Michigan charges nothing to register your charity with the Attorney General, and once the IRS approves your 501(c)(3) status, Michigan exempts you from state corporate income tax automatically, no separate application. Here's the full path.
Two things stand out about Michigan compared to most states. First, charitable solicitation registration, both the initial application and every future renewal, has a $0 filing fee. Second, Michigan doesn't ask 501(c)(3)s to file a separate application for state corporate income tax exemption at all: federal tax-exempt status carries over automatically, with nothing to submit and nothing to renew.
Your name must be distinguishable from every other domestic or foreign corporation, LLC, or limited partnership already registered with Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). Adding "Inc.," "Corp.," or "Company," or just changing "the"/"a"/"and"/"or," doesn't make an otherwise-identical name distinguishable. Your name also can't suggest a purpose different from what's in your articles of incorporation.
Check availability using LARA's business entity search before you file.
File Form CSCL/CD-502, "Articles of Incorporation for Use by Domestic Nonprofit Corporations," with Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Corporations Division. The combined filing and franchise fee is $20 ($10 filing fee plus $10 nonrefundable franchise fee).
File online through the MiBusiness Registry Portal or by mail. Agency contact: LARA Corporations, Securities & Commercial Licensing Bureau, 517-241-6470.
Michigan calls this a "resident agent," and requires the agent's business address to be identical to your registered office address, a physical Michigan street address, not a P.O. box. An individual serving as resident agent must be at least 18 and live in Michigan; a business entity acting as agent must have a Michigan business office at that same address.
Michigan's Nonprofit Corporation Act sets a real statutory floor: the board of a nonprofit corporation that isn't a private foundation must have 3 or more directors. There's a narrower exception down to 1 or more directors for private foundations and for corporations formed to serve a dentally underserved population, but a standard public charity should plan on seating at least three from day one.
Bylaws aren't filed with LARA, but the IRS will want them with your 1023 application, and your board minimum above needs to show up in them consistently. Use our bylaws template and checklist as a starting structure.
Get a free EIN directly from the IRS, then file Form 1023 or 1023-EZ for federal 501(c)(3) recognition. These are federal steps, identical regardless of which state you're in. Our First 90 Days checklist lays out EIN, 1023, and the first federal deadlines in sequence.
Most charitable organizations soliciting contributions in Michigan must register with the Attorney General's Charitable Trust Section before soliciting, using the Initial Solicitation Registration form (Form CTS-01). Unlike most states, there is no filing fee for this initial registration.
Submit through e-filing, email, mail, or fax. Agency: Michigan Department of Attorney General, Charitable Trust Section. Check the current forms page for the up-to-date CTS-01 packet before you file, since the AG updates these periodically.
Registration must be renewed annually using Form CTS-02, the Renewal Solicitation Form, also with no filing fee. Each registration has an expiration date set at 7 months after the end of your organization's fiscal year, and the Attorney General's office recommends submitting your renewal at least 30 days before that expiration date.
If the IRS has recognized your organization as tax-exempt under 501(c)(3), you're automatically exempt from Michigan's 6% Corporate Income Tax. There's no separate Michigan application to file and no renewal requirement for this exemption.
Sales tax is the one place you still have to do something. To buy items sales-tax-free for your organization's exempt purposes, give the seller a completed Form 3372, "Michigan Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption," along with a copy of your IRS determination letter. Michigan doesn't issue you a tax-exempt number; the exemption lives in the certificate you hand to each vendor, and all four sections of the form must be filled out or the certificate isn't valid.
Forming in Michigan follows the standard shape: a distinguishable name, Form CSCL/CD-502 for $20, a resident agent at a real Michigan address, at least three directors, then EIN and Form 1023 with the IRS. What makes Michigan lighter than most states is what comes after: charitable registration and its annual renewal are both free, and your state corporate income tax exemption arrives automatically the moment the IRS approves you, no extra filing required. The one thing you still have to actively manage is sales tax, which runs through Form 3372 at the vendor level rather than a state-issued certificate.
For registration questions, contact the Attorney General's Charitable Trust Section. For incorporation questions, contact LARA Corporations at 517-241-6470.
Fundraising outside Michigan too? Our charitable registration guide covers how multi-state registration works in general. And if you're not sure whether Michigan's rules (or any state's) apply to your situation, check the FAQ for the canonical state-by-state treatment.