Updated November 10, 2026 · 9 services tested
We tested 9 LLC services for North Dakota. Northwest is our pick: $39 + $135 state fee, with the first registered agent year included (then $125/yr).
By Jon Morgan · Fact-checked by Jon Tobin, Business Attorney · How we test
Northwest Registered Agent
$39 + $135 state feeForm my LLC for $39 (opens in a new tab)
LegalZoom
$0 + $135 state feeSee LegalZoom plans (opens in a new tab)Save 20% with code: venturesmarter20
ZenBusiness
$0 + $135 state feeSee ZenBusiness plans (opens in a new tab)Prices checked November 10, 2026. North Dakota's state filing fee is $135.
We set up LLCs with every service reviewed here. That meant forming nine businesses to see which formation company actually delivers once payment clears.
Northwest Registered Agent came out on top for its direct support, bundled first-year registered-agent service and business identity tools.
We ranked these nine providers on support quality, price, feature depth, turnaround speed, ease of use and independent user ratings. Then we weighed each against what North Dakota specifically requires from a registered LLC.
The comparison below breaks down what each service includes, followed by the state facts you need before you file.
| Service | LLC Fees | Registered Agent Price | Money-Back Guarantee | Score | Compare offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $39 with our special link + $135 state fee | Free first year with the $39 LLC, then $125/yr | ✓ Refund available for 90 days | 4.9 | Form my LLC (opens in a new tab) |
| Begins at $0 + $135 state fee | $249 first year, then $249/yr (not in any plan) | ✓ 60-day refund policy | 4.7 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
| Begins at $0 + $135 state fee | $199 first year, then $199/yr (not in any plan) | ✓ 60-day refund policy | 4.6 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Begins at $0 + $135 state fee | Free first year with formation, then $249/yr | ✓ 60-day refund policy | 4.5 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Begins at $0 + $135 state fee | $199 first year, then $199/yr (not in any plan) | ✗ | 4.4 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Begins at $49 + $135 state fee | $14.99/mo first year, then $14.99/mo (inside its compliance plan) | ✓ Refund within 30 to 60 days | 4.3 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | $99 one-time fee + $135 state fee | $99 first year, then $159/yr (sold separately) | ✗ | 4.1 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Begins at $0 + $135 state fee | $596 first year, then $596/yr (billed $149 a quarter; not in any plan) | ✓ 60-day refund policy | 4.0 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Begins at $0 + $135 state fee | Free first year with formation, then $149/yr | ✓ Order refundable prior to state submission (24h); minus $30 | 3.9 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
Prices checked November 10, 2026. North Dakota's state filing fee is $135.
Each score combines support, price, features, turnaround, ease of use and user ratings.
Refund: 90 days
BBB: Not accredited; A rating
Same & Next Day Filing: No
Free Package Features: No free-tier benefits
Advisory Services: No
Northwest's team verifies the account after signup, and a welcome call usually follows within a day. If anything is still open, the team calls again around the 48-hour mark.
Our confirmation page listed the assigned agent address right away. The mail-scanning limit, a few documents a year, was spelled out up front instead of being buried in a support article.
The welcome email also linked to a forms library sorted by state, so we found the paperwork we needed fast.
Pros
Cons
Refund: 60-day refund policy
BBB: Rated A+ by BBB
Same & Next Day Filing: No
Free Package Features: Welcome packet, and editable website
LegalZoom collects the real business questionnaire after payment clears rather than before it. We filled out the actual formation details once we were already committed, instead of answering the same questions twice.
Once that intake was done, the account dashboard showed a licensing and permit questionnaire we hadn't expected. It turned out to be genuinely useful for spotting what else our business needed.
LegalZoom's attorney network stood out most. A licensed attorney is available for a scheduled consultation on business-structure questions. That's a level of legal access most other services here don't offer.
Exclusively for Venture Smarter users, apply code venturesmarter20 to enjoy 20% off LLC formation and other services at LegalZoom.
Pros
Cons
Refund: 60-day refund policy
BBB: Accredited by BBB
Same & Next Day Filing: Pro & Premium tiers
Free Package Features: LLC filing included with 100% accuracy assurance
Advisory Services: Accounting consult included
Our ZenBusiness order kept the running total visible on every screen, with no paid extras pre-selected before checkout. We never had to backtrack to check what we were paying.
Once the order went through, Velo AI, ZenBusiness's in-account assistant, checked the formation status. It flagged the missing EIN before we added one ourselves.
The document center flagged the same open item once we logged back in. Chat support stayed one click away from the dashboard the whole time.
Pros
Cons
Refund: 60-day refund policy
BBB: Accredited by BBB
Same & Next Day Filing: Premium tier
Advisory Services: Private banking advisor
Inc Authority's checkout moves through a sequence of full-screen upsell offers, each with a countdown timer pushing a decision before the next screen loads. We could decline every one of them and still finish the order.
After we placed the order, there wasn't much of an account to return to. The confirmation email became the main reference point instead of a dashboard, which felt thin compared with the accounts other services gave us.
Inc Authority also offers ongoing compliance reminders for deadline tracking through a separate paid feature. That's one of the few post-formation touches worth noting beyond that first receipt.
Pros
Cons
Refund: No
BBB: No
Free Package Features: LLC filing with complimentary 30-day bookkeeping trial
Advisory Services: Coaching for business (all tiers)
Tailor Brands' dashboard opens on branding tools first. Formation status comes second, which surprised us at first. Much of the account is built around logo and website tools instead of just paperwork.
Our order sat in a slower queue than some competitors before North Dakota even received it. Founders in a hurry should expect to wait a bit longer for that first update.
The dashboard tracks formation progress the whole way through. Navi, Tailor Brands' in-account assistant, surfaces invoices and outstanding tasks in one place.
Pros
Cons
Open any card for the complete review, scores and packages.
Refund: Refund within 30 to 60 days
BBB: Rated A by BBB
Free Package Features: LLC formation plus operating agreement and organizational minutes
Advisory Services: Attorney support available (paid)
LLC Attorney's first screen laid out every filing step before we sent anything in. We knew what paperwork would show up, and in what order.
The filing process moves fast. Submissions typically go out within 24 hours, and one documented state filing closed in about 18 hours once the paperwork was in.
Support answered legal questions in about 18 hours by email on average, and phone support connected within minutes when we needed a faster answer.
Pros
Cons
Refund: No
BBB: Accredited by BBB
Same & Next Day Filing: ~ Varies by state
Free Package Features: No free-tier benefits
Advisory Services: No
Harbor Compliance's client portal walks customers through the Articles of Organization step by step, with a task list that updates as you complete each piece.
Nobody calls to walk you through setup for a standard formation. The flow runs through a self-guided wizard and portal. Founders who want a live person walking them through every step won't find one here.
Support stays reachable by phone and email during business hours for portal or filing questions, even without a live walkthrough at the start.
Pros
Cons
Refund: 60-day refund policy
BBB: No
Same & Next Day Filing: Premium tier
Free Package Features: Includes LLC filing and lifetime support
Advisory Services: No
Swyft Filings runs a five-step application that takes under 15 minutes to finish. The steps are clear, with few points of confusion along the way.
Each customer gets one support rep to work with. Average response times land under 10 minutes, and the rep solves most questions on the first try.
Formation documents ship through tracked delivery once the state approves the filing. Founders can follow the paperwork the whole way after it leaves Swyft Filings' hands.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Order refundable prior to state submission (24h); minus $30
BBB: No
Same & Next Day Filing: With Platinum Package
Free Package Features: First-year RA at no cost, business tax consult
Advisory Services: Free 1-hour tax consultation included
Bizee's checkout shows one upsell at a time, each with a clear decline button. We never felt pushed to accept something just to reach the next screen.
Our registered agent through Bizee is a third party, Republic Registered Agent LLC. That's disclosed clearly in the account instead of tucked behind generic branding.
The dashboard's task list flagged extras we hadn't claimed yet. It felt like a helpful nudge rather than a repeated sales pitch.
Pros
Cons
Every provider on this page went through an actual North Dakota LLC formation instead of just a features comparison read off a spec sheet.
We checked what the checkout showed, what the account delivered afterward and what the paperwork actually said once it arrived.
We scored each service across six categories, support, price, features, turnaround, ease of use and independent user ratings.
Then we weighed how well it fits North Dakota founders specifically. The full scoring approach is explained in our testing methodology.
Every provider on this list answered our support questions, but response speed and follow-through varied more than we expected. A few made us wait through a queue before getting a real answer.
Northwest earned the highest support score, with LegalZoom close behind for its paid attorney access. ZenBusiness also routed us to a real person quickly, but its support did not match the direct Corporate Guide or attorney access of the leaders.
Sticker price only tells part of the story once registered agent renewals and other recurring costs enter the picture. The real cost gap between these nine providers shows up in year two rather than year one.
Northwest led the top three on price because its $39 formation includes the first registered-agent year; the service renews at $125/year after that.
ZenBusiness still has a $0 Starter package, but its paid tiers and separate registered-agent add-on raise recurring costs. Inc Authority remained close on entry cost, even with its renewal costs further out.
The provider with the longest feature list is not automatically the most useful one. What matters is whether those features stay relevant after founders actually form the LLC.
Northwest and LegalZoom led this category with useful services beyond basic formation. ZenBusiness scored well for its dashboard, which keeps organizing compliance tasks after the filing date.
Every provider promises fast processing, but internal processing time and the state's own review time are two different clocks. We tracked both separately instead of taking a marketing claim at face value.
ZenBusiness and Northwest tied for the highest turnaround score. ZenBusiness's paid plans include one-day processing, while Swyft Filings and Northwest also processed orders quickly without needing an expedited fee.
A clean checkout does not always mean a clean account afterward. We judged ease of use on both halves of that experience instead of just the first screen.
ZenBusiness earned the top ease-of-use score on this list, with the smoothest path from checkout to an organized account. Northwest came close behind, with Tailor Brands also scoring well once founders unlocked its dashboard tools.
Independent user ratings gave us a check against our own hands-on impressions, since a service can look good internally and still frustrate real customers. We weighed both sources together instead of trusting either alone.
North Dakota's filing fee and annual report deadline apply the same way no matter which provider a founder picks. So fit comes down to what happens around that fixed cost rather than the state paperwork itself.
Northwest is our top pick for North Dakota founders who value direct support, first-year registered-agent service and business identity tools.
LegalZoom ranks second for founders who expect to use its broader legal services, while ZenBusiness ranks third for guided online formation and a dashboard that keeps follow-up tasks visible.
North Dakota taxes corporate income at a flat 4.31%, and individual income tax runs on a graduated schedule from 1.10% to 2.50%. The state sales tax sits at 5.00%, averaging closer to 6.89% once local rates are added [2].
Source: the SBA Office of Advocacy 2025 North Dakota State Profile, itself compiled from BLS Business Employment Dynamics and FFIEC CRA Aggregate Data.
North Dakota backs business growth through the Department of Commerce's finance and incentive programs. These include gap financing for primary-sector businesses and the PACE interest buy-down program for companies creating jobs.
A North Dakota LLC limits an owner's personal liability for business debts and opens up tax choices unavailable to sole proprietors. Follow these steps to form one:
It takes about four to five weeks to get an LLC in North Dakota when filing online, or two to three weeks by mail, on top of whatever processing time the formation service itself adds.
An LLC in North Dakota costs $135 to file the Articles of Organization, plus a $50 annual report fee every year after formation.
Agriculture is North Dakota's number one industry, driving crop and livestock production that feeds demand well beyond the state's own borders.
The annual report is due November 15 for business and professional LLCs, or April 15 for farm, ranch and authorized livestock farm LLCs, and it costs $50.
Yes, every North Dakota LLC needs a registered agent with a physical in-state address, listed on the Articles of Organization at formation.
Most LLCs need an EIN to open a business bank account or hire employees, and it's free directly through the IRS in about five minutes.
Yes, as long as you have a physical North Dakota street address and are available during normal business hours to receive documents.
Northwest Registered Agent is the clear pick for most North Dakota founders who value direct support, first-year registered-agent service and business identity tools.
The service renews at $125/year after the included first year. LegalZoom ranks second for founders who expect to use its broader legal services.
ZenBusiness ranks third and remains a strong fit for owners who want guided online formation and a dashboard that tracks follow-up tasks.
Our recorded ZenBusiness checkout kept the running total visible and showed no paid extras preselected before checkout. Tailor Brands fits founders who want branding tools built into the same account as the filing itself.
References
Our verdict
$39 + $135 state fee, with the first registered agent year included (then $125/yr). 90-day money-back guarantee.
Prices checked November 10, 2026. North Dakota's state filing fee is $135.