A New Hampshire LLC doesn’t begin with Articles of Organization, because the state has no such form. You file Form LLC-1, the Certificate of Formation, with the Secretary of State’s Corporation Division on NH QuickStart, and the fee is $100 as of 2026. Here’s the real process, plus what a New Hampshire LLC actually gets you.
Your New Hampshire LLC: Certificate of Formation, NH QuickStart, and the $100 fee
You form a New Hampshire LLC by filing Form LLC-1, the Certificate of Formation, with the Secretary of State’s Corporation Division on NH QuickStart for $100, or $102 online once the state’s electronic handling charge applies, and the one recurring obligation after that is a $100 annual report due by April 1.
- Filing office: New Hampshire Secretary of State, Corporation Division
- Where you file it: NH QuickStart, quickstart.sos.nh.gov
- The document: Form LLC-1, Certificate of Formation
- What the state charges: $100, or $102 paid electronically
- How fast: varies with the filing season; expedited in person for $25
- What recurs: a $100 annual report by April 1, $50 late
- Registered agent: required, at a physical New Hampshire street address
- Best fit for: owners who want liability protection without corporate formalities, though the right entity still depends on your tax and ownership setup.
- Contacts: Corporation Division, 107 North Main Street, Concord, NH 03301-4989.
Forming a New Hampshire LLC, from name check to Form LLC-1
How to start an LLC in New Hampshire comes down to one form, one fee, and a few decisions you make before you ever open the portal. Settle three of them first: a name that clears the state database, a registered agent with a real New Hampshire street address, and your management structure.
Step 1: Clear your name on the QuickStart Business Search
Your name has to end with “limited liability company,” “L.L.C.,” “LLC,” or a similar abbreviation, and it can’t imply a purpose your Certificate of Formation doesn’t authorize. The state’s official business-name search sits inside the portal: run your idea through QuickStart Business Search first, then check the New Hampshire business registry for close matches you might have missed.
The standard is distinguishability, measured against every name already on the state’s records. A difference that comes down to punctuation, spacing, or a plural won’t clear it, and a name that fails gets the filing rejected.
Want to hold a name before you file? A reservation lasts 120 days for $15 and can be renewed. Most founders skip it, since the Certificate of Formation locks the name the moment the state accepts it.
Step 2: Appoint a New Hampshire registered agent
Every New Hampshire LLC has to maintain a registered office in the state plus a registered agent to receive service of process. The rule people miss: that registered office has to be a physical street address that is the agent’s own home or business office. A P.O. box won’t satisfy it, and you can’t name a friend in Nashua while listing a mailbox in Manchester.
Your agent can be a New Hampshire resident, or a corporation, LLC, professional LLC, or limited liability partnership formed or authorized here. Serving as your own agent costs nothing if you live in state and don’t mind a public address. If you’d rather keep it off the record, compare New Hampshire registered agent services instead of buying a full formation package.
Want to keep your address private? Northwest can provide a New Hampshire registered office and receive legal notices for your LLC.
Get a New Hampshire Registered AgentStep 3: File Form LLC-1, the Certificate of Formation
This filing creates the company. New Hampshire keeps Form LLC-1 short. It asks for the LLC name, the registered office address, and the registered agent’s name and address. Then two more: the nature of your primary business, and whether the LLC is member-managed or manager-managed.
Pick that last one deliberately. Member-managed means the owners run daily operations; manager-managed means you’ve appointed someone, owner or not, to run it. Changing it later takes an amendment and another fee.
The New Hampshire LLC registration fee is $100, or $102 online once the state’s $2 electronic handling charge is added, per the Secretary of State’s LLC forms and fees page. You can also print the form, sign it, and mail one original to Concord, which saves the $2 and costs you the mail time.
Your LLC exists from the date and time the state files it, not the day you hit submit, unless you name a later effective date on the form.
Processing isn’t a fixed number here; the Secretary of State says it moves with the filing season and points you to the current processing date on QuickStart. Its Business FAQs put expedited service at $25 extra, handled in person at the Concord Customer Lobby. For a realistic window, see how long New Hampshire filings take.
Every week, someone asks me for New Hampshire’s Articles of Organization, and I have to break the news that they do not exist here. New Hampshire uses a Certificate of Formation, Form LLC-1. Searching for the wrong document name is what sends people to a paid site instead of the state’s own portal.
My practical warning: do not treat the management choice as a detail to resolve later. Correcting it after formation means filing an amendment that you did not need in the first place.
Step 4: Put your operating agreement in writing
New Hampshire does not require you to file an operating agreement with the Secretary of State. Under RSA 304-C, your LLC is bound by one even without the company’s signature on it. Skipping the document anyway leaves your ownership split, voting rules, and exit terms to default statute.
That gap shows up at the worst moments: a member wants out, a bank asks who controls the account, or two owners remember the same handshake differently. Draft a New Hampshire operating agreement that matches how the business runs, then keep it with your records.
Step 5: Get your EIN from the IRS
Once the state approves the LLC, apply for a federal Employer Identification Number. It’s free from the IRS and takes minutes online. Form the company first so the EIN name matches the name on file in Concord, then apply for your EIN and store the confirmation letter with the stamped certificate.
Step 6: Open a bank account and register with the Department of Revenue if you cross the thresholds
Keep the LLC’s money separate from your own; commingling is how owners lose the protection they just paid for. Bring the stamped certificate and the EIN letter to the bank. Clear New Hampshire’s business tax thresholds and you’ll also register with the Department of Revenue Administration, covered below.
Choose the agent, pick management, then let ZenBusiness file.
New Hampshire asks for your registered agent and management structure on Form LLC-1. ZenBusiness gives you a guided filing flow, with $0 service-fee formation available plus state costs.
How much does a New Hampshire LLC cost in 2026?
The New Hampshire LLC cost is $100 to file the Certificate of Formation, or $102 online, plus a $100 annual report every year after that. That’s what most New Hampshire LLCs actually pay; the rest of the New Hampshire LLC fees below won’t apply unless your situation calls for it.
| Filing or fee | What it covers | Fee as of 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Formation (Form LLC-1) | Creates the LLC | $100 ($102 online) |
| Annual report | Keeps the LLC in good standing | $100 |
| Late annual report | Added after April 1 | $50 |
| Name reservation | Holds a name for 120 days | $15 |
| Expedited service | In person only, Concord lobby | $25 extra |
| Foreign LLC registration | Out-of-state LLC operating here | $100 |
| Professional LLC (Form PLLC-1) | Licensed professions | $100 |
Worth flagging what most cost guides miss: the month you file changes your real first-year total. New Hampshire runs the report on the calendar, not your formation anniversary. So an LLC formed in September pays $100 to form and another $100 by the following April, roughly $200 inside seven months. For agent fees and tax estimates, see our New Hampshire LLC cost breakdown.
The New Hampshire annual report: April 1, $100, and what it makes public
Your New Hampshire annual report has one hard deadline: April 1. Filing opens January 1 on QuickStart, so the window to pay the $100 and be done runs three months. That date sits on the calendar rather than your formation anniversary, so every LLC in the state works to it.
Miss April 1 and the state adds a $50 penalty, then starts down the road to administrative dissolution if the report keeps sliding. There’s one exception worth knowing: form between December 1 and April 1 and you owe no report that same year. A February filing doesn’t trigger a report six weeks later.
The catch: that report is also where New Hampshire privacy ends, which surprises people who picked the state partly for discretion. Each one lists the managers’ names and business addresses, or at least one member’s name and address when there are no managers. Add the principal office and a short business description.
The Certificate of Formation never demands a full member roster; the first annual report puts a human name on the public record anyway. File your New Hampshire annual report in February, not the last week of March. Nothing else recurs at the state level, either: New Hampshire has no publication requirement, so unlike New York there’s no newspaper notice to buy after you form.
Harbor Compliance can help track the April 1 deadline and handle your New Hampshire annual report filing.
Manage Your Annual Report With Harbor ComplianceNew Hampshire’s tax picture: no sales tax, no wage income tax, but BPT and BET
New Hampshire earns its reputation here, then sets a trap for new owners. The state levies no general sales tax and doesn’t tax wages, which is a real reason businesses cross the border from Massachusetts.
Two entity-level business taxes still apply above their thresholds, and both are administered by the Department of Revenue Administration rather than the Secretary of State. The Business Profits Tax runs 7.5% as of 2026 and applies once gross business income tops $109,000.
The Business Enterprise Tax adds 0.55% as of 2026 on the enterprise value tax base, once gross receipts or that base pass $298,000. Both sit outside your formation paperwork, which is why founders don’t see them coming; the Department of Revenue Administration publishes current rates and thresholds.
The line “New Hampshire has no income tax” is true for your paycheck and misleading for your business, and I watch owners learn that distinction at tax time. The state has no sales tax and no wage tax, but the Business Profits Tax and Business Enterprise Tax are real once your business clears the applicable thresholds.
My practical reminder: ask an accountant to check your numbers before your first return closes. Crossing a threshold during the year can be easy to miss, even when the business started below it.
Why New Hampshire rejects LLC names, and three other filing traps
Name problems are the rejection you can actually prevent, and RSA 304-C spells out why. None of these count as a real difference when they’re the only difference between your name and one already on file:
- an added article like “the”
- a singular changed to a plural
- a phonetic spelling or an abbreviation
- a switch of entity type
- punctuation or special characters
- different spacing
- a numeral swapped for its written word
Three other traps catch people repeatedly. Owners assume the report tracks their formation anniversary, so a spring filer waits until autumn and blows past April 1. Others count on rushing a filing online, then learn expedited service happens only at the Concord lobby. And some list a registered office that isn’t their agent’s actual office, breaking the match the statute requires.
New Hampshire LLC FAQ: fees, taxes, and filing
Quick answers to what New Hampshire founders ask most, with the real figures from the Secretary of State and the Department of Revenue.
How much does an LLC cost in New Hampshire?
You’ll pay $100 to file the Certificate of Formation, or $102 online with the $2 handling charge, then $100 for the annual report each year. A name reservation is $15 and in-person expedited service is $25, both optional.
Does New Hampshire use Articles of Organization or a Certificate of Formation?
New Hampshire uses a Certificate of Formation, filed as Form LLC-1. New Hampshire Articles of Organization don’t exist, even though plenty of people search the phrase. Same function, different name.
Can you start a New Hampshire LLC for free?
Not entirely. You can start a New Hampshire LLC for free of any service fee by filing Form LLC-1 yourself. The $100 state fee still applies to everyone, and nobody can waive it. Paid formation sites charge their markup on top of that same $100.
What taxes does a New Hampshire LLC pay?
By default an LLC is pass-through, so profits land on the owners’ federal returns. New Hampshire adds no sales tax and no wage income tax, but the Business Profits Tax at 7.5% and Business Enterprise Tax at 0.55% apply above $109,000 and $298,000.
When is the New Hampshire annual report due?
April 1 is the deadline, and filing opens January 1, so the window runs three months. The fee is $100, with a $50 penalty once you’re late. Form between December 1 and April 1 and you skip the report for that same calendar year.
How long does it take to form an LLC in New Hampshire?
There’s no published turnaround. How long it takes to form an LLC in New Hampshire depends on the filing season. The Secretary of State points you to the current processing date shown on QuickStart. If you’re on a deadline, the $25 in-person expedited option beats the standard queue.
Do you need an operating agreement for a New Hampshire LLC?
It isn’t required and you never file it with the state. Skip it and default statute decides questions you’d rather answer yourself. A New Hampshire LLC operating agreement sets ownership, voting, distributions, and what happens when someone leaves.
How do you register an out-of-state LLC in New Hampshire?
Register as a foreign LLC before you begin doing business here. New Hampshire foreign LLC registration costs $100 as of 2026. Until you register, your LLC can’t maintain a lawsuit in New Hampshire courts, and it may owe the fees it should have paid all along.
Can you form a PLLC in New Hampshire?
Yes. Licensed professionals file Form PLLC-1 under RSA 304-D for $100, the same as a standard LLC. Your licensing board’s rules stack on top of the Secretary of State’s, so check both before filing.
- Register your business, U.S. Small Business Administration
- Limited Liability Companies, New Hampshire Secretary of State
- RSA Chapter 304-C, Limited Liability Companies
- RSA Chapter 304-D, Professional Limited Liability Companies
- QuickStart Business Search, New Hampshire Secretary of State
- Business FAQs, New Hampshire Secretary of State
- Business Taxes, New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration
Looking for an overview? See New Hampshire LLC Services
Start Your New Hampshire LLC with Bizee
Bizee helps you prepare your formation details, file through NH QuickStart, and launch your New Hampshire LLC with less paperwork and fewer delays.
