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Step-by-step guide · checked against state sources
How to start a nonprofit in Indiana
Updated October 2026
Indiana looks simple, then hides its one hard deadline in the tax department: 120 days after formation to file for state exemption, or you do not have it. Checked against state sources.
File State Form 4162 with the Secretary of State ($50 paper, $30 online via INBiz). Your name must end in Corporation, Incorporated, Limited, Company or an abbreviation. Within 120 days, file Form NP-20A with the Department of Revenue for state tax exemption. No fundraising registration for charities. Business Entity Report every other year, $20 to $22.
How to start a nonprofit in Indiana, step by step
Name your Indiana nonprofit
The name must include Corporation, Incorporated, Limited, Company or an abbreviation of one, a requirement many states dropped and Indiana kept. Reservations hold for 120 days.
Choose your first board of directors
Plan on at least three people who are not related to each other. Some states allow fewer on paper, but three unrelated directors is what the IRS application works best with, and what funders expect. Pick people who will actually show up.
File your Articles of Incorporation (State Form 4162)
File State Form 4162, Articles of Incorporation for a Domestic Nonprofit Corporation, with the Secretary of State's Business Services Division: $50 by paper, or $30 online through INBiz.
Name your registered agent
Indiana distinguishes between a commercial registered agent and a noncommercial one, and your articles must affirm the agent consented to serve.
Adopt bylaws and hold your first board meeting
Bylaws are your internal rulebook: how directors are chosen, how votes work, what officers you have. At the first meeting the board adopts them, elects officers, and approves opening a bank account. Keep minutes; they are your first governance record.
Get your free EIN
It is free from the IRS; any site charging for an EIN is reselling a free thing. Apply online if your responsible party has an SSN or ITIN and your principal place of business is in the US. It takes minutes. Three limits to know: one EIN per responsible party per day, the tool is not open around the clock, and it times out after 15 minutes with nothing saved. Without an SSN or ITIN you file Form SS-4 by fax or mail instead, which takes weeks. You need the EIN for the bank account and every filing after this.
Apply for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS
Two forms, two fees. The short Form 1023-EZ has a $275 user fee, but you may use it only if you clear the whole Eligibility Worksheet. That means three things. Gross receipts did not exceed $50,000 in any of the past three years. They are not projected to exceed $50,000 in any of the next three years. And total assets are $250,000 or less. Churches, schools, hospitals and a few other types cannot use it at all. If you cannot use the EZ, you file the full Form 1023, $600. For most groups, this is the step that makes donations tax-deductible. Some groups can be tax-exempt without applying, such as churches, some very small charities, and local chapters covered by their national group's IRS group exemption. The IRS currently issues 80 percent of 1023-EZ decisions within about 22 days and 80 percent of full 1023 decisions within about 191 days. It publishes current figures on its status page. Fees read 1 September 2026.
Handle Indiana taxes
This is Indiana's trap, so read it twice: state tax exemption is NOT automatic. File Form NP-20A with the Department of Revenue through INTIME within 120 days of formation; it establishes both your state nonprofit status and your sales tax exemption in one application. After that, Form NP-20R is due every five years by May 15, staggered by EIN, and missing it lapses the exemption.
Register to fundraise
None required. Indiana does not register soliciting charities; only professional fundraiser consultants and solicitors register with the Attorney General. You can fundraise once the IRS letter arrives, subject to other states' rules if you solicit there.
Stay in good standing
The Business Entity Report is biennial, every other year in your anniversary month: $20 by paper, $22 online through INBiz.
Indiana-specific things to know
The 120-day NP-20A clock
Most states hand you tax exemption automatically with your IRS letter. Indiana starts a 120-day timer at formation. File NP-20A through INTIME early, ideally the same week you incorporate, and the whole problem disappears.
NP-20R every five years
The five-year NP-20R replaced an annual filing in 2022 and is easy to forget precisely because it is rare. Put a recurring reminder years out; a lapsed exemption is a painful way to rediscover it.
General information for people starting a nonprofit in Indiana, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and fees are updated; confirm specifics with the Indiana offices named on this page, the IRS, or a qualified professional before you file.
The Ember tool for thisEmber Spark
Ember Spark walks you from idea to real nonprofit, one step at a time, free. In an Ember account, it also drafts your bylaws, conflict-of-interest policy and Form 1023 narrative for you to finish, and links you to your state's filing office. Unlimited users on every tier.
Sources: State Form 4162 and instructions; Indiana DOR Information Bulletin 17 (NP-20A, NP-20R); Indiana AG on charitable fundraising; INBiz Business Entity Report. Read August 2026, re-checked against the same primary sources 1 September 2026.