How To Start A Nonprofit In New Jersey

To incorporate a New Jersey nonprofit, you must file a Certificate of Incorporation with the NJ Department of the Treasury. If you choose to submit a paper form, you’ll need to file a Public Records Filing for New Business Entity. The information required on both forms is identical. Click on any number below to see what information is needed.

How Much Does It Cost To Incorporate A New Jersey Nonprofit?

New Jersey charges nonprofits a $75 filing fee to process the Certificate of Incorporation, and you’ll pay an additional $4 credit card convenience fee when filing online. New Jersey also offers quite a few expedited processing options for additional fees.

How Long Does It Take To Start A New Jersey Nonprofit?

New Jersey encourages people to file the Certificate of Incorporation online. However, the state does offer a variety of filing options and processing times:

• Fastest: If you’re willing to fax or hand-deliver your documents to the NJ Department of the Treasury, you can pay a $1,000 expedite fee for one hour filing or a $500 expedite fee for two hour filing.
• Fast and safe: If you submit online, you’ll get a response in 1 day, or you can mail or fax your documents and pay extra for eight hour or same-day expedited processing.
• Routine: Mail your filing to the NJ Department of Treasury, skip the expedite fees, and wait a few weeks for someone to eventually file your documents.

Do you already have a nonprofit registered in another state or country? Then you may want to read our New Jersey nonprofit foreign qualification guide.

Is A New Jersey Nonprofit Registered Agent Required?

New Jersey requires the appointment of a New Jersey registered agent to receive services of process (legal notices) and other official state mail for your nonprofit. It’s possible to take on this job yourself, but keep in mind that a registered agent has to be available at a publicly listed physical address in New Jersey during normal business hours.

If you can’t make that commitment, don’t know someone else you can trust with the job, or don’t want your personal or office address listed on your Certificate of Incorporation, it’s best to go with a New Jersey registered agent service like Northwest.

Hiring a registered agent comes with numerous benefits. When you hire Northwest, you’ll have the option to list the address of our New Jersey registered office on your Certificate of Incorporation. As a result, you’re less likely to get targeted by data-sellers, you’ll receive less junk mail, and you won’t have to deal with a bunch of unwanted salespeople showing up at your door.

Furthermore, managing and growing a nonprofit corporation usually means leaving your desk, attending meetings, traveling, and maybe soliciting contributions from potential donors. That’s a difficult job if you’re stuck at your desk all day during normal business hours.

Hire Northwest, and we’ll make sure someone is always available to accept services of process on your behalf. And if we ever receive a service of process for your nonprofit, we’ll scan it and send it to you on the day we receive it.

Your nonprofit’s federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN or EIN) is a lot like an individual’s Social Security number—without one it’s hard to establish legitimacy in the eyes of other businesses, most banks, vendors, and potential donors. You’ll also need an EIN to apply for federal tax-exempt status with the IRS.

Once the State of New Jersey approves your articles, you can apply for an EIN online at the IRS website. Or you can sign up for Northwest’s convenient EIN service for an additional fee.

New Jersey requires your nonprofit’s board of directors to adopt bylaws at its first official meeting. Why? Because without bylaws your nonprofit is flying blind. Will your nonprofit have members? If so, do those members have the right to vote in the election of your nonprofit’s directors? What are the distinct responsibilities of your nonprofit’s president and secretary? Will your nonprofit hire paid employees?

(And so on!) Without clear answers to questions like these, your nonprofit’s directors and officers can’t steer the organization along a coherent path.

It isn’t easy to write effective bylaws, but Northwest can help.

We have years of experience working with nonprofits and the nonprofit sector, we’re aware of the sorts of problems and obstacles most nonprofits face down the road, and we have used this knowledge to craft an adaptable template for writing nonprofit bylaws, as well as numerous other free nonprofit forms, that you can use to make sure your New Jersey nonprofit starts strong and stays strong.

Check out our free attorney-drafted nonprofit bylaws template and learn more about New Jersey nonprofit bylaws.

Incorporating as a New Jersey nonprofit doesn’t automatically qualify your organization for federal tax-exempt status. For that to happen, you need to file an Application for Recognition of Exemption with the IRS detailing your nonprofit’s history, purpose, and finances.

Your object is to show that your nonprofit qualifies as one of the more than two dozen different types of tax-exempt entities recognized by the IRS in Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. Most nonprofits seek recognition under Section 501(c)(3), which applies to public charities and private foundations.

If you want 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status for your nonprofit, make sure your Certificate of Incorporation features a statement of purpose and dissolution of assets clause that include the specific language required by the IRS for 501(c)(3) organizations.

All registered New Jersey nonprofits are exempt from the state’s corporate business tax, but you’ll need to apply to the NJ Department of the Treasury’s Taxation Division to seek a state sales tax exemption and exemption from the petroleum products gross receipt tax. Learn more at Northwest’s guide to New Jersey state tax exemptions.

Does A New Jersey Nonprofit Need A Business License?

New Jersey doesn’t issue a general, statewide business license, but specific cities and counties may have licensing requirements of their own. It’s best to contact your local city clerk’s office to find out which (if any) of your nonprofit’s activities require a license.

How Does My Nonprofit Register For New Jersey Tax Accounts?

To register for New Jersey state tax accounts (such as an employee withholding tax), submit a Business Registration Application (form NJ-Reg) to the New Jersey Department of the Treasury.

Do I Have To Register My Nonprofit As A Charity In New Jersey?

Most New Jersey charities will need to register as a New Jersey charity with the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Affairs and renew your registration each year. The registration and renewal fees vary, depending on how much money your nonprofit charity raises or expects to raise, but both sets of fees follow the same pattern:

If your nonprofit takes in more than $250,000 in gross contributions, you’ll use form CRI-150-I for your initial registration and renewal. The renewal deadline is six months after the end of your nonprofit’s fiscal year, and you can register and renew online at the New Jersey Charities Portal. Learn more at Northwest’s guide to New Jersey charities.

To open a bank account for your New Jersey nonprofit, you will need to bring the following items to the bank:

• A copy of your New Jersey Certificate of Incorporation
• A copy of your nonprofit’s bylaws
• Your New Jersey nonprofit’s EIN

We recommend calling your bank ahead of time to determine their requirements. If your nonprofit has several directors and/or officers, you may even need to bring a resolution authorizing you to open the account in the name of your nonprofit.

New Jersey requires all businesses, including nonprofits, to submit an annual report to the Department of the Treasury. This is an online filing that updates or confirms your nonprofit’s information with the state (such as your registered agent’s name and New Jersey address), and it is always due on the anniversary of your nonprofit’s incorporation. The report comes with a $30 fee and an additional processing fee for paying with a credit card when you file online.

When you hire Northwest to serve as your registered agent, we’ll send you reminders to file your annual report. Or you can add our convenient New Jersey Annual Report Service for an additional fee and leave the report to us.