Starting and running a nonprofit in Ohio

Forming your nonprofit corporation

The state creates your organization; the IRS separately recognizes it as tax-exempt. This is the state part.

Where you file

Ohio Secretary of State: you form the nonprofit by filing articles of incorporation there (O.R.C. 1702.04).

Official source · checked October 21, 2026

Filing fee

$99 (O.R.C. 111.16(A)(1), the fee for articles of a corporation that doesn't issue shares).

Official source · checked October 21, 2026

Annual report

No yearly report to the Secretary of State, but every five years you file a statement of continued existence, or your articles are canceled (O.R.C. 1702.59). The fee is $25 (O.R.C. 111.16(O)).

Official source · checked October 21, 2026

We couldn't confirm the name or number of the articles of incorporation form. Check with the Ohio Secretary of State.

Then get your EIN and apply to the IRS for 501(c)(3) status: the formation stage walks through both.

Registering to ask for donations

Many states want charities to register before they ask residents for money. Here's what this state says.

Do you have to register?

Yes. Charities organized in Ohio, or holding assets or running programs there, register with the Ohio Attorney General's Charitable Law Section; any group soliciting donations in Ohio also registers, before it starts soliciting. New Ohio charities register within six months of being created. Filing is online only, and Ohio doesn't accept the Unified Registration Statement.

Official source · checked October 21, 2026

Exempt

The most common exemptions are churches, schools with regular faculty, curriculum and students, and certain charitable remainder or revocable trusts; for soliciting, also educational institutions asking only alumni, faculty, trustees, students and their families, public schools soliciting only alumni, faculty or their school district, and public-school booster clubs. You must ask the Attorney General for an exemption through the online system.

Official source · checked October 21, 2026

Fee

Registration is one-time; fees come with each annual report. By assets (Charitable Trust Act): $0 under $25,000; $50 for $25,000 - $100,000; $100 for $100,000 - $500,000; $200 for $500,000 or more. By contributions (Charitable Organizations Act, if you solicit): $0 under $5,000; $50 for $5,000 - $25,000; $100 for $25,000 - $50,000; $200 for $50,000 or more. Late fee $200.

Official source · checked October 21, 2026

Renewal

No renewal, but an annual report is due every year by the 15th day of the fifth month after your fiscal year ends (May 15 for a December year end). IRS extensions apply automatically.

Official source · checked October 21, 2026

State tax exemption

IRS approval doesn't automatically exempt you from state taxes. Here's how this state handles them.

Franchise tax

None to apply for: the Department of Taxation lists Ohio's corporation franchise tax as no longer in effect.

Official source · checked October 21, 2026

Commercial activity tax

Nonprofit groups are excluded from the commercial activity tax (CAT), Ohio's tax on business gross receipts (O.R.C. 5751.01(E)(8)).

Official source · checked October 21, 2026

Sales tax

Yes. Purchases by 501(c)(3) organizations and other nonprofits operated exclusively for charitable purposes in Ohio are exempt, and their own sales are exempt on up to six days a year (O.R.C. 5739.02(B)(12) and (B)(9)).

Official source · checked October 21, 2026

Sales tax certificate

To buy tax-free, give the seller an exemption certificate: STEC U for a single purchase, or STEC B for ongoing purchases from the same seller.

Official source · checked October 21, 2026

Your board

The smallest board the state's nonprofit law allows. Many charities choose more.

Minimum directors

Three or more (O.R.C. 1702.27). A corporation with only one or two members may have fewer, but not fewer than its number of members.

Official source · checked October 21, 2026

Every year

• Ohio Attorney General: charitable registration annual report

  Charities registered with the Ohio Attorney General file an annual report by the 15th day of the 5th month after the fiscal year ends. If you have an extension for your IRS Form 990, the Attorney General honors it and your report is due the same day as your IRS return. Fees are on a sliding scale. Confirm what applies to you with the Attorney General.

  Official source · checked October 14, 2026

Federal deadlines (the Form 990 family) depend on your fiscal year and size. The compliance calendar puts them and Ohio's in date order.

Make my Ohio calendar

Who to ask

We don't list a free legal help program for Ohio charities yet. The directory has the programs we know of.