The first step in forming a North Carolina Limited Liability Company is to make sure the name you want is available.  

It’s critical to do a name search before registering an LLC name, as the name of each LLC must be distinguishable from other entity names registered in the state of North Carolina. The North Carolina Secretary of State makes it easy to search and verify if your LLC name is available.  Here is more information on how to do a North Carolina LLC name search. 

In addition to the name needing to be unique, the name of the LLC must include one of the following phrases or abbreviations (also referred to as designators) at the end of the business name:
– Limited Liability Company
– Ltd. Liability Co.
– Limited Liability Co.
– Ltd. Liability Company
– L.L.C.
– LLC

A comma may be used after the business name and before the designator.  “Cowboy Cleaners LLC” and “Cowboy Cleaners, LLC” are both acceptable.

If you plan to use a different name from the one you register (perhaps you want to run multiple businesses under the LLC), you can file an assumed name (sometimes referred to as a fictitious business name, trade name, DBA, or Doing Business As name).  To register an assumed name, file the Assumed Business Name Certificate, along with the filing fee to the Register of Deeds office in the county where the LLC is located.

Before settling on a name, you may want to see if a domain name is also available to match your business name and website address.

North Carolina law requires that every LLC in the state have an active Registered Agent. A Registered Agent will act as a central point of contact to receive legal documents, tax notices, summons, subpoenas, etc., on behalf of the LLC.

The basic requirements to be a Registered Agent in North Carolina include:
– The agent must be a North Carolina resident at least 18 years of age or a commercial Registered Agent service with a registered office in the state.
– The agent must have a physical address in the state (PO Boxes aren’t allowed).
– The agent must generally be available during normal business hours at the address provided to receive service of process.

Learn more about the requirements for a Registered Agent in North Carolina.

Any individual meeting the requirements can be the agent; however, the agent’s name and address become public record, and with that comes a loss of privacy. This is more important for some entrepreneurs, especially when doing business from home or still employed.  Hiring a commercial Registered Agent service like Northwest Registered Agent will help keep the owner’s names from being publicly listed.

The paperwork to officially create an LLC in North Carolina is called the Articles of Organization. To submit the paperwork, either file online through the North Carolina Secretary of State’s website or download and mail the Articles of Organization Form L-01 to the Secretary of State’s office. 

Related: How to fill out the North Carolina Articles of Organization

When filling out the LLC Articles of Organization, a few sections and terms can be challenging to answer. Let’s go over a few of these sections to help get your LLC started right.

LLC Organizers – Enter the name and address of each person responsible for executing the Articles of Organization and whether they are a member, organizer, or both by checking the applicable boxes.

An LLC Organizer is involved with the formation of the Articles of Organization.  The Organizer may or may not become an LLC member, such as a mentor, attorney, or accountant, but the initial members will all be listed as organizers.

Principal Office – There are two parts to answering the Principal Office question.  Section “A” is used if the LLC has a principal office, and Section “B” is used if the LLC does not have a principal office.
– Section A – In this section, enter the street address, city, state, and zip code of the LLC’s initial principal office.  This address can be the LLC’s physical address, or it can be the address where the business records are stored.  You may not use a PO Box for the designated office.
– Section B – This is usually selected if the principal office has not been secured yet.  A principal office will need to be identified by the time the first annual report is due.

Additional Provisions – This is an optional section and not used by most LLCs.  Here you would include the business purpose or additional rules for the operation of the LLC.

Company Officials – This section is optional but is used to list the company officials.  This section is optional but is used to list the company officials.  This is most often used for LLCs where a member may hold a job with connections or holds professional licensing through the state of North Carolina.

Effective Date – If you want the LLC to start on today’s date, choose Yes, otherwise select No, and enter a date less than 90 days in the future to start.
If you want the LLC to start immediately, choose today’s date.  If you want the LLC to start later, enter a date less than 90 days in the future to start.  The main reason for delaying the LLC start date is when the filing is being done close to the end of a calendar year, and the business will not have any activity until the start of the year.