New Jersey LLC at a glance
A New Jersey LLC costs $100 to form and $75 a year to keep, and the whole process runs online through the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services. The extra step compared with many states is the NJ-REG tax and employer registration after formation.
| Item | New Jersey rule |
|---|---|
| Formation document | Certificate of Formation |
| State filing fee | $100 |
| Where to file | DORES online Business Formation service (card or eCheck) |
| Tax registration | Form NJ-REG after formation, then a Business Registration Certificate |
| Annual report | $75 every year, filed online |
| Registered agent | Required: a New Jersey resident or an entity authorized to do business in New Jersey |
| Expedite | Over the counter only: $25 per filing, $50 same day, $500 for 2 hours, $1,000 for 1 hour |
| Name ending | Limited liability company, L.L.C. or LLC |
The fees come from the DORES registry fee schedule, last updated 1 July 2026, which lists $100 for a Certificate of Formation and $75 for the annual report. Many older guides still say $125 for formation; the current schedule and the DORES getting registered page both say $100. To compare the running cost with other states, use our LLC state fee comparison tool.
How to start an LLC in New Jersey
You start a New Jersey LLC by checking the name, appointing a registered agent, filing the Certificate of Formation online for $100, and then filing Form NJ-REG. The DORES getting registered page sets out the same order.
- Check the name. Under N.J.S.A. 42:2C-8, the name must contain "limited liability company", "L.L.C." or "LLC" ("Limited" can be "Ltd." and "Company" can be "Co."), and must be distinguishable from other entities and reserved names on the Division’s records. Use the business name search. A name reservation costs $50.
- Appoint a registered agent. The LLC needs a New Jersey office and an agent for service of process (see the registered agent section below). Our registered agent service can act for you.
- File the Certificate of Formation. File through the online Business Formation service and pay $100 by card or eCheck. Our articles of organization guide explains the fields that formation documents usually ask for.
- Sign an operating agreement. It is not filed with the state, but it records ownership, voting and exit rules, and banks often ask for it.
- Get an EIN. DORES says every LLC must obtain an EIN from the IRS. It is free. With an SSN or ITIN you can apply online; without one you apply by fax, mail or phone, as the IRS EIN page explains. Our EIN application service handles the no-SSN route.
- File Form NJ-REG. After the Certificate of Formation, DORES asks you to file the tax and employer registration (NJ-REG). Once both filings are complete you can get a Business Registration Certificate, which is needed for public contracting and state grants and tax credits.
- Set up annual report reminders. The Division’s annual report service offers free text or email reminders when a report is due, and our compliance deadline calendar tracks it too.
Want our filing team to handle it? We check the name, arrange the agent, prepare and submit the Certificate of Formation, help with NJ-REG, and track everything in your portal. The general process for any state is in our how to start an LLC guide.
New Jersey LLC cost
A New Jersey LLC costs $100 in state fees to form and $75 a year after that for the annual report. Paying online adds a small service charge.
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Formation | $100 | At formation |
| Annual report | $75 | Every year |
| LLC name reservation (optional) | $50 | Before filing |
| Change of registered office or agent | $25 | When it changes |
| Amendment | $100 | If you change the certificate |
| Short form standing certificate | $50 | When requested |
| Reinstatement | $75 plus current and missed annual reports | If the LLC lapses |
| Certificate of Cancellation | $100 | When closing |
The arithmetic for a small LLC with no extras: $100 in the first year and $75 for each annual report after that, so the formation plus the first two annual reports come to $100 + $75 + $75 = $250. The DORES annual reports FAQ says card payments add $3 and eChecks add $0.50 as service charges. Over-the-counter expedite fees ($25 per filing up to $1,000 for 1-hour service) only apply if you file in person.
Our package price, which includes the registered agent, is on our pricing page with the state fee passed through at cost.
New Jersey LLC annual report
Every New Jersey LLC files an annual report with DORES each year and pays $75. N.J.S.A. 42:2C-26 requires the report and says it gives the LLC’s name and address, the registered agent’s name and address, and the names and addresses of the managing members or managers.
- How to file: online through the DORES annual reports service, which also lets you update the registered agent.
- When: once a year. The service shows when your report is due and offers free text or email reminders, so sign up when the LLC is formed.
- If you miss two years: under 42:2C-26 and 42:2C-53, a domestic LLC that does not file annual reports for two consecutive years is placed on the inactive list after a notice and a 60-day chance to fix it. It still exists but can only wind up, and its name becomes available to others.
- Getting back: reinstatement costs the $75 reinstatement fee plus the current and every missed annual report fee. DORES says LLCs on the inactive list need a tax clearance certificate if they reinstate more than two years after being revoked, and its reinstatement page says the online system tells you whether one is required.
Our LLC annual report service files the report and sends reminders.
New Jersey registered agent
Every New Jersey LLC must keep an office in the state and an agent for service of process. N.J.S.A. 42:2C-14 says the agent must be an individual who is a resident of New Jersey or another person with authority to transact business in New Jersey. The office does not need to be a place where the LLC does business.
The agent receives lawsuits and official notices, and the agent’s name and address are on the public record and in every annual report. A member who lives in New Jersey can serve. Founders who live elsewhere, or who want their home address off the record, usually use a commercial agent. Changing the registered office or agent costs $25 and can be done through the annual reports service. Our registered agent service provides a New Jersey agent.
New Jersey LLC registration: NJ-REG and the Business Registration Certificate
Forming the LLC and registering it for taxes are two separate New Jersey filings. The Certificate of Formation creates the LLC; Form NJ-REG registers it with the state for taxes and as an employer. DORES says that once both are done you can get a Business Registration Certificate (BRC), which is required for public contracting and when applying for state grants and tax credits. If you plan to sell to New Jersey public bodies, finish NJ-REG early.
State taxes that affect a New Jersey LLC
New Jersey has no fixed yearly tax on a pass-through LLC at the formation office level; the recurring DORES cost is the $75 annual report. Sales tax and income tax depend on what the LLC does.
- Sales and use tax for remote sellers: the Division of Taxation’s remote seller page says a seller must register and collect once its gross revenue from taxable sales delivered into New Jersey exceeds $100,000, or it makes 200 or more separate taxable sales into the state, in the current or prior calendar year. Our sales tax registration service can file the application.
- Income tax: profit of a pass-through LLC flows to the owners, and New Jersey-source income can be taxed in New Jersey even for owners who live elsewhere. Multi-member LLCs taxed as partnerships have their own New Jersey filing duties, so ask a licensed tax professional about your facts.
- Employer accounts: hiring in New Jersey is set up through NJ-REG.
Forming a New Jersey LLC as a non-resident
You do not have to live in New Jersey or the US to form a New Jersey LLC. The requirement is a New Jersey office and a registered agent.
New Jersey makes sense if you will do business there. For a founder outside the US with no New Jersey customers, staff or property, Wyoming or New Mexico are the usual picks, and New Mexico has no annual report for LLCs at all. Our Wyoming vs Delaware vs New Mexico LLC comparison and best state for an LLC guide set out the numbers. An LLC formed elsewhere that does business in New Jersey registers here as a foreign LLC and files New Jersey annual reports too.
- Form 5472: a single-member LLC wholly owned by a foreign person files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, even with no income. The penalty for not filing is $25,000. See our Form 5472 guide.
- BOI: US-formed LLCs, including those owned by non-US persons, no longer file beneficial ownership reports with FinCEN under the final rule published 14 August 2026.
- Address: the registered office is for legal papers. Banks usually want a separate business address, which our US business address service provides.
How to dissolve an LLC in New Jersey
To dissolve an LLC in New Jersey you file a Certificate of Cancellation through the DORES online service, and the fee is $100. The DORES closing a business page says a domestic LLC dissolves or terminates online under N.J.S.A. 42:2C and does not need a tax clearance certificate.
- Wind up the business. Settle debts, collect what is owed and distribute what is left to members.
- File final tax returns with the IRS and New Jersey, and close any sales tax and payroll accounts opened through NJ-REG.
- File the Certificate of Cancellation online and pay $100.
- Keep the records and the filed certificate with the LLC’s tax records.
Do not simply stop filing. A lapsed LLC lands on the inactive list after two missed reports, and reinstating it later costs every missed report plus the reinstatement fee. Our LLC dissolution service handles the state filing and the final federal steps.
Doing it yourself vs using Borderless Filings
You can form a New Jersey LLC yourself online for $100, file NJ-REG, and file the $75 annual report each year. The online services are clear.
What our service adds is preparation and checking before filing (name rules, agent, addresses), the registered agent, submission by our filing team, help with NJ-REG, tracking and secure document storage in your portal, the EIN without an SSN for non-residents, and annual report reminders. You can start your order once you have a name. Nearby options are on our New York LLC, Pennsylvania LLC and Delaware LLC pages, and every state is on our US LLC states page.
Sources
- New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services: Registry fee schedules
- New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services: Getting registered
- New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services: Online Business Formation service
- New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services: Annual reports service
- New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services: Annual reports FAQ
- New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services: Reinstatement
- New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services: Closing a business
- New Jersey Statutes 42:2C-8: Name
- New Jersey Statutes 42:2C-14: Office and agent
- New Jersey Statutes 42:2C-26: Annual report
- New Jersey Statutes 42:2C-53: Administrative action
- New Jersey Division of Taxation: Remote sellers
- IRS: Get an employer identification number
- IRS: Instructions for Form 5472
- FinCEN: Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting
Fees, deadlines and rules on this page were last checked on 27 September 2026.