New Jersey LLC Registration

New Jersey LLC Registration overview

After your New Jersey LLC is approved, the next step is to register your LLC for tax purposes.

Additionally, if you have employees in New Jersey, this will also register your LLC for Unemployment Compensation Insurance and compliance with Temporary Disability Insurance laws.

Filed with: NJ Division of Taxation

Method of filing: Online or by mail

Filing fee: $0

Filing form: Called the “NJ-REG” if filed by mail. Called the “Business Registration Application” if filed online.

Recommended method: Online filing since it’s easier and the business registration is approved faster.

Registration approval: Once the Division of Taxation approves your LLC’s registration, you will receive a “Business Registration Certificate“. If you sell retail goods and registered for sales tax, you will also receive a “Sales Tax Certificate of Authority“.

Approval time: If you register your LLC online, you’ll receive your Business Registration Certificate (and Sales Tax Certificate of Authority, if applicable) within 1 to 2 days.

New Jersey LLC Business Registration Application

Also known as: “New Jersey LLC Registration for Taxes” or “Form NJ-REG”

Overview:

• Every LLC in New Jersey is required to register for taxes with the NJ Division of Taxation
• This must be done at least 15 days before engaging in any business activity
• And this must be done within 60 days of your LLC being approved

Filing fee: $0

Online Business Registration Application:
NJ Division of Revenue: Online Business Registration

Get Started

Click the “Get Started” button at the bottom to begin.

Make sure to complete the LLC registration in one sitting. If you’re inactive for more than 10 minutes, the system will kick you out and send you back to the beginning.

Start Registration

Select “Register a Business Entity”.

Business Identification

Entity ID:
Enter your NJ LLC’s Entity ID Number. You can find this on your approved Certificate of Formation. You can also search for your LLC in New Jersey’s Business Name Search.

EIN:
Enter your LLC’s EIN Number. Don’t use spaces or a hyphen (-) when entering your LLC’s EIN Number (ex: 123456789).

Business Data

You should see your LLC name and its beginning date auto-filled. There’s nothing you need to do here.

Will this be a year round business:
Select “Yes” if you’re not running a seasonal business.

Select “No” if you are operating a seasonal business in New Jersey. Then check off the months the business will operate. The most common type of seasonal business in New Jersey are those at the beach which operate in the summer months.

Main Business Address:

Your LLC’s Main Business Address should automatically be filled in (it takes the info from your Certificate of Formation).

If you need to make any changes to your address, you can do so here (or just leave it as-is).

As a reminder, the Main Business Address must be a street address. It can’t be a PO Box address. However, the street address can be located in New Jersey, in another state, or in another country.

Mailing Address:

In the “Attention To” box, enter the first and last name of the LLC Member who will be responsible for handling NJ state taxes. This will most likely be you.

If you/this person has a mailing address that is different than the LLC’s Main Business Address, then check off the “mailing address is different from Business Location” box and enter that mailing address.

If you have the same mailing address, leave the box unchecked.

Business Classification:

This section is used by the state in order to classify businesses for statistical reasons. Don’t worry, you’re not going to be forced to do the activities you select. And you can change your business purpose or activity at anytime without the need to update the state.

New Jersey Business Code:
Look at the NJ Business Code Table and find the 4-digit code that most closely represents your LLC’s main business activity. Even if your LLC has multiple purposes and activities, just select a main one.

Note: You can also begin typing out the purpose (ex: entering “real” for real estate) and the box will suggest the relevant Business Codes.

Principal Products or Service:
Enter a few words that describe the type of product or service your business will offer.

Type of Activity:
This is a bit repetitive, but enter your LLC’s type of business activity. For some filers, this answer will be the same as what they entered in the “Principal Product or Service” box.

Standard Industrial Code (optional):
You can leave this section blank or enter your LLC’s Standard Industrial Code (SIC). The code will be 2, 3, or 4 digits in length. You can use an SIC keyword search tool or you can browse SICs manually.

Most filers just leave this section blank.

NAICS Code:
The NAICS Code (North American Industry Classification System) is also used by government agencies to classify businesses for statistical purposes.

You can use an NAICS keyword search or browse the NAICS codes. Both tools are available on the NAICS search page.

Note: You can also begin typing out the purpose (ex: entering “real” for real estate) and the box will suggest available NAICS Codes.

Number of Workers in New Jersey:
Enter the number of employees (“workers”) your New Jersey LLC will have in this tax year.

If your business won’t have employees anytime soon, enter “0”.

Notes:

1. Being the owner of your LLC doesn’t make you an employee. You become an employee of your LLC if you elect to have your LLC taxed as an S-Corp (where you then become an “employee-owner”) or if you choose another tax structure, but designate yourself as an employee and handle all related payroll and employment requirements.
2. This doesn’t mean you can’t take profit from your company. You certainly can do so without needing to be an employee. This is just called a capital distribution, which is taking money from your LLC’s bank account and distributing it to yourself.
3. If you’re not sure about how your LLC should be taxed or whether or not you should be an employee of your LLC, we strongly recommend speaking with an accountant.
4. If you enter “0” now, but later hire employees, you will have to contact the NJ Department of Labor for new hire reporting and to take care of all other employer responsibilities.

Ownership Type:

Ownership Type:
In this section, the state is looking for how your LLC will be filing taxes. We recommend reading how are LLCs taxed and speaking with an accountant before making a selection.

• If you have a Single-Member LLC that will be taxed in its default status (LLC taxed as a Sole Proprietorship), select “Ltd. Liability Co. – Single Member“.

• If you have a Multi-Member LLC that will be taxed in its default status (LLC taxed as a Partnership), select “Ltd. Liability Co. – 1065 Filer“.

• If you have a Single-Member LLC or Multi-Member LLC that will be taxed as an S-Corporation, select “Ltd. Liability Co. (1120 Filer)” [even though you’re technically an 1120S filer].

After your online registration filing, you’ll file Form 2553 with the IRS and then file CBT-2553 with the NJ Division of Taxation.

Note: A New Jersey LLC that is taxed as an S-Corp also must pay a minimum annual tax of $375 per year. You can find more information in our LLC taxes lesson.

• If you have a Single-Member LLC or Multi-Member LLC that will be taxed as a C-Corporation, select “Ltd. Liability Co. (1120 Filer)“

– Note: An LLC being taxed as a C-Corporation is not very common.

Last Month of Fiscal Year:
Select the month your New Jersey LLC’s fiscal year ends.

Most LLC owners follow the calendar year for tax purposes (January to December), so they select “December” as the close of their fiscal year.

If your LLC will operate on a different fiscal year, select the appropriate closing month.

Is this business a subsidiary of another corporation?
If your NJ LLC is owned by another company (like another Corporation or LLC), select “Yes” and enter the Parent Company’s name and EIN.

If your LLC is owned by an individual person (or multiple people), select “No”.

Owner Details:

In this section you’re going to list all the Members (owners) of your New Jersey LLC.

Click the “Add Owner” button and enter the Owner’s name, address, title, percentage of ownership, and Social Security Number.

Although you’re required to list only one Owner, it’s best to list all LLC owners for proper tax reporting requirements.

Title:

• If your LLC is Member-Managed, each owner’s title should be “Managing Member”.
• If your LLC is Manager-Managed, an owner’s title should be “Member” if they are not also a Member… or an LLC owner’s title should be “Managing Member” if they are both an owner and an LLC Manager.

(related article: Member-managed LLC vs Manager-managed LLC)

Employment Activities

Note: We can’t walk you through and explain each section here as things will vary widely from business to business.

Answer the Yes/No questions on this page about any employment activities.

Acquisition Information

Depending on how you answered the first series of questions, you may also have to answer more questions about any acquisitions that were made.

Taxable Activities

Answer the Yes/No questions on this page about any taxable activities as well as any relevant details.

The reason we can’t walk you through all of the above

Unlike our LLC formation instructions, which are step-by-step, we’re unable to guide you through the questions related to employment, acquisition, and taxable activities.

The reason is that things vary so widely from business to business. And the questionnaire is “conditionally smart”. Meaning, depending on what you answer, you’ll see a different set of questions for each section.

Questions?
If you run into questions during the above sections, you will need to speak with an accountant for help.

Contact Information

Enter your name, title, email address, and phone number.

Review

Review the information you entered in your Business Registration Application and look for any errors or typos. If you need to make any changes, click the “Edit” button.

If all looks good:

• In the “Employment Activities” section, check the confirmation box
• In the “Taxable Business Activities” section, check the confirmation box
• In the “Signature” section, check off the box and then enter your first and last name in “Name of Authorized Representative”

Once you’re finished, click the “Complete Registration” button to finish your filing.

Congratulations, your New Jersey LLC has been successfully registered with the Division of Taxation.

Now you need to wait for your approval certificate, called the Business Registration Certificate (also known as a Certificate of Registration).

If you also registered your LLC for sales tax during the application, you also need to wait for your Sales Tax Certificate of Authority.

New Jersey LLC Registration Approval

After submitting your Business Registration Application you’ll be taken to a Confirmation page. We recommend printing this page for your records.

Although you’ll see a link to download your “Business Registration Document“, it’s important to know this is not your Business Registration Certificate. It’s just a copy of the information you entered in the application.

Business Registration Certificate

• You need to wait 2 business days before your Business Registration Certificate is available to download.
• Once it’s ready to download, the state will send you an email.
• The state will also send a physical copy by mail in 10 business days.

Sales Tax Certificate of Authority

• If you registered your NJ LLC for sales tax, you won’t be able to download your Sales Tax Certificate of Authority online.
• Instead, the state will mail this document to your LLC within 15-20 business days.

Recommendation

We recommend making a few copies of your LLC’s Business Registration Certificate and Sales Tax Certificate of Authority, if applicable. Save some copies on your computer and make some physical copies as well.

If your LLC has other Members, send them a copy as well.

New Jersey Division of Taxation

If you have any questions about Registration, you can contact the New Jersey Division of Taxation at 609-292-6400. Their hours are 8:30am to 4:30pm Eastern (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday) and 10am to 5:30pm Eastern (on Wednesdays). They often have long hold times, so we recommend calling right after they open.

Matt Horwitz

Founder & Educator, LLC University®

Matt Horwitz has been the leading expert on LLC education for the past decade. He founded LLC University in 2010 after realizing people needed simple and actionable instructions to start an LLC that other companies weren't offering. He's cited by Entrepreneur Magazine, Yahoo Finance, and the US Chamber of Commerce, and was featured by CNBC and InventRight.
 
Matt holds a Bachelor's Degree in business from Drexel University with a concentration in business law. He performs extensive research and analysis to convert state laws into simple instructions anyone can follow to form their LLC - all for free! Read more about Matt Horwitz and LLC University.