How to start a church in North Dakota

Short answer: To start a church in North Dakota, you form a nonprofit corporation by filing Articles of Incorporation (Nonprofit Corporation) with the North Dakota Secretary of State ($40 as of 2026, filed through the state’s FirstStop portal), then get a free EIN from the IRS, adopt bylaws, and seat a board of at least three directors. A church is automatically tax-exempt under federal law, so the IRS determination letter is optional and there is no annual Form 990 to file. The genuinely North Dakota-specific pieces are the state incorporation and a property tax exemption on your church building, claimed through the county. One honest warning most guides skip: North Dakota does not give churches a broad sales tax exemption on the things they buy, so budget as if your purchases are taxable.

The federal core — incorporate, EIN, bylaws, board, books — is the same in every state. This guide covers those briefly and then spends its time on the North Dakota layer, where the state forms, fees, and agencies actually live. For the full national walkthrough of each universal step, read how to start a church; below, the focus is what changes inside North Dakota.

The formation steps that are the same anywhere

Starting a church in North Dakota follows the standard church-formation checklist, and most of it is federal, not state-specific:

1. Incorporate as a nonprofit corporation (the North Dakota-specific part — covered in detail below).
2. Get an EIN — a free federal tax ID from the IRS, applied for directly at irs.gov. Never pay a third party for one; the EIN is always free.
3. Adopt bylaws — the church’s internal rulebook for decisions, leadership, and money. Start from a proven document rather than a blank page; see church bylaws for what to include.
4. Seat a board — at least three directors, ideally a majority unrelated, so the church is governed by a body rather than one person.
5. Skip or pursue the 501(c)(3) letter — a church is automatically tax-exempt and does not have to file Form 1023, though many apply for the determination letter as documentation (IRS Publication 1828).
6. Open a bank account in the church’s legal name using the EIN and formation documents.
7. Set up the books on fund accounting from day one, before the first offering arrives.

Each of these is walked step by step in the national formation guide linked above. The rest of this page is the North Dakota layer on top.

Incorporating a church in North Dakota

North Dakota creates the church as a legal entity when you file Articles of Incorporation (Nonprofit Corporation) with the North Dakota Secretary of State. Filing is done through the state’s FirstStop online portal (a paper form exists too), and the filing fee is $40 as of 2026; confirm the current amount with the North Dakota Secretary of State, since fees change. One individual age eighteen or older can act as the incorporator, and the church must name a registered agent with a physical North Dakota street address.

The Articles ask for the church’s name, its registered agent and office in North Dakota, its incorporator, and its purpose. Two clauses matter more than the rest, because the IRS looks for them if you ever file Form 1023 or need to prove exempt status to a bank or grant-maker, and it is far easier to include them now than to amend later:

• A 501(c)(3) purpose clause stating the church is organized exclusively for religious and charitable purposes.
• A dissolution clause stating that if the church closes, its assets pass to another 501(c)(3) organization, not to any individual.

Getting that language right at formation saves an amendment later. The full breakdown of what these documents need is in articles of incorporation for a church. On board size, North Dakota is firmer than some states: the North Dakota Nonprofit Corporation Act requires the board to consist of three or more directors, unless the church has only one or two voting members (North Dakota Century Code § 10-33-28). That lines up with what the IRS wants anyway — a board of at least three mostly-unrelated directors reads as real governance — so plan to recruit three directors before you incorporate, not after.

Does a North Dakota church register with the state to fundraise

North Dakota requires most charities to register as a charitable organization with the Secretary of State before they solicit contributions from the public — but churches usually skip it. A religious organization that is not required to file IRS Form 990 (a church is exempt from Form 990) is exempt from charitable-solicitation registration in North Dakota, and that exemption is automatic (North Dakota Secretary of State, charitable organizations). So the Charitable Organization Registration Statement (Form SFN 11300, $25) that an ordinary North Dakota nonprofit has to file before it fundraises is one a typical congregation does not.

The exemption is not a free pass to ignore the rules; it is tied to your Form 990 status. A religious organization that does have to file a Form 990 — for example, a religious entity that is not itself a church — may still need to register before it solicits, so confirm you actually meet the church exemption before you rely on it. Note that “registering” still happens in one sense: filing your Articles of Incorporation registers the church as a legal entity with the Secretary of State. What North Dakota’s church exemption lets you skip is the separate fundraising registration.

North Dakota sales tax and your church — the honest answer

Here is the part most state guides bury, and North Dakota is on the restrictive side: the state generally does not exempt churches from sales tax on the things they buy. North Dakota law does not exempt religious, charitable, or nonprofit organizations as a class, and a church pays sales tax on the equipment, supplies, furniture, and goods it purchases for its own use, the same as a for-profit business would (North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner, exempt organizations guideline). Do not budget your church’s operating costs assuming a blanket exemption, because there isn’t one.

The exceptions are narrow and statutory rather than general. North Dakota exempts bibles, prayer books, hymnals, and religious textbooks purchased by a church by state statute — a specific carve-out, not a broad exemption. Separately, goods a church buys to resell for fundraising can be purchased tax-free with a resale certificate, since the tax is collected on the resale instead. Beyond those, plan for your purchases to be taxable, and check the Tax Commissioner’s guidance before assuming any item qualifies. On income tax, North Dakota is friendlier: it follows the federal determination, so a church that is exempt for federal income tax purposes is generally exempt from North Dakota corporate income tax without a separate state exemption filing.

Claiming the North Dakota property tax exemption through your county

A North Dakota church that owns its building can exempt that property from local property tax under North Dakota Century Code § 57-02-08(9), which exempts buildings and land belonging to a religious organization and used predominantly for the religious purposes of the organization — the church itself, and, within limits, a parsonage and adjacent land (North Dakota Century Code § 57-02-08). This exemption runs through your county, not the Secretary of State or the Tax Commissioner.

You claim it locally, through the county auditor or local assessor where the church owns property, by filing the county’s application for property tax exemption and identifying the § 57-02-08(9) religious use. Timing matters: the application is generally due to the local assessor by February 1 of the year you want the exemption for, and the assessor can ask for information supporting the claim in later years. Because the process is run at the county level, the exact form, filing office, and deadline vary by county — so confirm the current requirement with your county auditor before you file, rather than assuming the church is exempt automatically the moment it takes title.

North Dakota filing at a glance

The table below maps each North Dakota step to its agency, form, and cost. Treat the fees as accurate as of 2026 and confirm with the listed agency, since North Dakota fees change.

What you’re doing	Agency	Form	Fee (as of 2026)
Incorporate the church	North Dakota Secretary of State	Articles of Incorporation (Nonprofit Corporation), via FirstStop	$40 (confirm)
Get a federal tax ID	IRS	EIN application (online)	Free
501(c)(3) recognition (optional)	IRS	Form 1023 or 1023-EZ	$600 / $275 user fee
Property tax exemption	County auditor / local assessor	County application (NDCC § 57-02-08(9))	No state fee
Charitable-solicitation registration	North Dakota Secretary of State	Form SFN 11300 — churches usually exempt	—
Sales tax on purchases	ND Tax Commissioner	—	Generally taxable (no church exemption)

Setting up the books once the church exists in North Dakota

Once the church is formed and any property exemption is on file, the work shifts from one-time paperwork to the monthly routine — and that routine is where churches actually fail or hold together. A church holds money in trust for the people who gave it, much of it tagged for a purpose (the building, missions, benevolence), so it tracks money by fund rather than as a single bottom line. Set the books up on fund accounting before the first offering, keep the giving records your donors need for their own taxes, and document that the board reviews the finances. None of North Dakota’s rules excuse a church from keeping clean records; the IRS still expects records that substantiate income and expenses (IRS Publication 1828).

FAQ

How much does it cost to start a church in North Dakota? The required state cost is small. Filing the Articles of Incorporation (Nonprofit Corporation) with the North Dakota Secretary of State costs $40 as of 2026, the EIN from the IRS is free, and the county property tax exemption for your building carries no state fee. So the bare legal minimum to form a North Dakota church is roughly the $40 filing fee plus your time. Optional add-ons raise it: the IRS determination letter is $275 (Form 1023-EZ) or $600 (full Form 1023), and insurance runs a few hundred dollars a year. A small North Dakota church can realistically be stood up properly for well under a few hundred dollars beyond the optional federal letter — just remember the state does not exempt your ongoing purchases from sales tax.

Does a North Dakota church have to register to fundraise? Usually no. North Dakota requires most charities to register with the Secretary of State on Form SFN 11300 before soliciting contributions, but a religious organization that is not required to file IRS Form 990 — which a church is not — is automatically exempt from that registration (North Dakota Secretary of State, charitable organizations). A typical congregation taking offerings and asking members to give does not file a fundraising registration. The church still registers as a legal entity when it files its Articles of Incorporation; what it skips is the separate charitable-solicitation filing.

Does a North Dakota church pay sales tax? Usually yes, on its own purchases. North Dakota does not give churches a blanket sales tax exemption, and being tax-exempt for income tax does not exempt the church from sales tax on the goods and supplies it buys for its own use (North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner, exempt organizations guideline). The narrow statutory carve-out is for bibles, prayer books, hymnals, and religious textbooks a church buys, which are exempt, and goods bought to resell for fundraising can be purchased tax-free with a resale certificate. Budget as if everything else your church buys is taxable.

Do you need 501(c)(3) status to start a church in North Dakota? No. A church is automatically tax-exempt under federal law and does not have to file Form 1023 or hold an IRS determination letter to be exempt, and it files no annual Form 990 (IRS Publication 1828). Many North Dakota churches still apply for the determination letter as documentation for banks, grant-makers, and large donors, but it is optional — see are churches tax exempt for the fuller picture.

Can I just start my own church in North Dakota? Practically, anyone can start a church in North Dakota — there is no state license or denominational permission required, and the First Amendment protects the right to form a religious organization. What you do need, to operate as a real and exempt church, is the structure: a nonprofit corporation formed on the Articles of Incorporation, an EIN, adopted bylaws, a board of at least three mostly-unrelated directors, a bank account in the church’s name, and books set up on fund accounting. The freedom to start one is unlimited; running one properly is a checklist.

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This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Church-formation rules and fees change and vary by county — confirm the current requirements with the North Dakota Secretary of State, the North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner, your county auditor, and a qualified professional before you file.

Vestrybooks sets up a new North Dakota church’s books on fund accounting from day one — funds, reconciliation, and the board reports — so the financial side is right before the first offering. See how it works.