Starting an LLC in New Hampshire

Spinning up a New Hampshire LLC is straightforward when you understand the filing, the agent rule, and the recurring obligations the state expects. Expect $100 for the state filing itself, about a week of waiting, and then a small set of ongoing fees that vary by year. What's next: the whole sequence, the dollar amounts in detail, and where we come in.

Open Your New Hampshire LLC — $199

Hand the work to us for $199. We prepare the documents, file with New Hampshire Secretary of State, and the state takes about about a week to respond.

Open Your New Hampshire LLC — $199

What A New Hampshire LLC Is (and Why People Form One)

A limited liability company sits between a sole proprietorship and a corporation: liability protection like a corporation, taxes like a sole prop. Throughout New Hampshire, the LLC is by far the most common entity choice — its mix of liability shielding and simple taxes is hard to beat.

All-In New Hampshire LLC Costs

$199 for our work, state fee straight to New Hampshire Secretary of State, agent product at $99/year — those are the three line items.

Step-by-Step: Forming Your New Hampshire LLC

1. Pick a Compliant New Hampshire LLC Name

Naming rules in New Hampshire are simple: include an LLC designator in the name, and choose something that does not collide with an entity already filed with the state. Confirm the name is open with New Hampshire Secretary of State's entity search. Doing so first saves a rejected filing and the re-do fee.

Avoid words that imply you're a regulated industry — bank, trust, insurance, credit union — unless you actually are one. The state takes those restrictions seriously.

2. Appoint Your New Hampshire Registered Agent

For every New Hampshire LLC the rule is the same: maintain a RA with an in-state street address, available throughout the business day, year-round. The agent's information lives on the public record at New Hampshire Secretary of State and remains there as long as the LLC exists.

We act as the agent in New Hampshire for $99/year. Your address is kept out of the state's public entity records.

3. File the Formation Paperwork with New Hampshire Secretary of State

This is the legal birth of the LLC: lodge Articles of Organization with New Hampshire Secretary of State with the $100 fee attached. On the form you'll list the entity's legal name, the entity's principal location, the RA's name and address, the management arrangement (members or managers in charge), and the organizer(s) behind the filing.

Visit New Hampshire Secretary of State's filing website for online filing. It's faster, and increasingly the only practical channel.

Standard processing takes about about a week. Rush processing can shorten that further at additional cost.

4. Draft an Operating Agreement

New Hampshire doesn't require an operating agreement to be filed with the state, but having one is fundamental to running the LLC properly. Inside it: ownership percentages, profit-and-loss allocation, voting and management procedures, and exit rules for members. Default LLC rules in New Hampshire kick in if you don't write your own. They're rarely a good substitute for an actual agreement.

5. Get an EIN from the IRS

Your LLC's EIN is the federal ID the IRS uses to track the LLC. Used for business banking, hiring employees, and filing federal returns. Visit IRS.gov and apply at no cost. The online form takes ten or so minutes; the EIN issues at the end.

Paid EIN-application services are unnecessary — the IRS provides them free in about ten minutes.

6. Stay Compliant After Formation

Keeping the entity in active status involves a short list of recurring tasks:

• Hold an active designated agent on the New Hampshire record at all times
• Send in the yearly report filing by its due date every year
• Hold an explicit division between business banking activity and personal banking (distinct cards and accounts)
• Stay compliant with tax obligations across the federal and state tiers without missing deadlines

Failing to keep up can lead to administrative dissolution by New Hampshire Secretary of State. Once dissolved, you lose the liability shield until reinstatement.

If you'd rather outsource: $199 covers the whole filing through our service.

File My New Hampshire LLC — $199

Why the Registered Agent Rule Matters

Every LLC formed in New Hampshire carries a continuous designated agent obligation — no carve-outs. Agent requirements include:

• Have on record a verifiable New Hampshire address (post office boxes don't count on their own)
• Be present throughout the workday to receive legal mail
• Relay legal documents and state notices swiftly so deadlines stay intact

Listing yourself as the agent puts your personal address on the public record. The address becomes accessible to anyone with internet access.

Sign up for our $99/year agent product. List our information on the filing and your personal address never sees the public record.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to form an LLC in New Hampshire?

Forming the LLC runs $100 within the state fees. That's near the middle of the national fee range. Above the formation cost, the annual report charges $100/year.

How long does it take to form an LLC in New Hampshire?

Expect about a week of waiting between filing and approval.

Does New Hampshire require an annual report?

Yes. Plan on $100/year per year for the annual report.

Do I need a registered agent for my New Hampshire LLC?

Yes. New Hampshire mandates a continuously appointed agent for every LLC, and the obligation is continuous.

Can I form an LLC in New Hampshire if I live in another state?

Yes. There's no New Hampshire residency requirement to form an LLC here. — and an in-state agent is the one requirement — we supply that role for $99 a year.

Begin Your New Hampshire LLC

You can file your New Hampshire LLC directly with New Hampshire Secretary of State using New Hampshire Secretary of State's filing website. $100 is what New Hampshire Secretary of State charges. A designated agent must still be on file.

Our service plays the designated agent role for your New Hampshire LLC. Pricing: $99 per year — puts our New Hampshire address on the public record, sends scans the day documents arrive, and emails you before every filing deadline.

File Your New Hampshire LLC — $199

Looking for the designated agent on its own? Our agent service on its own is $99 annually.

Need help with New Hampshire LLC formation or the designated agent piece? Browse our FAQ or email us Monday through Friday.