Wake County · county seat Raleigh
Wake County business formation: LLCs, corporations and assumed names in Raleigh and beyond
State government contractors, Research Triangle Park tech and life-science spinouts in Morrisville and Cary, and fast-growing home-services businesses in Apex, Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina. Your company is filed once with the NC Secretary of State ($125); a trade name is recorded with the Wake County Register of Deeds for $26.
Heads up: we are an independent company that prepares and submits North Carolina filings for owners. We are not the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State and we do not give legal advice. Every state and county charge passes through at the exact amount billed, and anyone can file directly with the Business Registration Division for no service fee.
Heads up: we are an independent company that prepares and submits North Carolina filings for owners. We are not the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State and we do not give legal advice. Every state and county charge passes through at the exact amount billed, and anyone can file directly with the Business Registration Division for no service fee.
Your local license in Wake County
There is no city or county general business license in Wake. The Secretary of State's own office is a few blocks from the Register of Deeds downtown, but formation and assumed names are separate desks: the LLC goes to the Business Registration Division, the DBA to the county.
Cities we see most
Raleigh · Cary · Apex · Wake Forest · Holly Springs · Fuquay-Varina · Garner · Morrisville
City guides: Raleigh business license · Cary business license
What Wake owners should know
- State agencies pay vendors by the exact legal name and EIN, so match your LLC name and bank account before you register as a vendor.
- Many Wake towns require a zoning permit for a home occupation even when nobody visits the house.
- Wake's justice center address is for recording; the Secretary of State does not accept LLC filings there.
Worked example: A software consultant in Apex leaving a Research Triangle Park employer to contract independently
Entity: North Carolina LLC (G.S. Chapter 57D)
| Corp USA Starter package | $149 |
| NC Secretary of State filing fee | $125 |
| Day-one total | $274 |
Next year: a $200 annual report (plus $3 online) due April 15. North Carolina cities no longer sell general privilege licenses, so there is no city business license line here; trade permits and zoning approvals are separate.
Heads up: we are an independent company that prepares and submits North Carolina filings for owners. We are not the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State and we do not give legal advice. Every state and county charge passes through at the exact amount billed, and anyone can file directly with the Business Registration Division for no service fee.
Recording a Wake County assumed business name
If you will trade under a name other than the exact legal name, North Carolina requires an assumed business name certificate filed with the Register of Deeds in a county where you do business (G.S. 66-71.4). One filing covers the whole state. Recording, amending or withdrawing an assumed name is $26 each. Wake also takes assumed name certificates through an online submittal, and processes mailed ones within one business day.
- Wake County Register of Deeds
- Wake County Justice Center, 300 S. Salisbury St., Suite 1700, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Phone
- 919-856-5460
- Attention: Recording, P.O. Box 1897, Raleigh, NC 27602
Heads up: we are an independent company that prepares and submits North Carolina filings for owners. We are not the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State and we do not give legal advice. Every state and county charge passes through at the exact amount billed, and anyone can file directly with the Business Registration Division for no service fee.
Wake questions
Can a Wake filing cover my work in Durham too?
Yes. List both counties on the certificate; North Carolina only requires a filing in one county where you do business.
SourceIs Wake's DBA filing fee different for corporations?
No. The $26 recording fee is the same for a sole proprietor, partnership, LLC or corporation.
Source