How to form a North Dakota PLLC

How do you form a North Dakota PLLC?

1. 1

   Get the licensing board's certificate

   When the articles of organization are filed, the PLLC must also file a certificate from the profession's regulating board that each governor and member who will practise in North Dakota is licensed. The Secretary of State accepts a Certificate of Professional License (SFN 13610) completed by the board, or the board's own certification.

   Source: N.D.C.C. § 10-31-02.1(2) · Secretary of State: Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC) · SFN 13610, Certificate of Professional License

2. 2

   Choose a name with a permitted ending

   The name must contain "professional limited liability company" or "limited liability company", or the abbreviations P.L.C., PLC, P.L.L.C., PLLC, L.L.C. or LLC. Any other word or abbreviation indicating a corporation, limited liability company or limited liability partnership is prohibited.

   Source: N.D.C.C. § 10-31-05(1)(b), (2)

3. 3

   File the articles of organization in FirstStop

   File the articles of organization with the Secretary of State through the FirstStop Portal and pay the filing fee set by the state. Besides the ordinary LLC content, the articles must state the profession to be practised and the name and residence address of each original member who will practise in North Dakota and of each minority owner.

   Have LLCity prepare and file it ›

   Source: N.D.C.C. § 10-31-02.1(1) · Secretary of State: Register a Business (Step 4: File in FirstStop)

4. 4

   Appoint a North Dakota registered agent

   Every LLC must have a registered office and a registered agent in the manner prescribed by chapter 10-01.1. The agent must have a physical North Dakota address, the business may not serve as its own agent, and the agent's approval must be obtained before naming them.

   What North Dakota requires of your agent, and how we serve as it ›

   Source: N.D.C.C. § 10-32.1-16 · Secretary of State: Registered Agents

5. 5

   Set out the members' operating agreement

   North Dakota defines the operating agreement as the agreement of all the members, including a sole member, whether oral, in a record, implied, or any combination of these.

   Source: N.D.C.C. § 10-32.1-02(36)

6. 6

   File the annual report and send a copy to the board

   Deliver the annual report to the Secretary of State before November 16 each year (the office lists November 15), starting the year after formation. It must state that all governors and voting members practising in North Dakota are licensed, a copy goes to the licensing board at the same time, and from January 1, 2027 an SFN 13610 must accompany it.

   Source: N.D.C.C. § 10-31-13(2) · N.D.C.C. § 10-32.1-89(3) · Secretary of State: PLLC annual report requirements

Steps checked against the sources linked under each one on 12 November 2026.

The North Dakota professional LLC

Does a licensing board have to approve the filing?

Yes. When the articles of organization are filed, the PLLC must also file a certificate from the regulating board that each governor and member who will practise in North Dakota is licensed (N.D.C.C. § 10-31-02.1(2)); the Secretary of State accepts a Certificate of Professional License (SFN 13610) completed by the board, or the board's own certification. Each annual report must state that the practising governors and voting members are licensed, and a copy must be filed with the licensing board at the same time (§ 10-31-13(2)). Starting January 1, 2027 an SFN 13610 completed by the board must also accompany the annual report.

Which occupations does North Dakota say must use a PLLC?

A general two-part test, not a list. N.D.C.C. § 10-31-01(11): a professional service is a personal service to the public which requires a licence as a condition precedent to rendering it and which requires, as a condition of licensure, an undergraduate or advanced college degree in the specific field. The Secretary of State gives dentists, veterinarians, architects and accountants as examples. Under § 10-31-04(1) an organisation renders one specific type of professional service and ancillary services, or two or more services specifically authorised to be practised in combination under the licensing laws (the office cites architects/landscape architects with engineers/land surveyors, and physical with occupational therapists).

North Dakota also offers a corporation under a professional statute

A practice choosing between the two forms is choosing between these rules and the ones above.

Does the agent requirement differ from an ordinary North Dakota LLC’s?

No. North Dakota sets no separate agent requirement for a professional entity — it is the same requirement an ordinary North Dakota LLC files under.

What else North Dakota requires

North Dakota runs one Professional Organizations Act for the professional corporation, the professional limited liability company and the professional limited liability partnership, all called 'professional organizations'. The office says a PLLC is created and otherwise operates in the same manner as a business LLC apart from the licensure documentation, so the registered-agent rule is the ordinary one (N.D.C.C. § 10-32.1-16, ch. 10-01.1). Members are limited to individuals licensed in North Dakota for the same service, nonlicensed employees under § 10-31-07.2, and expressly authorised minority owners (§ 10-31-01(8)); the office adds that an individual may not at the same time be an executive or owner of more than one professional organisation rendering the same service. The office lists the PLLC annual report deadline as November 15 (statute: before November 16) and the professional corporation's as August 1 (domestic) and May 15 (foreign). An out-of-state PLLC must provide certification from the North Dakota licensing board when it registers.