The cost to start a nonprofit in every state

What starting a nonprofit costs, state by state

Three government fees make up almost all of it: incorporating with your state, registering with the state before you ask the public for money, and applying to the IRS for 501(c)(3) status. Your EIN is free. Everything below is a government fee; none of it goes to Ember.

First-year total is the state's formation fee, the lowest charitable registration fee a new small nonprofit pays, and the $275 IRS fee for Form 1023-EZ. Filing the full Form 1023 ($600) adds $325. Annual reports usually fall due in year two, so they are shown but not added. Every figure comes from the state's own site: 41 states read on 24 September 2026, the other 9 in August or on 1 September 2026; the CSV gives each state's date. Click a column heading to sort. Download the table as a CSV, with sources.

The cheapest and most expensive states

Ranked by first-year total with Form 1023-EZ.

States with no charitable registration

Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Wyoming have no general charitable registration for nonprofits. You still incorporate there and file with the IRS, and a few of these ask for registration only if you hire a professional fundraiser.

What the table leaves out

Only required government fees are counted. Optional spending is not: an attorney or a formation service, expedited processing, a registered agent service if you use one, and newspaper notices in the few states that require them. Registering to fundraise in other states, if you ask for money across state lines, is also extra. Annual report fees are shown for planning but not added, because most fall due in the second year.

Notes, state by state

The exemptions, tiers and first-year filings the table cannot show.

• Alabama. $200 articles plus a required $25 name reservation. Charitable registration with the Attorney General is $25 a year, and organizations that receive under $25,000 a year are exempt until they cross it. No state annual report for nonprofits.
• Alaska. $50 online or on paper; a free initial report may be due within six months. Charity registration with the Department of Law is $40 a year; groups with no paid staff or board that expect to raise no more than $5,000 a year are exempt.
• Arizona. General charitable registration was repealed in 2013. Depending on the county, the state may ask you to publish your articles in a newspaper within 60 days, at the newspaper's price.
• Arkansas. $45 online, $50 on paper. Charitable registration with the Secretary of State is free; all-volunteer charities under $25,000 file a free exemption form (EX-01) instead. The annual report is free.
• California. $30 articles plus the $20 Statement of Information, due within 90 days of incorporating. Register with the Attorney General's Registry of Charities (Form CT-1, $50) within 30 days of first receiving money; renewals are tiered by revenue from $25.
• Colorado. Charitable registration is $10, and organizations under $25,000 in gross revenue (government grants excluded) are exempt. The periodic report fee rose to $25 in July 2024.
• Connecticut. $50 certificate of incorporation plus the required $50 Organization and First Report. Public charity registration is $50 a year; organizations normally receiving under $50,000 that pay no one to fundraise can claim an exemption instead.
• Delaware. $109 for a one-page certificate since 1 August 2026 (an older copy of the form still says $89), plus $9 for each extra page, and a 501(c)(3) certificate usually runs two pages or more. You need a registered agent in Delaware. No charitable registration.
• Florida. $35 filing plus $35 registered agent designation. Registration with the Department of Agriculture starts at $10; since July 2024, all-volunteer organizations under $50,000 file a free small-charity form instead.
• Georgia. $100 articles plus the $30 annual registration, first due within 90 days of incorporating. Georgia also requires a notice of intent to incorporate in a newspaper, about $40 paid to the paper. Charitable registration (Form C-100) is $35.
• Hawaii. $25 articles, and the state may add a $1 archives fee. The state's preprinted form lacks the 501(c)(3) purpose and dissolution clauses, so draft your own. Registering with the Attorney General is free; the yearly fee starts at $25,000 in revenue, and smaller organizations can apply for an exemption.
• Idaho. $30 online, $50 on paper. No charitable registration, though a charity selling by unsolicited phone calls registers as a telephone solicitor. The annual report is free.
• Illinois. Registration with the Attorney General's Charitable Trust Bureau (Form CO-1) is $15 and covers both charity laws, with a $15 annual report.
• Indiana. $50 by paper. No charitable registration for charities themselves; only paid fundraisers register. Indiana's Department of Revenue also wants Form NP-20A within 120 days of forming.
• Iowa. Iowa has no fill-in form: you draft articles that meet state law and upload them online. Only professional fundraisers register; a charity that does not use one does not.
• Kansas. Charity registration moved to the Attorney General in 2021: $25 a year, with an exemption for all-volunteer groups raising no more than $10,000, or from no more than 100 people. The information report is now every two years, at $80.
• Kentucky. Charitable registration with the Attorney General is free: you file a copy of your latest Form 990 each year you solicit.
• Louisiana. $95 articles and a $10 annual report from 1 October 2026 ($75 and $5 before then). No general charitable registration; a charity registers only if it uses a professional solicitor.
• Maine. Charitable solicitation is licensed by the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation: $20 a year, with an exemption up to $35,000 or 35 contributors a year if no one is paid to solicit.
• Maryland. $100 filing, $20 organization fee and a $50 fee for corporations seeking 501(c)(3) status. Charitable registration is banded by contributions; under $25,000 you file a free exempt notice each year.
• Massachusetts. $35 by mail, $41 online. Registration with the Attorney General's Non-Profit/Public Charities Division is $100 with no small-organization exemption, and the annual Form PC starts at $35.
• Michigan. Charitable registration (Form CTS-01) is free, and all-volunteer groups raising under $25,000 a year are exempt.
• Minnesota. $70 by mail, $90 online or in person. Charity registration ($25) is required only above $25,000 in contributions, or if anyone is paid to do the work or raise the money. The yearly state renewal is free, but missing it dissolves the corporation.
• Mississippi. Charity registration is $50 a year. All-volunteer groups under $25,000 can claim an exemption, but the notice of exemption also costs $50, so the lowest cost is $50 either way. The yearly nonprofit report, required since 2025, is free.
• Missouri. Organizations recognized under 501(c)(3) are exempt from charitable registration. The annual registration report is $10 online, $15 on paper.
• Montana. Montana has no charitable registration program listed by its Justice Department or Secretary of State. The Secretary of State has waived the on-time annual report fee through 2027.
• Nebraska. $25 articles plus a $25 proof-of-publication filing online ($30 each on paper): Nebraska requires the notice of incorporation to run in a local newspaper for three weeks, at the paper's price. No charitable registration.
• Nevada. $50 articles plus the required $50 initial list of officers (fees revised 1 July 2026). The charitable solicitation registration statement is free but must be filed with the initial and each annual list before you solicit.
• New Hampshire. $25 articles, plus $2 online, and a copy filed with your town or city clerk. Every New Hampshire charity registers with the Attorney General's Charitable Trusts Unit for $25, with no small-organization exemption.
• New Jersey. Charitable registration is $30 for organizations up to $25,000 (short form); groups under $10,000 run entirely by volunteers are exempt.
• New Mexico. $25 articles plus the $10 first annual report, due within 30 days of incorporating. Registration with the Department of Justice is free and required before you solicit.
• New York. Registration with the Attorney General (Form CHAR410) is $25 if you solicit; organizations under $25,000 in contributions with no professional fundraiser are exempt from the solicitation registration. No state biennial statement for not-for-profits.
• North Carolina. A charitable solicitation license is tiered from $0 up to $200 a year; organizations taking in under $50,000 that pay no one to run or fundraise for them need none. No annual report for nonprofit corporations.
• North Dakota. Register the nonprofit first, then the charitable organization registration ($25) must be approved before you solicit. A registered charity files two reports a year: the nonprofit report (February 1, $10) and the charitable report (September 1, $10).
• Ohio. Attorney General registration is tiered: $0 under $5,000, then $50, $100 and $200. No annual report, but a $25 Statement of Continued Existence is due every five years, and missing it cancels the articles.
• Oklahoma. Charitable registration with the Secretary of State is $65, reduced to $15 for organizations that raise under $10,000, renewed yearly. Online filings carry a 4% card surcharge.
• Oregon. Registration with the Department of Justice (Form RF-C) is free and required before you solicit, but its annual report (Form CT-12) costs at least $20.
• Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania requires notice of incorporation in two newspapers, roughly $50 to $300 paid to the papers. Charitable registration starts at $15, and organizations receiving $25,000 or less that pay no one to solicit are excluded until they cross it.
• Rhode Island. At least three directors required. Charitable registration with the Department of Business Regulation is $90 a year, required only if you raise more than $25,000 or use a professional fundraiser.
• South Carolina. Charitable registration is $50 a year; organizations under $20,000 with no professional solicitor apply for a free exemption instead, every year. No Secretary of State annual report for nonprofits.
• South Dakota. No charitable registration. The 2025 annual report fee increase does not apply to nonprofits, so the report stays $10.
• Tennessee. Charitable registration is $50; organizations receiving under $50,000 from the public qualify for an exemption with no fee.
• Texas. No general charitable registration. The state asks for a periodic report (Form 802, $5) no more than once every four years.
• Utah. Charitable registration was repealed on 1 May 2024; the annual renewal now asks for your latest Form 990 instead. Do not pay the old $75 permit still shown on the legacy portal.
• Vermont. No charitable registration. The biennial report is free unless you paid an officer, director or employee the year before, when it is $35.
• Virginia. $25 filing fee plus $50 charter fee. Registration with the Department of Agriculture is $100; all-volunteer groups raising $5,000 or less are exempt but must file Form 100 with a $10 fee to claim it.
• Washington. $40 articles and a $20 annual report when you certify revenue under $500,000 ($80 and $60 otherwise). Charity registration is $60; exempt only under $50,000 with every activity done by unpaid people.
• West Virginia. Use Form CD-1NP if you will seek 501(c)(3) status. Charitable registration is $15 a year under $1 million; organizations raising no more than $50,000 with no professional fundraiser are exempt.
• Wisconsin. Charitable registration (Form 296) is $15, renewing at $54; all-volunteer organizations raising $25,000 or less are exempt. The annual report is $25 online, $40 on paper.
• Wyoming. No charitable registration. Fees were revised 1 July 2026; the annual report is due on the first day of your anniversary month.

Want your own number? The startup cost calculator adds up your state's fees with the Form 1023 you will file.

Fees and rules were read from each state's own site on the date shown and change often. This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm the current fee with your state before you file.

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Sources: Each state's Secretary of State or corporations division for formation and report fees, and its Attorney General or charity office for registration: 41 states read on 24 September 2026, the other 9 in August or on 1 September 2026. The CSV lists the source page and the date for every state. IRS user fees from About Form 1023-EZ and About Form 1023. Fees change; confirm with your state before you file.