How to start a nonprofit in Pennsylvania

Short answer: To start a nonprofit in Pennsylvania, you incorporate by filing Articles of Incorporation – Nonprofit (Form DSCB:15-5306/7102) with the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations ($125 as of 2026), then satisfy a step most states do not have — advertising the incorporation in two newspapers, one a legal journal where one exists. After that comes the federal core: get a free EIN from the IRS, adopt bylaws, seat a board, and file IRS Form 1023 (or 1023-EZ) to become a 501(c)(3), since a Pennsylvania nonprofit is not automatically tax-exempt. On the state side, register to fundraise with the Bureau of Charitable Organizations using Form BCO-10 before soliciting, and apply for the sales tax exemption with Form REV-72 through the Department of Revenue. Federal 501(c)(3) status carries the Pennsylvania corporate net income tax exemption along with it, so there is no separate state income-tax application like some states require.

The federal core — EIN, bylaws, board, and the 501(c)(3) application — is the same in every state. For the full national walkthrough, read how to start a nonprofit; this page focuses on the Pennsylvania layer stacked on top of it, where the state-specific forms, fees, agencies, and that distinctive newspaper step actually live.

The formation steps that are the same anywhere

Forming a nonprofit in Pennsylvania follows the standard checklist, and most of it is federal rather than state-specific:

1. Incorporate as a Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation (the state-specific part — covered in detail below, including the advertising requirement).
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 organization’s internal rulebook for decisions, leadership, and money. Start from a proven document rather than a blank page; see nonprofit bylaws for what to include.
4. Seat a board of directors who govern the organization, set policy, and hold it accountable.
5. Apply for 501(c)(3) with Form 1023 — this is the step that turns a nonprofit corporation into a tax-exempt charity. Unlike a church, an ordinary nonprofit is not automatically exempt; you must file IRS Form 1023 (or the streamlined Form 1023-EZ if you qualify) and receive a determination letter (IRS, applying for 501(c)(3) status). The full path is in how to start a 501(c)(3).
6. Open a bank account in the nonprofit’s legal name using the EIN and formation documents.
7. Set up the books on fund accounting from day one, before the first grant or donation arrives.

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

Incorporating a nonprofit in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania creates the nonprofit as a legal entity when you file Articles of Incorporation – Nonprofit (Form DSCB:15-5306/7102) with the Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations. The filing fee is $125 as of 2026, and a one-page docketing statement (Form DSCB:15-134A) must accompany the Articles; confirm the current amount on the Pennsylvania Department of State fee schedule, since fees change. You can file online through the state’s Business Filing Services portal or by mail to Harrisburg.

Form DSCB:15-5306 asks for the nonprofit’s name, its registered office address in Pennsylvania, the incorporators, and whether the corporation has members. To satisfy the IRS later, the Articles should also carry two clauses that the bare state form does not require but the 501(c)(3) application will look for, so add them as an attachment:

• A 501(c)(3) purpose clause stating the organization is formed exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, or other exempt purposes.
• A dissolution clause stating that if the nonprofit 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. On board size, Pennsylvania’s Nonprofit Corporation Law permits a corporation to form with as few as one director, but a board of at least three mostly-unrelated directors is the practical standard, and the IRS treats a one-person board as a red flag on the Form 1023.

Pennsylvania’s newspaper advertising requirement

Here is the step that surprises people coming from almost any other state: Pennsylvania law requires you to advertise the incorporation in two newspapers of general circulation, one of them a legal journal where one exists in the county. Publication of either the intent to file or the actual filing of the Articles of Incorporation satisfies the rule (Pennsylvania Department of State, nonprofit corporations). This is a real, distinctive Pennsylvania requirement, and skipping it leaves the corporation out of compliance even though the state will still record the filing.

Each notice must include the proposed corporation’s name and a statement that it is being or has been incorporated under the Nonprofit Corporation Law of 1988. A short summary of the nonprofit’s purpose and the filing date round out the ad. One quirk worth knowing: you do not send the proofs of publication to the Bureau. Instead, you keep them with the corporate minutes as proof the requirement was met.

Budget for this step, because it is the one new Pennsylvania nonprofits most often underestimate. The newspapers set their own rates, the Commonwealth does not cap them, and the cost varies by county, so plan on roughly $200 to $350 for the two notices combined as of 2026 — confirm with the specific newspaper and legal journal in your county before you commit. In some counties the legal journal alone runs more than the $125 state filing fee, which makes the advertisement the single largest line item in standing up the entity.

Registering to fundraise in Pennsylvania

A federal 501(c)(3) letter lets you receive tax-deductible gifts, but it does not give you permission to ask Pennsylvania residents for them. That permission is a separate registration with the Bureau of Charitable Organizations, and most nonprofits that solicit donations are required to file it.

Charities register using Form BCO-10, the Charitable Organization Registration Statement, generally before soliciting or within 30 days of receiving more than $25,000 in gross national contributions (Pennsylvania Department of State, charitable organizations). The registration fee is tiered by the prior year’s contributions, running from $15 to $250 as of 2026. A genuine exemption exists at the bottom: an organization that receives $25,000 or less in annual contributions and pays no one to solicit is exempt from registration — though it loses that exemption the moment it crosses the threshold or hires a paid solicitor, at which point the BCO-10 is due. Confirm the current fee tiers and exemption with the Bureau before you file, since the schedule is revised periodically.

Registration is not one-and-done. Each year afterward the organization renews on the BCO-10, attaching its IRS Form 990 and, depending on contribution level, internally prepared, compiled, reviewed, or audited financial statements. Letting the renewal lapse can push the registration into delinquent status and put fundraising on hold.

Claiming the Pennsylvania sales tax exemption

Unlike some states, Pennsylvania does exempt qualifying charities from its 6% sales tax, but only after a separate approval — the exemption is not automatic with the 501(c)(3) letter. The application is Form REV-72, Application for Sales Tax Exemption (Institution of Purely Public Charity), filed with the Department of Revenue, and it can be submitted electronically through the state’s myPATH portal for faster processing (Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, sales tax exemption FAQ).

To qualify, the organization must be an institution of purely public charity under Pennsylvania’s Act 55 of 1997 — a standard that goes beyond merely holding a federal exemption letter. The REV-72 asks for the IRS determination letter, the bylaws or articles with the dissolution clause, and a recent financial statement. Once the Department of Revenue approves the application, the nonprofit is assigned a sales tax exemption number (these begin with the digits 75), and it claims the exemption at the register by giving each vendor a completed Pennsylvania Exemption Certificate (Form REV-1220) carrying that number. The vendor keeps the certificate on file, which is what relieves them from charging the 6% tax on purchases made for the charitable purpose.

On income tax, the path is simpler. Once the IRS grants 501(c)(3) status, a Pennsylvania nonprofit is generally exempt from the state’s corporate net income tax, because that tax keys off federal taxable income — there is no separate state income-tax exemption form to file the way the sales tax exemption requires its own REV-72.

Pennsylvania filing at a glance

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

What you’re doing	Agency	Form	Fee (as of 2026)
Incorporate the nonprofit	PA Department of State (Bureau of Corporations)	Articles – DSCB:15-5306/7102 (+ docketing DSCB:15-134A)	$125
Advertise the incorporation	Two newspapers (one a legal journal)	Legal notice of incorporation	~$200–$350 (varies by county)
Get a federal tax ID	IRS	EIN application (online)	Free
Apply for 501(c)(3) status	IRS	Form 1023 or 1023-EZ	$600 / $275 user fee
Register to fundraise	PA Bureau of Charitable Organizations	Form BCO-10 (initial + annual)	$15–$250 (tiered)
Claim sales tax exemption	PA Department of Revenue	Form REV-72 (then REV-1220 to vendors)	No fee

Setting up the books once the nonprofit exists in Pennsylvania

Once the entity is formed, advertised, and the registrations are filed, the work shifts from one-time paperwork to the monthly routine — and that routine is where nonprofits either hold together or quietly fall apart. A nonprofit holds money in trust for the people and purposes it serves, much of it restricted by donors or grant terms, so it tracks money by fund rather than as a single bottom line. Set the books on fund accounting before the first grant lands, keep the giving records donors need, and document that the board reviews the finances; the discipline is covered in nonprofit accounting. The Pennsylvania angle to keep on your calendar is the BCO-10 renewal — that annual filing to the Bureau of Charitable Organizations is what keeps your fundraising registration current, and the financial statements it requires get more demanding as contributions grow, so clean books from day one make each renewal a five-minute job instead of a scramble.

FAQ

How much does it cost to start a nonprofit in Pennsylvania? Plan for two state costs plus the federal one. Filing the Articles of Incorporation (DSCB:15-5306) costs $125 as of 2026, and the newspaper advertising adds roughly $200 to $350 depending on your county — so the Pennsylvania-specific paperwork runs around $325 to $475. The charitable registration (BCO-10) adds $15 to $250 once you start soliciting. The bigger line item is federal: the IRS charges a $275 user fee for Form 1023-EZ or $600 for the full Form 1023, which is what actually makes you a 501(c)(3). The sales tax exemption (REV-72) has no fee.

Does Pennsylvania really require advertising in the newspaper to start a nonprofit? Yes. Pennsylvania requires you to advertise either the intent to file or the actual filing of the Articles of Incorporation in two newspapers of general circulation, one a legal journal where one exists in the county (Pennsylvania Department of State, nonprofit corporations). You keep the proofs of publication with the corporate minutes rather than sending them to the state. It is a genuine compliance step, not optional, and it is the part most new Pennsylvania nonprofits forget to budget for.

Do you have to register a nonprofit with the state before fundraising in Pennsylvania? In most cases, yes. A nonprofit that solicits Pennsylvania residents registers with the Bureau of Charitable Organizations on Form BCO-10, generally before soliciting or within 30 days of crossing $25,000 in gross contributions, and renews every year. An organization that takes in $25,000 or less annually and pays no one to solicit is exempt from registration — but that exemption disappears once it grows past the threshold or hires a paid solicitor.

How long does it take to start a nonprofit in Pennsylvania? The Pennsylvania incorporation itself is reasonably quick — online filings through Business Filing Services are often processed within a few business days, with mailed filings taking longer. The newspaper advertisement runs in parallel and depends on the publication’s schedule. The slow part is federal: the IRS can take anywhere from about a month (Form 1023-EZ) to many months (full Form 1023) to issue the 501(c)(3) determination letter, and you generally want that letter before filing the REV-72 sales tax exemption. Plan for the state entity to exist within a couple of weeks but full tax-exempt status to take several months end to end.

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

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