How to start a nonprofit in New Jersey

How to start a nonprofit in New Jersey, step by step

1. Name your New Jersey nonprofit

   A name reservation costs $50. Check availability through the state's business name search before filing.

2. 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.

3. File your Certificate of Incorporation (Title 15A)

   File through the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services' online Business Formation portal. Two things to know. First, the fee, because nj.gov disagrees with itself. The Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services says $50 in two places: its fee schedule, and its Getting Registered page, last updated 1 July 2026. The $75 figure comes from two older documents, a Department of State handout revised April 2021 and a Division public-records PDF that also prices for-profits at $125 when the current pages say $100, which is a good sign the whole PDF is stale. Treat $50 as the live number, carry $75 in case, and confirm in the portal. Second, the form: the state's own guidance warns AGAINST using the standard certificate, because it lacks the purpose and dissolution language the IRS requires for 501(c)(3). Draft your own articles with those provisions and attach them.

4. Name your registered agent

   A registered agent and registered office, managed through the state's online system.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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. Everyone else files the full Form 1023, $600. This is the step that makes donations tax-deductible. 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.

8. Handle New Jersey taxes

   Corporation Business Tax exemption is automatic for a properly formed nonprofit; an exemption letter is optional. Sales tax takes an application: Form REG-1E, free, and approved organizations receive the ST-5 Exempt Organization Certificate. The state says to allow up to 8 weeks.

9. Register to fundraise

   Register with the Charities Registration Section of the Division of Consumer Affairs once gross contributions exceed $10,000 a year (or if you use paid fundraisers at any size). At $25,000 or less in contributions, the short Form CRI-200 applies: $30 initial and $30 renewal, due within 6 months of fiscal year end, $25 late fee. The under-$10,000 exemption is narrower than it looks: Consumer Affairs grants it only where gross contributions are under $10,000 AND all functions and fundraising are carried out by volunteers. Pay anyone, including a part-time executive director, and you register regardless of size.

10. Stay in good standing

    The corporate annual report is $30, filed online. Expedited services run from $15 to $1,000 for over-the-counter filings if you ever need same-day handling.

New Jersey-specific things to know

1. Do not use the state's standard form

   New Jersey's own nonprofit guidance says the Division's stock certificate of incorporation lacks the IRS-required 501(c)(3) provisions. Founders who file it as-is discover the problem months later, at the IRS. Draft articles with the purpose and dissolution clauses and attach them in the portal.

2. The fee the state disagrees with itself about

   nj.gov gives two answers, and the evidence favors $50. The Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services says $50 on both its fee schedule and its Getting Registered page, updated 1 July 2026. The $75 figure survives in a 2021 Department of State handout and a Division PDF that is demonstrably out of date on other fees. Budget $75 so a surprise cannot stall you, and expect $50.

General information for people starting a nonprofit in New Jersey, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and fees are updated; confirm specifics with the New Jersey offices named on this page, the IRS, or a qualified professional before you file.

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Sources: NJ Division of Revenue, getting registered; DORES fee schedule; NJ starting-a-nonprofit handout (source of the $75 figure); NJ Taxation, nonprofit organizations; NJ Charities Registration Section. Read August 2026, re-checked 1 September 2026; the fee conflict is discussed in the text.