Most North Carolina associations organized as nonprofit corporations must file a short annual report with the Secretary of State beginning in 2027.

Every few years the General Assembly amends a statute that never says “homeowners association” and still lands on the board agenda. House Bill 517, signed July 7, 2026 and chaptered as Session Law 2026-52, is one of those bills. It revises the North Carolina Nonprofit Corporation Act. Most associations in Greensboro, Charlotte, and across the state are Chapter 55A corporations, so the change reaches them.

This is written from four decades of managing Carolina communities, not from a law license. It is not legal advice. Have your association’s attorney confirm how the session law applies to your documents.

AMG’s view — and what we will do for clients

AMG did not support this change. In our view, a new public filing was unnecessary and costly, and it places the names and contact details of volunteer officers on a state database anyone can search. Community associations were not named in the bill. They were swept in with other nonprofit corporations under Chapter 55A, even though the community statutes already require associations to keep this kind of information and make it available to members. Nevertheless, the requirement is now law.

Beginning January 1, 2027, most nonprofit associations must file a short annual report with the Secretary of State by November 15 each year. Nothing is due in 2026. The fee to the State is $18 electronically or $25 on paper. AMG intends to offer a program that will help client associations prepare and file.

What the filing entails

The session law asks for a current snapshot: the corporation’s name and jurisdiction, registered office, registered agent, principal office, “principal” officers, a brief description of activities, a contact email, and a person who can identify who may bind the corporation. Assembling that is easy. Trusting a record no one has checked since transition is not. Registered agents move. Principal offices still list a developer who left years ago. Pull the file at sosnc.gov this quarter and read it in a meeting.

If the deadline is missed

If the report is not received within 60 days of the deadline, the corporation can be treated as delinquent. Stay there, and the Secretary of State can start administrative dissolution. Reinstatement is generally available and relates back. Materials on the bill also allow a reinstatement-fee waiver through January 1, 2029. That is still slower and riskier than filing. A community in that window will hear about it from a closer, a carrier, or a collections file.

The rest of the act

The same act tweaks committee rules and merger mechanics. It also sets a three-director minimum for nonprofits formed on or after October 1, 2026. Some summaries treat that floor as applying to every nonprofit. The enacted text and the official analysis limit it to newly organized corporations. Do not rewrite your bylaws off a blog post, including this one.

What boards should do now

Name one party to file and a second to confirm. Write that into the management agreement or the annual calendar. The duty stays with the board either way.

Do the housekeeping now. Fix the agent and the offices. Put November 15 beside the tax return and the insurance renewal. Budget for the new administrative costs. If you are an AMG client, ask your manager how the new program will cover your community. If you are not, we can still point you to qualified counsel.

Do not wait until 2027 to learn what the state thinks your association is. Notices already go to that address.

The two-statute problem — community law on top of corporate law — is treated at more length in Boards, Bylaws, and Better Governance.

Questions boards ask

Does our HOA have to file?

Generally yes, if it is a North Carolina nonprofit corporation. Counsel should confirm.

When is the first report due? November 15, 2027. No filing is required in 2026 under the new provision.

What if we miss it?

Delinquency can follow after 60 days; dissolution is a later risk. Reinstatement is usually available. Filing on time is simpler.

Paul Mengert, CMCA®, PCAM®, is founder and CEO of Association Management Group, which began in Greensboro in 1985 and now serves more than 30,000 owners across the Carolinas. amgworld.com