A nonprofit corporation is a company formed for a charitable, educational, religious, scientific, or similar purpose rather than for distributing profits to owners. A Wyoming nonprofit has no shareholders. It is governed by directors, and any surplus the organization earns is used to further its purpose rather than paid out as profit. Founders choose this form for charities, clubs, foundations, and community organizations that need a legal entity to hold funds, sign agreements, and operate in the organization’s name.
This page covers what Wyoming charges and requires when forming a nonprofit corporation, and what Sams Business handles.
What it costs to form a Wyoming nonprofit
The Wyoming Secretary of State charges $50 to file Articles of Incorporation for a domestic nonprofit corporation. That figure comes from the Secretary of State’s Business Division filing fee schedule, effective July 1, 2026. The state filing fee is paid by you at cost, with zero markup, and you see the full total before you pay anything. Sams Business package fees sit on top of the state fee: Basic at $0, Standard at $199, and Premium at $299.
Articles of Incorporation for a nonprofit are marked for electronic submission in the fee schedule, so the corporation can be formed through the state’s WyoBiz portal. When a filing is submitted online, the business entity is active immediately. Filings sent by mail are reviewed in the order they are received.
A certificate of good standing, which grantmakers and banks sometimes ask for, is available electronically through WyoBiz at no cost, while a certified copy costs $20.
What Wyoming requires
Every Wyoming nonprofit corporation must continuously maintain a registered agent. The agent may be an individual who is at least 18 years old and resides in Wyoming, or a business entity that is registered and in good standing with the Secretary of State. The agent must have a physical Wyoming address to accept service of process, and must be at the registered office address during normal business hours.
The registered office must be a street address in Wyoming at a physical location where an individual can accept service of process. Post office boxes, drop boxes, virtual addresses, mail forwarding locations, and UPS or FedEx stores do not qualify as an acceptable registered office address. Every Sams Business formation package includes registered agent service free for the first year, and virtual mail free for the first month.
Two points about nonprofits are easy to confuse. First, forming a nonprofit corporation with the state does not by itself make the organization tax-exempt. Tax-exempt status is a separate application decided by the IRS, and it is not part of the state formation filing. Second, Wyoming has no state requirements for charities and fundraisers, although a nonprofit formed elsewhere may still need to qualify as a foreign corporation in Wyoming before doing business there.
After formation: the Wyoming annual report
A Wyoming nonprofit corporation must file an annual report every year to remain in good standing, but its fee works differently from a business corporation. Nonprofits pay a flat annual report fee of $25, and they are not required to provide information on their assets located and employed in Wyoming. The due date follows the same rule as other entities: it is based on the anniversary month of formation, so a nonprofit formed on January 15 has an annual report due on January 1 of each following year. A report may be filed up to 120 days before its due date.
Reports may be filed online through the Annual Report Wizard, and a payment-processor convenience fee applies to online filing. The Secretary of State sends courtesy email reminders 60, 30, and 10 days before the due date. An entity is treated as delinquent on the second day of the month following its due date, and if the annual report is not filed within 60 days following the due date, the entity will be administratively dissolved. An entity dissolved for failure to file annual reports may apply for reinstatement within two years after the dissolution date. Reinstatement for tax costs $25 for a nonprofit corporation, while reinstatement for having no registered agent costs $150.
Nonprofits also need a way to keep their leadership record current. To change officers or directors of a nonprofit corporation, an Update of Officers/Directors form may be submitted, but only if an annual report is currently on file. Amendments, dissolutions, and other filings for a nonprofit corporation cost $25 under the fee schedule. Dissolution assistance is a separate service with a custom quote, and it is never part of a formation package.
Sams Business pricing for a Wyoming nonprofit
Basic ($0 plus the state fee) covers the nonprofit filing and state registration, with registered agent service free for the first year and virtual mail free for the first month. Standard ($199 plus the state fee) adds EIN assistance, bylaws, and compliance alerts. Premium ($299 plus the state fee) adds expedited filing where the state offers it, ready-to-use business contracts, a domain name and business email, and a US business phone number free for the first year. Start from the contact page to begin a Wyoming nonprofit filing.
Related Wyoming pages
- Wyoming LLC Formation
- Wyoming S Corporation Formation
- Wyoming C Corporation Formation
- Wyoming Registered Agent Service
- Wyoming Annual Report Filing
- Wyoming Assumed Business Name (DBA)
- Wyoming Foreign Qualification
- Nonprofit Formation
- Pricing
- Contact
Sams Business is an independent private service and is not affiliated with any government agency, including the Wyoming Secretary of State’s office.
Not legal or tax advice.