State guide — New York

Incorporate a nonprofit in New York

State facts checked against New York official sources — October 2026

New York's certificate has a dedicated slot — Paragraph NINTH — reserved for the IRS-required tax-exempt language, and an election most filers don't expect: you must declare whether the corporation is charitable or non-charitable, and some purposes need another agency's consent before the state will file you at all.

The steps

1. Choose a name and confirm it is available in New York — and distinguishable from existing entities in the filing office's records.
2. Line up your agent: no separate registered agent required — the Secretary of State is the designated agent for service of process (Paragraph EIGHTH); you supply an address for forwarding, and may add an optional registered agent.
3. Draft the articles with the 501(c)(3) clauses in them — see the language section below. This is the step that decides whether the IRS accepts your application months from now.
4. File with Department of State and pay the state fee. You need at least three initial directors, and the certificate states the county where the office will be located. Filing is by mail, fax, or in-person delivery to the Department of State in Albany.
5. Get the EIN — free from the IRS once the corporation exists. The EIN guide covers the traps.
6. Run the eligibility checker and file Form 1023-EZ or Form 1023 on Pay.gov. Then handle New York charity registration (below) before you fundraise.

The 501(c)(3) language in New York

Paragraph THIRD states your purposes; Paragraph FIFTH elects charitable or non-charitable status; and Paragraph NINTH is the reserved slot for the IRS-required language — the purpose limitation and dissolution dedication. Use it. NINTH does not widen the purposes in THIRD, so draft THIRD as a genuinely charitable purpose and let NINTH add the federal restrictions. Certain purposes (education and health-related purposes among them) require prior consent from the responsible state agency under NPCL §404 — check before you file, not after a rejection.

The federal requirement underneath all of this is the organizational test: your organizing document must limit the organization to exempt purposes and permanently dedicate its assets to exempt purposes on dissolution. The IRS publishes sample wording — a purpose clause and a dissolution clause — and the kit's generator builds both into your articles automatically.

New York traps and notes

• The famous New York publication requirement is for LLCs, not nonprofit corporations. It comes from LLC Law §206. No publication step appears in the nonprofit certificate instructions — do not pay anyone for a 'nonprofit publication' service.
• Agency consent can gate your filing. If your purpose falls in a §404 category, the consent must come first.
• Charities Bureau registration follows for most fundraising charities — see below.

After incorporation: New York charitable solicitation registration

Status: Required. Regulator: Attorney General — Charities Bureau.

New York charities register with the Attorney General's Charities Bureau before soliciting in the state, and file the annual Form CHAR500. Dual obligations are common for larger organizations (both the Charities Bureau and, for some, education-department oversight of schools) — confirm your category with the Bureau.

The national picture — which states require registration, which don't, and the exemptions that actually apply — is in our guide to charitable solicitation registration.