Formation & registration
North Carolina licenses charitable solicitation through the Secretary of State. The threshold is generous by comparison with other states, but — as in Florida — the exemption is something you apply for rather than something you simply have. A co-op that assumes it is exempt because it is small has done half the job.
Administered by North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State — Charitable Solicitation Licensing Division
Every source below is the agency or legislature that makes the rule. We do not cite compliance vendors.
An organization receiving less than $50,000 in contributions in any calendar year (raised from $25,000 by S.L. 2023-119 in September 2023) is exempt under § 131F-3(3) — but only where it does not compensate any officer, trustee, organizer, incorporator, fund-raiser or solicitor. That condition catches co-ops that pay a teacher or an administrator out of fees, so read it before assuming the dollar figure settles it.
To obtain the exemption an organization submits a written request to the Department with supporting documentation, and receives a letter of exemption in return. The Department can review or cancel an exemption at any time. Being under $50,000 is the qualifying condition, not the exemption itself, and the Department says this exemption requires an annual review of the organization’s financial information.
Thirteen categories are exempt under § 131F-3, including anyone soliciting for a religious institution and, under § 131F-3(4), educational institutions whose curriculum is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools or an equivalent body and any educational institution in compliance with Article 39 of Chapter 115C. Whether a parent-led co-op is itself such an educational institution is a judgement about that organization, not something a table can decide — if you intend to rely on that category rather than the dollar threshold, get it confirmed in writing.
We publish this rather than hiding it. A gap is a question for your accountant or attorney, not a suggestion that nothing applies.
Free whitepaper PDF
North Carolina requires volunteer checks in only a few settings — licensed child care, residential child care and foster homes. Almost everywhere else, state law permits a check and leaves the decision to you. This guide shows you which is which, and how to run each.
This page covers forming and registering the organization. Whether your volunteers must be screened is governed by a different set of laws, which we maintain separately with its own citations — so the two can never quietly disagree with each other.
North Carolina volunteer screening requirementsOnly states we have actually read the law for appear here. We would rather cover a handful of states honestly than fifty by extrapolation — if your state is missing, that is why.
Back to the homeschool co-op toolkitThis page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Statutes are amended, agencies reinterpret them, and how any of this applies turns on facts specific to your co-op. Verify against the cited source before you file anything, and take structure and exemption questions to an accountant or attorney licensed in North Carolina.
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