North Dakota Business Entity Search

A North Dakota business entity search is done in the FirstStop Portal, the online system of the North Dakota Secretary of State. The same portal handles nearly every business task in the state: searching records, forming a company, filing annual reports, registering trade names and ordering certificates. Nonprofits are registered as businesses too, so one search covers them as well.

How to search in FirstStop

1. Open the FirstStop Business Search.
2. Type the business name, or a distinctive part of it.
3. Scan the results for the right entity type, such as LLC, corporation or trade name.
4. Open the record to view the status, registered agent, filing dates and filing history.
5. Write down the record number shown for the entity so you can find it again quickly.

FirstStop also has a separate Trademark Search. If you are checking a brand name, run both searches.

What the status means

North Dakota uses two plain labels for most active entities: Good Standing and Not Good Standing. A company slips to Not Good Standing when it misses its annual report. The Secretary of State's maintain registration page warns that this can cause trouble with lenders, investors and vendors, and can block expansion into other states.

The company then has one year to fix the problem by filing the overdue report. If it does not, the state involuntarily dissolves or terminates it. Out-of-state companies lose their authority to do business in North Dakota. So if you see Not Good Standing, the clock is already running.

Certificates of good standing

To prove a company is current, order a Certificate of Good Standing through FirstStop with the Request Certificate form. The fee is $20. The office also issues a Certificate of Fact, which confirms specific facts in the record. That one is ordered by email or phone and costs $15 for a trade name or fictitious partnership name and $20 for other business types.

Checking and reserving a name

Search the Business Search and the Trademark Search for the name you want. If nothing close turns up, the name may be free. The Secretary of State makes the final decision, and its register a business page advises against spending money on a name until your filing is accepted.

If a name is already reserved or registered by someone else, you may still file with that holder's signed consent, which carries a $10 filing fee. To hold a name for yourself, file a Reserved Name Application in FirstStop. It can hold an available name for up to one year. For the reservation fee, see the official fee schedule. Use our business name generator to build a list to test.

Trade names

In North Dakota, trade names are registered with the Secretary of State, not with counties. A business that works under a name other than its registered legal name files a trade name registration in FirstStop. The fee is $25, and the registration must be renewed every five years. Because trade names are filed with the state, they show up in the same Business Search.

Forming an LLC in North Dakota

1. Search the name and reserve it if you need time.
2. Appoint a North Dakota registered agent with a physical address in the state. LLCs must keep one.
3. Start a new business in FirstStop and file articles of organization. The official LLC fee page lists the registration fee as $135.
4. File the annual report each year by November 15, starting the year after the LLC registers. The fee is $50.

The annual report is short. It asks you to confirm or update the mailing address, business activity and the people involved, and it does not ask for financial statements. A late report adds a late fee. Farm or ranch LLCs follow different rules, with an April 15 deadline and extra land disclosures.

Watch out for official-looking letters from private companies that offer to file your annual report for a large fee. The Secretary of State has warned about these. You can file yourself in FirstStop for the standard fee. A simple business plan template and our guide on how to start a business will help with the rest.

Common problems

• Name not found: Search one key word, and check the trade name and trademark results too.
• Not Good Standing: File the past-due annual report in FirstStop. After one year the entity is dissolved.
• Company was dissolved: Contact the Secretary of State about reinstatement options.
• Agent address is a post office box: North Dakota requires a physical address in the state.

Comparing with neighbors? See the South Dakota business entity search and the Minnesota business entity search, or open the all-states business entity search hub.