The first step in forming a 501(c)(3) charity in North Carolina is to file your Articles of Incorporation. This article will help you through the 11 steps necessary to submit the Articles of Incorporation in North Carolina and formally create a charity.

You must submit the Articles of Incorporation – Nonprofit Company in North Carolina to form a domestic nonprofit corporation. This tutorial will walk you through each step of completing this paperwork and getting started on the path to founding a charity in North Carolina.

Step 1: Enter the Name of Your Nonprofit

Step 2: Select Your Corporation Type

The first step in completing your North Carolina Articles of Incorporation is to specify the name of your nonprofit company. If you haven’t yet decided on a name for your charity, these are the criteria for naming a nonprofit in North Carolina:

You may register for a trademark for your organisation after you have confirmed that no one else has previously trademarked your selected name.

If your nonprofit company is a benevolent or religious organisation, tick the box in article two. If not, leave it empty.

In North Carolina, the Articles of Incorporation must be filed with a registered agent. This position may be filled by either a person or a company having a physical address in North Carolina. A registered agent’s duties include receiving and sending service of process paperwork for the company as well as acting as the entity’s point of contact.

Articles three and four have the following requirements:

Any individual who takes part in the completion and filing of the Articles of Incorporation is considered an incorporator. In article five, include the name and address of each incorporator.

- Step 1 of 3

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Check the relevant check in item six to indicate whether or not your organisation will have members.

You must include certain extra declarations with your Articles of Incorporation in order for your organisation to qualify for 501(c)(3) status. In North Carolina, you may do so by generating and sending an attachment containing the information shown below. See the state’s 501(c)(3) Attachment – General Information form for further information.

Dissolution assets must only be distributed for authorised, tax-exempt uses. Refer to the sixth section of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS’) proposed wording for corporations and organisations for further information on the requirements of dissolution and 501(c)(3) status.

In this area, provide the street location and phone number of your nonprofit corporation’s main office. If your organisation has a separate postal address, provide that as well.

While you are not required to complete this part in order to submit your Articles of Incorporation, designating your corporation’s officers here may assist the organisation comply with federal banking requirements.

This information is also not necessary for the filing of your formation paperwork. The Secretary of State will give you updates on your file if you provide a business email address.

Choose whether you want your filing to take effect immediately or at a later date.

Please keep in mind that your prospective effective date must be within 90 days of filing.

You may submit your North Carolina Articles of Incorporation online, via mail, or in person. You may either submit a PDF form to the North Carolina Secretary of State’s website for online filings, or you can utilise their “creations wizard” to complete everything online.