Start a Free LLC in New Jersey

Per the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, as of September 2026, New Jersey charges $100 to file the Certificate of Formation. After that, the Annual Report costs $75 every year. With LLC Register, formation is included in the $99-a-year New Jersey registered agent service, so year one costs $199.

New Jersey does not publish a processing time. LLCs are filed only through its online Business Formation portal. Expedited filing is available only for over-the-counter or faxed filings: $25 extra for standard expedite, $50 for same-day (fax only), $500 for 2-hour service or $1,000 for 1-hour service. Your LLC exists once the state accepts your filing.

To start an LLC in New Jersey, choose an available name, appoint a New Jersey registered agent, and file the Certificate of Formation with the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services for $100. Then sign an operating agreement, get a free EIN from the IRS, open a business bank account and register for any state taxes. LLC Register files it for you as part of the $99-a-year registered agent service.

Yes. You can file online only, through the state's Business Formation portal at njportal.com; New Jersey does not publish a paper Certificate of Formation form for standard LLC filings. The Certificate of Formation costs $100.

In New Jersey you form an LLC by filing the Certificate of Formation with the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services. Other states call this document the articles of organization or the certificate of formation. The filing fee is $100.

Yes. Expedited filing is available only for over-the-counter or faxed filings: $25 extra for standard expedite, $50 for same-day (fax only), $500 for 2-hour service or $1,000 for 1-hour service. New Jersey does not publish a processing time. LLCs are filed only through its online Business Formation portal.

Use the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services's free online business name search to check whether your LLC name is available. Your New Jersey LLC name must include "limited liability company" or the abbreviation "LLC" or "L.L.C.", and must be distinguishable from other business names on file with the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services.

Your New Jersey LLC name must include "limited liability company" or the abbreviation "LLC" or "L.L.C.", and must be distinguishable from other business names on file with the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services. The rules are set by the New Jersey Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, N.J.S.A. 42:2C.

Yes. You can reserve a name for $50; the reservation lasts 6 months. A reservation is optional; filing the formation document also secures the name.

Yes. Every New Jersey LLC must have a registered agent. Your registered agent needs a physical street address in New Jersey for the registered office; a P.O. box can be listed only alongside a street address, never by itself.

Yes. An individual, including a member or manager, can serve as the LLC's registered agent as long as they have a physical New Jersey address. Your address becomes public record, and someone must be there during business hours to accept legal papers.

Not as your registered agent's address. Your registered agent needs a physical street address in New Jersey for the registered office; a P.O. box can be listed only alongside a street address, never by itself. A PO box can usually serve as a mailing address, but the registered agent needs a physical address in New Jersey.

File the Form L-122, Certificate of Change of Registered Agent/Address with the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services. The fee is $25.

Serving as your own New Jersey registered agent is free if you qualify. Commercial registered agents charge a yearly fee. LLC Register's New Jersey registered agent service is $99 a year and includes LLC formation and annual report filing.

Yes. New Jersey LLCs must file the Annual Report every year. The state fee is $75.

The Annual Report is due by the last day of the calendar month in which your LLC was formed, every year. Your first one is due by the last day of that same anniversary month in the first year after formation. It is filed with the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services.

Per the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, as of September 2026, the Annual Report state fee is $75. It is due by the last day of the calendar month in which your LLC was formed, every year. LLC Register files it for you at no extra service fee while your registered agent service is active.

New Jersey does not publish a fixed late fee, but an LLC that does not file can be administratively revoked by the state. File as soon as possible to keep your LLC in good standing.

New Jersey has no flat franchise tax on LLCs. A multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership with more than two owners pays a $150-per-owner Partnership Filing Fee, capped at $250,000, plus half that amount again as a prepayment toward next year's fee. LLCs with one or two owners are not subject to it.

New Jersey taxes an LLC as a pass-through entity by default, so profits are reported on the members' New Jersey Gross Income Tax returns. A partnership must also withhold and pay New Jersey tax for nonresident partners on their New Jersey-source income. Federally, a single-member LLC is taxed like a sole proprietorship and a multi-member LLC like a partnership, unless it elects to be taxed as a corporation.

If you sell taxable goods or services, register for a Certificate of Authority to collect Sales Tax through the state's NJ-REG business registration. There is no fee to register.

Before you hire, register through NJ-REG for New Jersey income tax withholding with the Division of Taxation and for unemployment and disability insurance with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. You also need an EIN from the IRS before you run payroll.

It depends on your industry and location: New Jersey regulates some professions and activities through state licenses, and many cities and counties require local business licenses. Start with the Business.NJ.gov (New Jersey Business Action Center).

New Jersey does not require an LLC to adopt or file an operating agreement, and the law recognizes one that is written, oral or implied. LLC Register includes an operating agreement with every New Jersey LLC it forms.

You need an EIN if your LLC has employees or more than one member, and most banks ask for one to open a business account. A single-member LLC without employees can use the owner's Social Security number for federal taxes, but an EIN keeps it off business paperwork.

Apply for free on the IRS website once the state has approved your LLC; online applicants receive the EIN immediately. Owners without a Social Security number can apply with Form SS-4 by fax or mail.

Yes. You do not have to live in New Jersey or be a U.S. citizen to form a New Jersey LLC. You do need a registered agent with a physical address in New Jersey. Non-U.S. owners without a Social Security number apply for an EIN with IRS Form SS-4.

Yes. New Jersey allows an LLC with a single owner. By default the IRS taxes a single-member LLC like a sole proprietorship, reported on the owner's personal return.

No. New Jersey's LLC Act does not provide for series LLCs.

Yes. Licensed professionals can form a professional limited liability company under the LLC Act's professional-company provisions (N.J.S.A. 42:2C-95 et seq.).

No. New Jersey does not require newspaper publication to form an LLC.

Order a Standing Certificate (short form) from the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services for $50. Banks, lenders and other states often ask for one as proof your LLC is current with the state.

An LLC formed in another state registers to do business in New Jersey by filing the Certificate of Registration for a foreign LLC with the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services. The fee is $100, and the LLC needs a New Jersey registered agent. Cancelling a foreign LLC's New Jersey registration costs $125, more than the $100 domestic cancellation fee.

File the Certificate of Amendment with the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services for $100. Amend when you change your LLC's name or other information in the formation document.

File the Certificate of Cancellation (domestic LLC) with the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services for $100. Before you file, wind up the business: pay debts, close tax accounts and distribute what is left to the members.

Register an LLC Alternate Name with the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services for $50 before trading under any name other than your LLC's legal name; New Jersey has no separate county DBA filing for LLCs. A DBA lets your LLC trade under another name without forming a new company.

Yes. An eligible LLC can elect S corporation tax status by filing IRS Form 2553. The election can reduce self-employment tax once profits are high enough to pay yourself a reasonable salary. New Jersey taxes an LLC as a pass-through entity by default, so profits are reported on the members' New Jersey Gross Income Tax returns. A partnership must also withhold and pay New Jersey tax for nonresident partners on their New Jersey-source income.

An LLC separates your personal assets from business debts and lawsuits, keeps pass-through taxation, and needs less paperwork than a corporation. In New Jersey it costs $100 to form and the Annual Report is $75 every year.

A sole proprietorship costs nothing to start, but you are personally liable for the business's debts. A New Jersey LLC costs $100 to form and protects your personal assets, with the same pass-through taxes by default.

Usually not if your business operates in New Jersey. An out-of-state LLC doing business here must also register as a foreign LLC in New Jersey for $100 and keep a New Jersey registered agent, so you pay two states' fees.

No. Formation is included in the $99-a-year New Jersey registered agent service. The state still charges its $100 filing fee, which we pass through at cost.

For $99 a year plus the $100 state fee: New Jersey LLC formation in year one, a New Jersey registered agent, an operating agreement, and filing of your Annual Report every year. Renewal is $99 a year. State fees are passed through at cost.

No. FinCEN has exempted companies created in the United States from beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting. Only foreign companies registered to do business in a U.S. state still have to report.

The New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, Business Formation and Records, handles LLC formations, amendments and annual filings. Its office is at PO Box 628, Trenton, NJ 08625-0628.

Yes, you should. Mixing business and personal money can weaken the liability protection your LLC gives you. Banks usually ask for your filed Certificate of Formation, your EIN and your operating agreement.