NC Business Registration Update: PDF Upload Discontinued Replaced by New Filing Wizard

The North Carolina Secretary of State’s Office has officially discontinued the classic PDF Upload method used to create new businesses, and replaced it with the new Online Creation Wizard. Users have been able to use the Creation Wizard since the fall of 2021, and until early July 2022, were also able to continue using the Pdf Upload method. According to the Secretary of State’s website, the Creation Wizard will make the business creation process more transparent and easier to use. A process for checking name availability is built into the Creation Wizard, and filers will no longer need to download the required form to their computer for completion and signature. These are significant changes that result in: 

• a 50% decrease in filing rejections
• faster processing times, and 
• the ability to check the status of your submission.

In 2021, 173,000 new North Carolina businesses were created, representing a 40% increase over 2020 of total new businesses created. And the first quarter of 2022 saw the most new business creations of any other first quarter on record.

The technological changes implemented by the Secretary of State’s Office broaden accessibility to business creation, especially to those in poorer and minority communities. Visit sosnc.gov to learn more about the new Creation Wizard, and click here to watch a video tutorial on how to use it. For help forming and organizing your new North Carolina business, contact us at Young Legal, PLLC.