — online by bank draft (ACH), a $2 fee

Those are not competing numbers. The base fee is $200 and the difference is the payment-processing charge. Worth knowing: a business corporation pays only $25 on paper. The $200 figure is specific to LLCs, LLPs, and LLLPs.

When it is due

For LLCs: April 15 each year, starting the year after you form. An LLC formed in 2026 files its first report by April 15, 2027.

Business corporations, LLPs, and LLLPs are different — theirs is due the 15th day of the fourth month after their fiscal year ends. If your fiscal year is the calendar year that also lands on April 15, but if it isn't, it doesn't.

One trap worth knowing

If you are changing your registered agent's name, you must file on paper. The online form will not let you do it. People discover this at the deadline.

What actually happens if you miss it

Missing April 15 does not dissolve your LLC. Under N.C.G.S. § 57D-6-06 the sequence is:

Day 60 after the due date — roughly June 14 — grounds for administrative dissolution exist.
The Secretary of State mails you a Notice of Grounds.
60 days after that notice, if you have not fixed it, the certificate of dissolution is filed.

So you have roughly four months and a mailed warning. The danger is not speed — it is that the notice goes to your registered agent's address, and if that address is stale you never see it.

Getting reinstated

Reinstatement costs $100, plus every delinquent annual report at $200 each. Three missed years is $100 + $600 = $700.

Two things most people get wrong:

North Carolina has no deadline to reinstate. The old time limit was repealed in 1995. Guides that mention a "five-year window" are describing another state.
The real risk is your name. If another business has taken a name no longer distinguishable from yours, you must change yours before reinstatement will issue.

When reinstatement is granted it relates back to the date of dissolution — legally, it is as though the dissolution never happened, subject to the rights of anyone who reasonably relied on it.

Where to file

Online through the NC Secretary of State annual report search — find your entity, then choose "File Most Recent Annual Report."

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