North Carolina LLC status check
What keeps a North Carolina LLC or corporation in good standing, what happens if a filing is missed, and how to check your status yourself. Taken from the official rules published by North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division.
Check your North Carolina status
On the state’s own site: open the official business search (North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division). Search your exact registered name and read the status field.
The way a lender sees it: a lender’s system doesn’t just read your status — it matches your exact legal name, your filing, your domain and your email against each other. Run the same checks below.
Free check: what a lender’s system sees
Standing in North Carolina, exact legal-name match, time in business, domain age, website and business email. No account, no card, under a minute.
What North Carolina requires to stay in good standing
| LLC | Corporation | |
|---|---|---|
| Filing | Annual Report | Annual Report |
| How often | Annual | Annual |
| When it’s due | Due April 15 each year, starting the year after the LLC is formed or registered. Due even if the company is not doing business. | Due by the 15th day of the 4th month after the close of the corporation's fiscal year (April 15 for calendar-year corporations). |
| State fee | $200 (paper); $203 online with credit card ($3 e-filing fee) or $202 by ACH | $25 (paper); $21 online with credit card ($18 + $3 e-filing fee) |
| Annual tax tied to standing | Not published | Corporations pay NC franchise tax to the NC Dept. of Revenue: $1.50 per $1,000 of net worth base, minimum $200. |
Missed it? What happens, and how to fix it
If a filing is missed
No fixed late fee is stated. If the annual report is more than 60 days late, the Secretary of State may start administrative dissolution (or revoke a foreign entity's authority). The entity gets written notice and has 60 days to fix the problem before it is dissolved.
Getting back in good standing
Reinstatement following Administrative Dissolution — state fee $100 application fee, plus the annual report fee for each missing year. Every missing annual report must be filed and paid. If the name is no longer available, the entity must change its name before reinstatement.
Why lenders check this before anyone reads your application
An automated know-your-business check compares what you put on an application against the state’s record. A status that isn’t active and in good standing, or a legal name that differs from your filing by a comma or a suffix, is a common silent reason for a decline.
Fixing your status costs nothing beyond the state’s own fees; you don’t need to pay anyone to do it for you.
Common questions
When is the North Carolina LLC Annual Report due?
Due April 15 each year, starting the year after the LLC is formed or registered. Due even if the company is not doing business. The state fee is $200 (paper); $203 online with credit card ($3 e-filing fee) or $202 by ACH.
How do I reinstate a North Carolina LLC?
North Carolina calls it Reinstatement following Administrative Dissolution. The state fee is $100 application fee, plus the annual report fee for each missing year. Every missing annual report must be filed and paid. If the name is no longer available, the entity must change its name before reinstatement.
What happens if I miss the North Carolina filing deadline?
No fixed late fee is stated. If the annual report is more than 60 days late, the Secretary of State may start administrative dissolution (or revoke a foreign entity's authority). The entity gets written notice and has 60 days to fix the problem before it is dissolved.
How do I check if my North Carolina LLC is in good standing?
Search your exact registered name on North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division's business entity search (https://www.sosnc.gov/online_services/search/by_title/search_Business_Registration) and read the status field. To see what a lender's verification system sees - status, exact legal-name match, domain and business email - run Peak Discounters' free fundability check.
Sources
Fees and deadlines change. Always confirm on North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division’s own site before you file. Last reviewed October 16, 2026.
- https://sosnc.gov/Guides/launching_a_business/maintaining_registration
- https://sosnc.gov/frequently_asked_questions/by_title/_BRD_FAQ_Annual_Reports
- https://www.sosnc.gov/fees/by_title/
- https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration/Reinstatement_and_Requalification_Paper_Domestic
- https://www.sosnc.gov/manual/business_registration_Reinstatement/Page16
- https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_57D/GS_57D-6-06.html
- https://www.ncdor.gov/tax-forms/2024-cd-405-c-corporation-tax-return-instructions/open
See something wrong or out of date? Email info@peakdiscounters.com and we’ll correct it and re-date the page.
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