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North Dakota LLC Operating Agreement Template

Not required by statute. The operating agreement may be oral, in a record, implied or any combination (§ 10-32.1-02(36)); a new member is deemed to assent to it (§ 10-32.1-14(2)). Fill in the form to build a North Dakota operating agreement for a single-member or multi-member LLC, governed by the North Dakota Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. Download it as PDF or Word and keep the signed copy with the company records; it is not filed with the state.

This template is a starting point, not legal advice, and Jupid is not a law firm. LLC law differs by state, and North Dakota courts apply North Dakota law. Have an attorney licensed in your state review the agreement before every member signs, especially if members contribute property, receive unequal rights, or plan to bring in investors.

Your LLC

Company

Governed by the North Dakota Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. Not required by statute, but strongly recommended. North Dakota rules

Owners

Member

Management

Match what your Articles of Organization says, if it states the management structure.

Taxes

Succession

Lets the LLC continue without a gap in ownership. Coordinate with your will or trust.

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Operating Agreement of Blue Harbor Studio LLC

A North Dakota single-member, member-managed limited liability company

This Operating Agreement (this "Agreement") of Blue Harbor Studio LLC (the "Company") is made effective as of March 2, 2026 (the "Effective Date") by its sole member listed in Schedule A (the "Member").

Article 1. Formation

1.1 Formation. Blue Harbor Studio LLC (the "Company") was formed as a North Dakota limited liability company on March 2, 2026 by filing its Articles of Organization with the North Dakota Secretary of State. The North Dakota Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (the "Act") and this Agreement govern the Company. Where this Agreement differs from a default rule of the Act, this Agreement controls to the extent the Act allows.

1.2 Purpose. The purpose of the Company is graphic design, branding and marketing services, and any other lawful business for which a limited liability company may be formed under the Act.

1.3 Principal Office. The Company's principal office is at 1200 Main Street, Suite 300, Bismarck, ND, or at another place the Member chooses.

1.4 Registered Agent. The Company's registered agent and registered office in North Dakota are those stated in its most recent filing with the North Dakota Secretary of State.

1.5 Term. The Company continues until it is dissolved and its affairs are wound up under Article 10.

Article 2. Sole Member and Capital

2.1 Sole Member. Alex Rivera (the "Member") is the sole member of the Company and owns 100% of the membership interests. The Member's address and Capital Contribution are listed in Schedule A.

2.2 Capital Contribution. The Member has contributed or will contribute the money, property or services stated in Schedule A. The Member is not required to make any additional contribution but may do so at any time.

2.3 No Interest on Capital. The Member earns no interest on its Capital Contributions. A loan from the Member to the Company is not a Capital Contribution.

Article 3. Allocations and Distributions

3.1 Profits and Losses. All profits and losses of the Company are allocated to the Member.

3.2 Distributions. The Member decides when the Company makes distributions and in what amounts.

3.3 Limits on Distributions. The Company will not make a distribution if, after the distribution, the Company could not pay its debts as they become due in the ordinary course of business, its total liabilities would exceed its total assets, or the distribution would otherwise violate the Act.

Article 4. Tax Classification

4.1 Classification. The Company has one Member. Under Treasury Regulations Section 301.7701-3(b)(1)(ii), it is disregarded as an entity separate from its owner for federal income tax purposes unless the Member elects otherwise by filing IRS Form 8832 or Form 2553. Being disregarded for income tax purposes does not change the Company's separate legal existence or the Member's limited liability under the Act.

Article 5. Management

5.1 Management by the Member. The Company is member-managed. The Member has full authority to run the business, sign contracts, open accounts and take any other action for the Company. The Member may act by signing a written consent and is not required to hold meetings.

5.2 Officers and Agents. The Member may appoint officers or agents, give them titles and delegate authority to them in writing.

Article 6. Transfers and Additional Members

6.1 Transfers. The Member may transfer all or part of its membership interest. A person who receives the Member's entire interest is admitted as a member when the transfer takes effect.

6.2 Additional Members. The Member may admit additional members by written consent. When a second member is admitted, the members will sign an amended operating agreement that covers voting, distributions and transfers. Once the Company has two or more members, it is classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes unless it has elected to be taxed as a corporation.

Article 7. Death or Incapacity of the Member

7.1 Successor on Death. On the Member's death, the person who inherits the Member's interest under the Member's will or trust or under the laws of intestacy succeeds to the Member's entire interest and is admitted as the member effective as of the date of death, so that the Company continues without dissolution. Until the successor is admitted, the Member's personal representative may exercise all of the Member's rights to manage the Company.

7.2 Incapacity. If the Member becomes unable to manage the Company because of a physical or mental condition, the Member's agent under a durable power of attorney, or a court-appointed guardian or conservator, may exercise the Member's management rights until the Member can act again.

Article 8. Books, Records, Bank Accounts and Separateness

8.1 Books and Fiscal Year. The Company keeps complete and accurate books of account. Its fiscal year is the calendar year unless tax law requires otherwise, and its books are kept on the cash or accrual method the Member chooses for its tax returns.

8.2 Records. The Company keeps at its principal office the records the Act requires, including a copy of its Articles of Organization and all amendments, this Agreement and all amendments, a current list of its Member with addresses, Capital Contributions, and its federal, state and local tax returns and financial statements for at least the three most recent years.

8.3 Bank Accounts. All Company money is deposited in accounts in the Company's name and used only for Company purposes. Company funds are never mixed with the personal funds of the Member. The Member, and anyone they authorize in writing, may sign on Company accounts.

8.4 Separate Existence. The Company holds itself out as a legal entity separate from the Member. It signs contracts in its own name, pays its debts from its own funds, keeps its own books and accounts, and does not pay the personal expenses of the Member. These practices help preserve the limited liability the Act gives to the Member.

Article 9. Limited Liability, Exculpation and Indemnification

9.1 Limited Liability. To the fullest extent the Act allows, no Member or officer is personally liable for any debt, obligation or liability of the Company, whether arising in contract, tort or otherwise, solely because of that role. A failure of the Company to observe formalities is not a ground for imposing personal liability on the Member.

9.2 Exculpation. No Member or officer is liable to the Company for any act or omission in good faith on behalf of the Company, except for gross negligence, willful misconduct, a knowing violation of law, a transaction from which the person received an improper personal benefit, or a breach of this Agreement.

9.3 Indemnification. To the fullest extent the Act allows, the Company will indemnify and hold harmless the Member and each officer against losses, judgments, settlements and reasonable legal fees arising from claims related to the Company's business, except for conduct listed as an exception in Section 9.2. The Company may advance legal fees if the person agrees in writing to repay them if it is later determined that the person was not entitled to indemnification.

9.4 Insurance. The Company may buy insurance on behalf of any person it may indemnify.

Article 10. Dissolution and Winding Up

10.1 Events of Dissolution. The Company dissolves only on:

  1. the Member's written decision to dissolve;
  2. the sale of all or substantially all of its assets, after the sale proceeds are collected;
  3. the Company having no member, if no successor is admitted under Article 7 and the Company is not otherwise continued as the Act permits;
  4. entry of a court order of dissolution; or
  5. any other event that requires dissolution under the Act.

10.2 Winding Up. On dissolution, the Member will wind up the Company's affairs, sell or distribute its assets, and file the dissolution or cancellation documents the North Dakota Secretary of State requires.

10.3 Order of Payment. Company assets are applied in this order: first, to creditors, including the Member if it is a creditor, in satisfaction of the Company's debts; second, to reasonable reserves for contingent liabilities; and third, to the Member.

Article 11. General Provisions

11.1 Governing Law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of North Dakota, including the North Dakota Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (N.D.C.C. § 10-32.1-01 et seq.).

11.2 Entire Agreement. This Agreement, including its schedules, is the entire agreement of the Member about the Company and replaces any earlier oral or written agreement on the same subject.

11.3 Amendments. This Agreement may be amended only by a writing signed by the Member.

11.4 Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, the rest of the Agreement stays in effect, and the provision is enforced to the greatest extent allowed.

11.5 Binding Effect; No Third-Party Beneficiaries. This Agreement binds and benefits the Member and its permitted successors and assigns. No creditor or other third party may enforce it.

Signatures

The Member signs this Agreement effective as of the Effective Date.

Member: Alex Rivera

Date: ________________

Schedule A: Member

MemberAddressCapital contributionPercentage interest
Alex Rivera48 Oak Lane, Bismarck, ND$5,000 (Cash)100%
Total$5,000100%

Template from jupid.com. Not legal advice; North Dakota law varies, so have an attorney review this document before signing.

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North Dakota Operating Agreement Facts

LLC statute

North Dakota Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (N.D.C.C. § 10-32.1-01 et seq.)

Required?

Not required by statute. The operating agreement may be oral, in a record, implied or any combination (§ 10-32.1-02(36)); a new member is deemed to assent to it (§ 10-32.1-14(2)).

Filed with the state?

No. You file the Articles of Organization with the North Dakota Secretary of State; the operating agreement stays with the company records.

What the statute calls it

operating agreement

Annual or biennial report

Annual Report, $50, due before November 16 each year, starting the year after formation.

Series LLCs

Authorized, N.D.C.C. § 10-32.1-102

Community property state

No.

North Dakota's uniform act and the operating agreement

North Dakota LLCs are governed by the North Dakota Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (N.D.C.C. ch. 10-32.1), which has applied to every North Dakota LLC since January 1, 2016 (§ 10-32.1-05). The Act does not require members to adopt an operating agreement. It defines one as the agreement of all the members, including a sole member, "whether oral, in a record, implied, or in any combination thereof" (§ 10-32.1-02(36)). A person who becomes a member is deemed to assent to it, and the company is bound by it even if the company never signed (§ 10-32.1-14).

The agreement is not a filed record. When a record filed with the Secretary of State conflicts with the operating agreement, the agreement prevails among members, managers and governors, and the filed record prevails for outsiders who reasonably rely on it (§ 10-32.1-15(4)).

Default rules for LLCs formed after July 31, 2017

An LLC is member-managed unless the operating agreement expressly makes it manager-managed or board-managed (§ 10-32.1-39(1)). In a member-managed company created after July 31, 2017, each member votes in proportion to the member's interest in distributions, ordinary matters are decided by a majority of that voting power, and acts outside the ordinary course or amendments to the operating agreement need the consent of all members (§ 10-32.1-39(2)(b)). Distributions before dissolution are made in proportion to the value of the members' contributions, and profits and losses are allocated the same way (§§ 10-32.1-30(5), 10-32.1-30.1).

A member has the power to withdraw at any time, but withdrawing by express will before the company terminates is wrongful and makes the member liable for resulting damages (§ 10-32.1-47). Dissociation does not entitle the person to a distribution (§ 10-32.1-30(2)). The former member keeps the transferable interest as a transferee (§ 10-32.1-49(1)(c)), and a transferee has only the right to receive distributions (§ 10-32.1-44).

North Dakota specifics: boards, series and the annual report

North Dakota offers a third management structure. An operating agreement can make the company board-managed, run by a board of governors elected by the members (§ 10-32.1-39(1), (4)). The Act also lets an operating agreement establish series of members, managers, transferable interests or assets, with each series' liabilities limited to its own assets when the conditions in the statute are met, including separate records for the series' assets (§ 10-32.1-102).

Each LLC files an annual report with the Secretary of State before November 16 of each year, starting the year after formation (§ 10-32.1-89(3)); the fee is $50 (§ 10-32.1-92). North Dakota is not a community property state. Check the current statute before relying on a default rule.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official References

North Dakota statute sections and agency pages checked October 2026. Statutes change; confirm the current text before relying on a default rule.

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