Learn the steps to form an LLC in New Jersey – from choosing your name to filing your Certificate of Formation. $1 + $100 state fee. Start today.
Start your U.S. business journey today. Form your company with confidence and let Brio handle the paperwork.
Filing fee: $100 (Certificate of Formation) — reduced from $125 on July 1, 2026; many guides still show the old price
Processing time: About 1 business day online; 2-3 weeks by mail
State agency: NJ Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services (njportal.com business formation portal)
Annual report due: Last day of your LLC’s anniversary month each year — $75. Two consecutive missed years and the charter is revoked.
State tax rate: Graduated 1.4-10.75% income tax on pass-through income and 6.625% statewide sales tax; no franchise tax, but every LLC must also complete the separate NJ-REG tax registration within 60 days
Start your U.S. business journey today. Form your company with confidence and let Brio handle the paperwork.
Forming an LLC in New Jersey takes 5 steps plus one the state adds: choose and check your business name, appoint a Registered Agent with a physical New Jersey address, file a Certificate of Formation online, register for tax with Form NJ-REG within 60 days, draft an operating agreement, and get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. The state filing fee is $100.
If your business operates in New Jersey, a New Jersey LLC gives you personal liability protection and pass-through taxation without the corporate formalities of a corporation — and forming just got cheaper: the state cut the filing fee from $125 to $100 in July 2026. There’s no franchise tax or entity-level tax on a standard LLC; profits simply pass through to your personal return at New Jersey’s graduated rates.
The thing to understand going in is that New Jersey registration is a two-step process: the Certificate of Formation creates the company, but every LLC must also file Form NJ-REG with the state within 60 days to register for taxes and receive its Business Registration Certificate. It’s free and can be done in the same online session — but skipping it is the single most common New Jersey compliance mistake. Multi-member LLCs should also know about the partnership filing fee: $150 per member annually, but only once the LLC has more than two members and New Jersey income.
Unlike some states, New Jersey doesn’t require you to reserve your name before filing — you simply claim it when you file your Certificate of Formation. If you’re not ready to file yet, you can optionally reserve a name for $50, which holds it for 120 days (renewable once for another $50).
Your LLC name must be distinguishable from other registered businesses in New Jersey and must include “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” or “L.L.C.” If you plan to operate under a different trade name, New Jersey requires registering it as an alternate name for $50. Check the state’s business name search before you file to avoid a rejection.
Every New Jersey LLC must have a registered agent — a person or entity designated to receive legal notices and government documents on behalf of the business. The agent must have a physical street address in New Jersey (a P.O. box doesn’t count) and be available during regular business hours. The LLC can’t serve as its own agent, though a member who’s a New Jersey resident can.
You can serve as your own registered agent if you have a physical New Jersey address and can be there during business hours. Many business owners use a professional registered agent service instead — it keeps your personal address off public records and ensures someone is always available to receive documents.
The Certificate of Formation is created through New Jersey’s Public Records Filing for a New Business Entity, submitted online through the state’s business formation portal. The fee is $100 (down from $125 as of July 1, 2026), and online filings are typically approved in about a business day. Paper filing exists but takes 2-3 weeks; expedited options ($25 to $1,000) apply only to in-person and fax filings, which few people need when online is already this fast.
The filing must include your LLC’s name, its purpose and duration, your registered agent’s name and New Jersey street address, and the members’ or managers’ information. Then comes step two: file Form NJ-REG within 60 days (free, online) to register with the Division of Taxation — that’s what produces your Business Registration Certificate, which you’ll need for banking, public contracts, and staying compliant.
New Jersey doesn’t require you to file an operating agreement with the state, but you should have one. It’s the internal document that defines how your LLC is managed — who owns what, how profits are distributed, and how decisions get made. Without one, the default rules of New Jersey’s Revised Uniform LLC Act fill in the gaps, which may not reflect what you actually want.
Your operating agreement should specify whether the LLC is member-managed or manager-managed. In a member-managed LLC, all owners share day-to-day authority. In a manager-managed LLC, a designated manager handles operations while other members retain economic rights. A written agreement is the version that holds up when disputes arise.
An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a 9-digit federal tax ID issued by the IRS. Your New Jersey LLC needs one to open a business bank account, hire employees, and file federal taxes. Applying online at irs.gov is free and issues your EIN immediately after you complete the application.
To use the IRS online application, the responsible party must have a valid Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), and the business must have its principal place of business in the United States. The IRS does not charge a fee for issuing an EIN.
New Jersey LLCs file one report with the Division of Revenue: a $75 annual report due by the last day of the LLC’s anniversary month each year, filed online. There’s no per-year late fee, but let two consecutive years lapse and the charter is administratively revoked — coming back requires the $75 reinstatement fee, every missed report, and a $20 tax clearance certificate from the Division of Taxation.
New Jersey has no general state business license — the Business Registration Certificate from NJ-REG is a tax registration, not a license — though regulated occupations need their own licenses. If you sell taxable goods or services you’ll collect the 6.625% statewide sales tax (no local add-ons, and Urban Enterprise Zones charge half rate). And multi-member LLCs with more than two members and New Jersey income owe the $150-per-member annual partnership fee with their NJ-1065 — including a 50% prepayment toward the following year, which regularly ambushes owners at tax time.
The required New Jersey state fee is $100 to file the Certificate of Formation — reduced from $125 on July 1, 2026, so ignore older guides quoting the higher figure. The NJ-REG tax registration that must follow within 60 days is free. The annual report is $75, and reserving your name before filing is optional at $50. There’s no additional state fee to get your EIN; the IRS issues EINs for free.
Yes. New Jersey allows a single person to form and own an LLC – this is called a single-member LLC. You can complete the entire process yourself online — the formation filing and the NJ-REG tax registration can be done in one sitting through the state portal, no attorney needed. You’ll still need a registered agent with a physical New Jersey address, but that can be yourself if you qualify.
No. New Jersey charges a $100 Certificate of Formation fee – that’s a required state fee you can’t avoid. What you can avoid is paying extra for formation help. We handle your New Jersey LLC filing for $1; you only pay the required state fees.
Yes. Every New Jersey LLC files a $75 annual report online, due by the last day of its anniversary month each year — the month the LLC was formed, which makes the deadline easy to lose track of. There’s no late fee, but after two consecutive unfiled years the state revokes the charter. Reinstatement means paying the $75 fee, filing every missed $75 report, and obtaining a $20 tax clearance certificate from the Division of Taxation, which takes time — filing on time is far cheaper.
Yes, every New Jersey LLC is required to have a registered agent. A registered agent is a person or entity that receives legal notices and official government documents on behalf of your LLC. The agent must have a physical street address in New Jersey — not a P.O. box — and be available during regular business hours. You can serve as your own registered agent or use a professional service; changing agents later costs $25.
The defining New Jersey mistake is stopping after the Certificate of Formation and never filing NJ-REG — the mandatory free tax registration due within 60 days — which leaves the LLC without its Business Registration Certificate and out of compliance with the Division of Taxation. Close behind: the $150-per-member partnership fee surprising LLCs once they add a third member, missing the anniversary-month annual report until the charter is revoked two years later, and budgeting from stale information — the filing fee dropped to $100 in July 2026 and the annual report has been $75 (not $50) since 2019.
Online filings are typically approved in about 1 business day — sometimes faster. Mail takes 2-3 weeks. New Jersey’s expedited tiers (from $25 over-the-counter to $1,000 for one-hour service) apply only to in-person and fax filings, so for nearly everyone the answer is simply: file online and you’ll have your LLC within a day or so.
Thinking about another state? Compare Wyoming, Delaware, Texas and Florida — or browse all 50 state guides.
From formation to compliance, we handle the details so you can focus on what you do best.
