How to file a North Carolina certificate of authority yourself

• The LLC's exact name as the home state shows it, and the state of formation.
• The principal office phone number, street address and county, or the decision to say there is no principal office.
• A registered agent who qualifies, with a North Carolina street address and county for the registered office.
• Each current company official with title and business address, the signer included.
• If the name will not work in North Carolina, a copy of the managers' resolution adopting the name you will use here.
• The original certificate of existence issued by the home-state official, under 6 months old.

Work through the eleven items described on the Form L-09 page. Item 1 is the name, plus the North Carolina name if it must differ. Item 2 is the state of formation. Item 3 is the principal office or a statement that there is none. Items 4, 5 and 6 are the registered agent, the registered office and its mailing address. Item 7 lists the company officials. Item 8 confirms the certificate is attached, item 9 the fictitious name resolution if you need one, item 10 the optional email for notifications and item 11 the effective date. Then date it and have the listed official sign with a printed name and title.

Item 3 asks you to choose between two statements. Choose (a) if the LLC has a principal office, and then give its phone number, street address and county, plus a mailing address if mail does not go to the street address. Choose (b) if the LLC has no principal office. Do not leave both blank, and do not give a P.O. box as the street address. The county matters, because the form asks for it separately.

• The name on the application, the certificate and the check is spelled the same way.
• The certificate is an original, authenticated, and still under 6 months old on the day the Secretary of State receives it.
• The registered agent and office are in North Carolina and the agent has agreed to serve.
• The signer is listed in item 7, and has dated and signed with a printed name and title.
• If the name needs a resolution, it is attached and refers to the same name used in item 1.
• The check is payable to the North Carolina Secretary of State for $250, or the right expedite total.
• You have kept a complete copy of everything you sent.

The Secretary of State lists 5 to 10 business days as the turn-around for entity creation filings and says that online is always faster. If you need it sooner, a 24-hour expedite costs $100 and a same-day expedite $200 for a document received by 12:00 noon Eastern. Add the home-state certificate time, which varies by state. The expedite promise is a filing or a rejection within the window, not a guarantee of approval.

The first LLC annual report is due April 15 of the year after the certificate is issued. The Secretary of State says it is due whether or not the company does any business. LLCs can file the report online at any hour, or download a pre-populated report and mail it to the address on its footer. The fee is $200; online it is $203 with the card fee. If more than half the company is owned by a service member who is deployed, an Affidavit of Deployment filed before the deployment moves the due date to 90 days after it ends. The annual report page covers the rest.

If timing the certificate, collecting the signature and avoiding a returned application sound like more than you want, the order form takes the details once and does the rest for $199 plus the state fee.

$199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.