North Carolina: ordered by value
Rows ranked by value from company price pages. The $250 state fee is kept out of the rows.
1. North Carolina Registered Agent.co: best for one extra state
Best value
Year one $199, year two on $99
- First year
- $199
- Later years
- $99/yr
- Three-year tally
- $397
Best value for North Carolina is North Carolina Registered Agent.co: $199 to register with a year of agent service, then $99 a year.
A three-year tally under Mainstay Filing's earns this row first place.
Included lines
- North Carolina registration filing
- Agent service, year one
Gains
- First-year agent service is covered
- $99 a year from year two
- Registers you for $199
Minus column
- Covers North Carolina alone, so the home state needs its own agent
2
2. Mainstay Filing: best for one price in any state
Bundled
Year one $199, year two on $149
- First year
- $199
- Later years
- $149/yr
- Three-year tally
- $497
Second line: Mainstay Filing, because $199 to file, no agent charge in year one, and the same price in every state.
North Carolina Registered Agent.co nets $100 lower across three years, enough to sort ahead.
The agent line reads zero in year one and $149/yr from year two, in any state.
Included lines
- The foreign filing, booked
- Registered agent, year one free
- Fifty-state coverage
Gains
- The fee is identical in every state
- Adds $199 to the state fee
- The first agent year is covered
Minus column
- North Carolina Registered Agent.co renews its agent $50 lower
3
3. NC Registered Agent.org: best for a low agent renewal
In-state
Year one $199, year two on $99
- First year
- $199
- Later years
- $99/yr
- Three-year tally
- $397
Row 3, NC Registered Agent.org, books this way: $199 to register with a year of agent service, then $99 a year.
North Carolina Registered Agent.co posts the same prices.
Included lines
- North Carolina registration filing
- Agent service, year one
Gains
- Registers you for $199
- First-year agent service is covered
- $99 a year from year two
Minus column
- Covers North Carolina alone, so the home state needs its own agent
Running tally by year
Prices as booked on November 13, 2026; every column carries one more renewal. The ranking stays the same for ten years.
Run the tally yourself
Choose a number of years to see each row's total by then.
Official state fees
State fees over three years, as booked here: filing, then the next two reports, then minimum tax where the state has one.
How the rows were ranked
At 39%, three-year tally is the column that decided the first row.
$397 across three years for North Carolina Registered Agent.co, keeping $100 compared with Mainstay Filing.
North Carolina foreign LLC registration fee and rules (official)
The North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division receives the Application for Certificate of Authority for Limited Liability Company (Form L-09) and $250 from out-of-state LLCs working in North Carolina. Provide certificate of existence (or similar document, such as a certificate of good standing) dated no earlier than 180 days.
Staying unregistered can bring it cannot file its own lawsuits there (G.S. 57D-7-02(a)); an added daily charge of $10; the fees it should have paid.
Official text: from sosnc.gov, recorded October 2026 as a ledger line
The zero-service option
State fees alone come to $650 for three years, and that is the floor. The table shows what each service adds, $397 to $497.
FAQ
What does North Carolina charge to register an LLC formed elsewhere?
$250 at the state office, before service fees of $199.
What do three years of service add up to?
Three-year service tallies: $397 to $497.
Which form registers the LLC?
The registration is Application for Certificate of Authority for Limited Liability Company (Form L-09), submitted to the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division.
Does North Carolina want a document from the home state?
Yes, and it must be dated within 180 days: certificate of existence (or similar document, such as a certificate of good standing).
What recurring filing follows the registration?
The annual report costs $200.
When does one service turn into the lower total?
They never cross in ten years, so the year-one order holds.
Which foreign registration service is the best value for North Carolina?
By our value sort the North Carolina rows run North Carolina Registered Agent.co, Mainstay Filing and NC Registered Agent.org, led on three-year tally by North Carolina Registered Agent.co.
Where the entries come from
- North Carolina Department of the, booked August 2026 via sosnc.gov
- North Carolina Department of the, booked August 2026 via sosnc.gov
- North Carolina report due date, booked August 2026 via ncleg.gov
- N.C, booked August 2026 via sosnc.gov
- North Carolina formation fee: Filing, booked October 2026 via sosnc.gov
- North Carolina formation fee: Filing, booked October 2026 via sosnc.gov
- North Carolina registered agent statute, booked October 2026 via sosnc.gov
- North Carolina Secretary of State, booked October 2026 via sosnc.gov
- Form L-09, Application for Certificate, booked October 2026 via sosnc.gov
- Secretary of State guide to, booked October 2026 via sosnc.gov
- G.S, booked October 2026 via ncleg.gov
- Annual report due dates, booked October 2026 via sosnc.gov
- N.C, booked November 2026 via ncleg.gov
- North Carolina Registered Agent.co pricing page, prices entered November 13, 2026
- Mainstay Filing North Carolina service page, prices entered November 13, 2026
- NC Registered Agent.org pricing page, prices entered November 13, 2026