How to start a nonprofit in Utah

How to start a nonprofit in Utah, step by step

1. Name your Utah nonprofit

   No corporate ending is required: the name may but need not contain corporation, incorporated or company. Olympic, Olympiad and Citius Altius Fortius need US Olympic Committee consent; university, college, institute and institution need Division of Consumer Protection approval. The name must be distinguishable from entities, reserved names, registered trademarks and assumed names on Division records. A reservation costs $22.

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 Articles of Incorporation (domestic nonprofit)

   File with the Department of Commerce, Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, for $59 per the current fee schedule. Expedited processing adds $75, more than the filing itself. Watch the source you price from: the Division's own instruction sheet still says $30, which is stale. The fee schedule governs.

4. Name your registered agent

   Utah requires a registered agent and registered office, and the agent must acknowledge acceptance in the articles. The address must be a street address; a post office box is not permitted.

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 Utah taxes

   Two separate applications, and neither is automatic. For income tax, file Form TC-161, Utah Registration for Exemption from Corporate Franchise or Income Tax, with a copy of your IRS determination letter; you file it once. If you have unrelated business income, file Form TC-20MC with a copy of federal Form 990-T. For sales tax, file Form TC-160, the Utah Application for Sales Tax Exemption Number, attaching your determination letter. Founders routinely file one and assume they are done.

9. Register to fundraise

   There is nothing to register. Utah repealed the charitable organization registration requirement effective 1 May 2024 under H.B. 43 of the 2024 session, and charitable organizations no longer submit an annual registration to the Division of Consumer Protection. The disclosure moved instead into your corporate annual renewal: from 1 January 2025 the Division of Corporations collects an unredacted copy of your most recent IRS Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-N or 990-PF. Professional fundraisers and consultants still register. Utah's legacy application portal still advertises a $75 permit; do not pay it.

10. Stay in good standing

    Renew with the Division of Corporations on your anniversary date, $18, with a $10 late fee. Since 1 January 2025 this filing also carries the charitable financial disclosure, so it now does two jobs at once, and missing it is both a corporate lapse and a charity compliance failure.

Utah-specific things to know

1. The charity permit was repealed and the internet has not caught up

   H.B. 43 ended organization-level charitable registration on 1 May 2024. Third-party guides, and Utah's own legacy portal, still describe a $75 permit application. Check the Division of Consumer Protection's current page before paying anyone anything.

2. Charity oversight now rides on an $18 filing

   Because the 990 disclosure moved into the corporate renewal, missing that $18 annual filing is no longer just a corporate housekeeping problem. It is also your charitable compliance.

3. Two tax forms, two agencies-worth of confusion

   TC-161 is income tax. TC-160 is sales tax. They are different forms with adjacent numbers, and filing one does nothing for the other.

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

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Sources: Utah Division of Corporations fee schedule; Utah Division of Consumer Protection, charities; Utah H.B. 43 (2024); Utah Form TC-161. Read 1 September 2026.