Out-of-State Business Registration

Out-of-state businesses need to register in New Jersey. The forms you need to complete depend on your New Jersey business activities.

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Registration may be required if you have an out-of-state business that did not originally form and register in New Jersey. Choose which scenario below applies to your business and follow the necessary steps to complete registration.

  1. Your business has Operations in New Jersey
  2. You ONLY have employees in New Jersey
  3. You ONLY sell goods in New Jersey
  4. You are seeking to contract with the New Jersey government (including but not limited to State, County, Municipal, School District, etc.)

Recent Regulations and Resources

Running a Business with Operations in New Jersey

The State calls out-of-state businesses with operations in New Jersey foreign businesses or Nexus businesses (because they have a nexus in New Jersey).

If any of the following applies to your business, you have business operations in New Jersey:

The NJ Division of Taxation’s Nexus Unit - Office Audit Branch can help you determine if you have a nexus business

To register as a Nexus Business:

  1. Corporations must obtain a Certificate of Good Standing with their state of origin
  2. All businesses must check to see if the EXACT name they used to register in their place of origin is available in New Jersey AND THEN form their business. NOTE: If yourbusiness name is available, you can submit your authorization documents online. If yourbusiness name is not availablein New Jersey, you need to find an available name, this is known as your Doing Business As (DBA) name. You can find an available DBA name using the same name search tool. Once you have found an available name you would like to use, you must submit a paper authorization application. Search available business names.
  1. After you form your business, you need to register for State taxes.

Running a Business with Employees in New Jersey

If you have employees in New Jersey and have no other business activity in the State, you need to register for State taxes.

Running a Business that Only Sells Goods and Services in New Jersey

You are considered a remote seller and need to register for State taxes if either of the following is true:

Either of these conditions gives your business an "economic nexus" in New Jersey. This is separate and distinct from a "physical nexus," described in the next section.

If neither of the above applies to your business, you do NOT need to register for State taxes.

Running a Business Seeking to Contract with New Jersey Government

If you are looking to contract with the New Jersey government you will have business operations in New Jersey. Follow the steps identified under "Your Business has Operations in New Jersey" above to properly register your business.

Once you've properly registered, learn how to find government contracts.

Becoming a New Jersey Business

New Jersey legislation now allows out-of-state businesses to go through a domestication process. Domestication is when an out-of-state business becomes a New Jersey business.

Common advantages of domestication are tax advantages, legal protections, being a part of the local business community, and operational continuity. Before deciding to go through the domestication process, you should carefully evaluate the legal, tax, and operational implications for your business.

Filing forms are available for this process: