Most guides on how to start business New York tell you the obvious stuff: pick a name, file some paperwork, open a bank account. What they skip is the sequence that actually matters — and the New York-specific quirks that catch founders off guard months into the process. Get the order wrong and you’ll find yourself paying for a publication requirement you weren’t expecting, or losing your preferred business name because you waited too long to file. This guide walks you through the real steps, in the right order, with the specifics New York actually requires.
Step 1: Choose Your Business Structure Before You Touch Any Forms
Your structure decision drives everything that follows — your tax obligations, personal liability exposure, and the exact forms you’ll file. In New York, the most common choices for a new business are a sole proprietorship, a limited liability company (LLC), a C-corporation, or an S-corporation.
For most people launching a new business in New York without outside investors, an LLC is the default recommendation. It limits your personal liability, has a simple pass-through tax structure, and costs $200 to file the Articles of Organization with the New York Department of State. If you’re planning to raise venture capital or issue stock options to employees, a Delaware C-corp remains the standard — but you’ll still need to register as a foreign corporation in New York if you’re operating here, which carries its own fees.
Sole proprietorships are the cheapest to set up but offer zero liability protection. If a client sues you as a sole proprietor, your personal assets are on the table. For most serious new business owners, that’s an unacceptable risk.
Step 2: Search and Reserve Your Business Name
Before you file anything, search the New York Department of State’s entity database to confirm your preferred name is available. New York prohibits names that are “deceptively similar” to existing entities, and the standard is stricter than you might expect — “Apex Solutions LLC” and “Apex Solution LLC” could both be flagged.
If you find a name you want but aren’t ready to file immediately, you can reserve it for 60 days by filing a Name Reservation application with the DOS for a $20 fee. This is worth doing if your formation paperwork is still in progress. Names are first-come, first-served, and New York processes thousands of new business filings every week.
Trade Names and DBA Filings
If you plan to operate under a name different from your registered entity name — say, your LLC is “Morales Consulting LLC” but you want to do business as “MC Strategy Group” — you’ll need to file a Certificate of Assumed Name with the DOS ($25 for LLCs and corporations). For sole proprietors and partnerships, this filing goes to your county clerk’s office instead, and fees vary by county.
Step 3: File Your Formation Documents With the New York DOS
For an LLC, you’ll file Articles of Organization (Form DOS-1336) online or by mail. The $200 filing fee is non-refundable. The form itself is straightforward — you’ll need your entity name, county of principal office, and a registered agent address in New York. Processing typically takes 7 business days by mail; expedited same-day service costs an additional $25 to $75 depending on the turnaround you need.
For a corporation, you file a Certificate of Incorporation (Form DOS-1239-f) and pay a minimum $125 fee based on the number of authorized shares. If you authorize 200 shares or fewer, the fee is $125. More shares mean higher fees, so many founders setting up a new corporation in New York deliberately keep authorized shares low at formation and amend later.
Step 4: Satisfy New York’s Unique Publication Requirement
This is the step that surprises almost everyone starting a new business in New York as an LLC. Within 120 days of formation, New York requires you to publish a notice of your LLC’s formation in two newspapers in the county where your principal office is located — one daily and one weekly. You must run the notice for six consecutive weeks. After publication, you file a Certificate of Publication with the DOS along with a $50 fee.
The catch: newspaper publication costs vary wildly by county. In rural upstate counties, you might pay $100 to $200 total. In Manhattan (New York County), costs can run $1,200 to $2,000 or more because the designated papers charge premium rates. Many founders choose to list their principal office in Albany or another lower-cost county specifically to reduce this expense — which is entirely legal if you have a legitimate presence there, such as a registered agent address.
Corporations in New York do not have this publication requirement. It applies only to LLCs and LLPs.
Step 5: Get Your EIN and Open a Business Bank Account
An Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS is free and takes about 10 minutes to obtain online at IRS.gov. You need it before you can open a business bank account, hire employees, or file most state tax registrations. Even if you have no employees, get the EIN — using your Social Security Number on business documents is an unnecessary privacy and identity-theft risk.
When opening a bank account, bring your Articles of Organization, your EIN confirmation letter, your operating agreement, and a government-issued ID. Some banks also want a copy of your Certificate of Publication once you complete that requirement. Chase, TD Bank, and Capital One all have small-business account options with branches throughout New York, but regional banks and credit unions like Bethpage Federal Credit Union often offer lower fees for early-stage businesses.
Step 6: Register for New York State Taxes
If you’ll be selling taxable goods or services in New York, you must register for a Certificate of Authority through the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance before you make your first taxable sale. New York’s base sales tax rate is 4%, but combined with local rates, the effective rate in New York City is 8.875%. Registration is free and done online through the Business Express portal on the NY.gov website.
If you’ll have employees, you’ll also need to register for withholding tax, unemployment insurance with the New York State Department of Labor, and workers’ compensation coverage — mandatory in New York even for a single employee. If you’re operating as a corporation, New York imposes a separate corporate franchise tax through the Department of Taxation and Finance; LLCs with a single member that are taxed as sole proprietors may have a different filing obligation than multi-member LLCs taxed as partnerships.
Step 7: Get Your Licenses and Local Permits
New York has no single general business license, but depending on your industry and location, you may need state-level professional licenses (contractors, cosmetologists, and financial advisors all have different licensing bodies), a New York City Business License if operating in the five boroughs, a Certificate of Occupancy from your local building department, or a food service establishment permit from the Department of Health. The NY Business Express portal is the best starting point for identifying which licenses apply to your specific activity and location.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The most expensive mistake is missing the 120-day publication window for an LLC — if you fail to publish and file the Certificate of Publication on time, New York will suspend your LLC’s authority to carry on business, and you’ll still owe the publication costs to cure it. A close second is treating your operating agreement as optional: New York doesn’t require you to file it with the state, but operating without one means the state’s default LLC rules govern disputes between members, which rarely reflects what founders actually intended. Finally, don’t skip the NY registration step if you formed in Delaware or Wyoming thinking it would save money — if you’re doing business in New York, you’re legally required to register as a foreign entity here, pay the associated fees, and meet the same publication requirement. Trying to sidestep that rule creates more exposure than it avoids.
