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Written by: Coralee Bechteler
Coralee is a business writer with experience in administrative services, education, and software testing.
Edited by: David Lepeska
David has been writing and learning about business, finance and globalization for a quarter-century, starting with a small New York consulting firm in the 1990s.
Published on August 15, 2022
Updated on October 2, 2023
If you’re starting an LLC in North Carolina, the business entity formation process is one of the first and most important hurdles. This step can be terribly complex and time-consuming, which is why many entrepreneurs turn to professional formation services.
But which are the best LLC formation services in North Carolina? This article takes a closer look, stepping into an entrepreneur’s shoes, to help you choose the service that puts you on the road to success.
Here we summarize our top picks of business formation services in North Carolina.
Best Overall
Best Registered Agent Service
Best Turnaround Time
Best Variety of Legal Services
Best for Variety of Business-Essential Services
ZenBusiness presents various plans tailored for North Carolina LLCs.
The Starter plan is priced at $0 plus state fees, ensuring business name availability within North Carolina and comprehensive formation support.
Their Pro plan, at $199 plus North Carolina state fees, includes all services from the Starter plan, a tailored operating agreement for North Carolina LLCs, an EIN, annual compliance service, and rush filing.
The Premium plan, priced at $349 plus North Carolina state fees, delivers everything from the Pro package along with a business document template library, domain name, website, and email designed to cater to the North Carolina market.
ZenBusiness stands out as our top choice for LLC filing in North Carolina due to its affordable foundational service, which offers LLC filing and a 100% accuracy guarantee starting at just $0 plus state fees.
Moreover, ZenBusiness operates as a Public Benefit Corporation, signifying its commitment as a profit-driven entity with goals mirroring those of nonprofits.
Beyond the realm of North Carolina LLC formation, ZenBusiness extends various auxiliary services, from registered agents to essential business tools. However, entrepreneurs should be mindful that opting for these services might elevate costs.
Over the years, ZenBusiness has consistently received commendations and positive reviews from its North Carolina clientele.
ZenBusiness offers valuable services for budding entrepreneurs. While registered agent services are an add-on, their excellent customer support, user-friendly site, and positive reviews make them a top choice.
Northwest’s offering, priced at $39 plus North Carolina state fees, encompasses business formation tailored for North Carolina LLCs, complimentary registered agent services for a year, a dedicated business address in North Carolina, an operating agreement suited for North Carolina regulations, and several additional perks.
This package represents tremendous value, especially considering that it includes critical components such as registered agent services and a North Carolina-specific operating agreement. However, it’s worth noting that if you opt out of the registered agent services, the total price remains unchanged.
Renowned in North Carolina and beyond, Northwest Registered Agent specializes predominantly in their registered agent services. Their expertise in this domain allows them to provide North Carolina LLCs with highly personalized customer support and swift correspondence notifications.
We recommend Northwest Registered Agent because of their transparent pricing, outstanding customer service, and a commitment to maintaining your privacy. They pride themselves on personalizing their approach to meeting your registered agent needs, which are their specialty.
For only North Carolina state fees, Swyft Filings’ Basic package provides company name verification, articles of organization preparation, and state filing. Clients also get online document access and lifetime support.
For $199 plus North Carolina fees, the Standard package adds a custom operating agreement, an EIN, banking resolution services, and organizational minutes — essential for your first LLC meeting in North Carolina.
Swyft Filings’ Premium package, at $299 plus state fees, offers expedited North Carolina filing, a business document library, compliance alerts, a business domain, and a website. It also includes a North Carolina-specific digital LLC kit with a company “seal”, an ownership ledger, and personalized certificates.
Swyft Filings is well-regarded for its outstanding customer support and positive reviews from North Carolina entrepreneurs.
Swyft Filings offers fast processing but doesn’t include registered agent services in their packages, making additions somewhat costly. However, they provide good value overall and strong customer support.
LegalZoom’s Basic plan for North Carolina LLCs costs state fees only and includes a business name availability search within North Carolina and the business formation service, complemented by full customer support. North Carolina entrepreneurs will also appreciate extras such as a digital welcome packet and a dedicated business website. You can access your North Carolina LLC formation documents online whenever needed.
The Pro plan, priced at $249, builds on the Basic plan by adding an operating agreement, an EIN, a business license guide tailored to North Carolina regulations, and initial phone consultations with specialists.
For those in North Carolina seeking comprehensive assistance, the Premium plan at $299 encompasses everything in the Pro plan, enhanced by unlimited 30-minute attorney consultations and changes to your North Carolina LLC for 30 days. This includes invaluable guidance from a business attorney familiar with North Carolina’s unique business environment.
LegalZoom sets itself apart with its extensive array of additional legal services and documents tailored for the needs of North Carolina businesses.
LegalZoom’s services are easy to use and they offer great customer experience. They offer a wider variety of legal services and have been in business for more than 20 years. Overall, they’re a great one-stop shop for all of your business formation and legal needs.
Tailor Brands offers a Lite plan for North Carolina LLCs that costs $49 plus state fees, ensuring your business formation is correctly filed with North Carolina and ensuring standard state processing times.
The Essential plan, tailored for the needs of a North Carolina LLC, goes further by adding their annual compliance service, an operating agreement specific to North Carolina’s requirements, and expedited processing. This comprehensive service is priced at $199 annually.
For North Carolina entrepreneurs aiming for a robust online presence, the Elite plan, at $249 annually, provides a domain name tailored for the state, eight distinctive logos, a business website builder tailored to North Carolina’s business environment, and several added extras.
Tailor Brands stands out by furnishing North Carolina LLCs with a suite of modern business tools. Their offerings, like the logo maker, website builder, and domain name, are especially advantageous for new businesses starting up in North Carolina.
Tailor Brands’ plans are a decent value, but the main reason that we chose them for the list is the extensive business tools they offer. If you can overcome their aggressive sales tactics, you can access a variety of services to meet all your business needs.
Filenow presents a Starter plan for North Carolina LLCs priced at $49. This encompasses company compliance alerts tailored to North Carolina regulations, a tax consultation, and assistance with a business bank account set up in North Carolina.
Building upon that, their Premium plan for North Carolina LLCs, at a cost of $199, incorporates a free year of registered agent services in North Carolina, an operating agreement tailored to the state’s specifications, an EIN, a banking resolution, business contract templates suited for North Carolina businesses, and an impressive 24-hour processing time.
Filenow stands out in North Carolina with its rapid processing times and a dependable money-back guarantee. Their Premium plan, when seen in the context of the North Carolina business landscape, indeed offers remarkable value.
Filenow’s Premium plan is an exceptional value based on what you get for the price. It’s less expensive than similar plans offered by competitors. They also offer fast turnaround times, and a money back guarantee.
A business formation service handles the business formation process for you, making it nearly seamless while offering additional services that can make life easier for a new business owner. Whether you’re forming a limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation, a business formation service takes care of all the red tape, freeing you up to focus on growing your business.
With so many business formation services to choose from, it can be difficult to decide which is best for you. There are four essential elements that can help you make your decision.
Each service offers various products and services, and their plans are all designed differently. You may need some services but not others, so you need to choose the service that offers everything you need. For example, only some of the providers offer annual report filing.
If it’s important to you to get that task off your plate, you’ll want a service that offers that feature. Another feature you might need is a digital dashboard where you can always access your business formation documents.
You’ll want to choose a service that has everything you need to make starting and running your business as easy as possible.
Of course, you’ll want to get the best value for your money!
Compare the cost of each service for everything you need. The price can really add up when you start adding extras, so be careful not to go too far. You also want to get good value and great customer service, so if you’re considering the cheapest service, check the reviews to see how people feel about it.
Business formation turnaround times vary with each service, so if you’re in a hurry to get your business up and running, you’ll want to look for the quickest service. You don’t want your order to sit in an office too long before your paperwork gets filed with the state. Some services differentiate themselves with fast turnaround times, so if they also offer good value, that might be your best choice.
One good way to learn about the quality of anything you’re buying is to listen to what people are saying about it. When we review services we look at Better Business Bureau and TrustPilot ratings and reviews. It’s wise to look at both positive and negative reviews to find out what people love about the service and about issues customers have encountered.
Remember that fake reviews are common, so you should take some of the reviews with a grain of salt.
As an entrepreneurial advisory site, we take our responsibilities seriously. We understand that countless entrepreneurs, and potential entrepreneurs, rely on our judgments and insights, particularly when it comes to creating their business.
As a result, our writers do their utmost to gain a comprehensive understanding of the services offered and the actual customer experience. In nearly every case, we:
Thanks to this full immersion in the actual customer experience, our reviewers are able to provide the most complete and insightful analysis of various LLC formation services.
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