Business Registrations

Business structures range from informal sole proprietorships to complex corporations with publicly traded stock. This site provides a brief overview of the most prevalent structures administered by the Secretary of State to prepare you to work with an attorney or other business advisor to determine which structure is best suited for your business.

• Business Records Search
• FAQs
• How to Start a New Business in North Dakota
• For answers to questions we can't answer, call the Business Hotline!
• Publication: Business Entity Descriptions (70kb pdf)
• Trade Name
• Trademark / Service Mark
• Copyright
• Patent

The business structures previewed in this site include:

• Sole Proprietorship
• General Partnership
• Limited Partnership
• Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
• Limited Liability Limited Partnership (LLLP)
• Professional Limited Liability Partnership (PLLP)
• Limited Liability Companies
  • Limited Liability Companies (LLC)
  • Farm Limited Liability Companies
  • Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC)
• Corporations
  • General Business Corporations
  • Farm Corporations
  • Professional Corporations
  • Publicly Traded Corporations
• Cooperative Associations

Each structure has certain advantages and disadvantages depending on the size and type of business. The Secretary of State’s staff cannot provide legal advice regarding advantages of the various business structures, filings, transactions, taxes, financing, indemnification, shares, stock certificates, preparation of minutes or bylaws, or other matters of internal business management. Procedural information and registration forms are available from this website or the Secretary of State’s office.