Required in North Carolina?
No — businesses in North Carolina are not legally required to implement an operating agreement.
By Type (2)
Single-Member LLC Operating Agreement – For use by a sole proprietor where there would be only one (1) member running the business. The document will separate the single member from the business, protecting the member’s personal and financial assets.
Download: PDF, MS Word (.docx), OpenDocument
Multi-Member LLC Operating Agreement – For use by members of companies with more than one (1) member. The document will provide protections needed with regard to the personal interest of all members of the business.
Download: PDF, MS Word (.docx), OpenDocument
State Definition
“Operating agreement” — Any agreement concerning the LLC or any ownership interest in the LLC to which each interest owner is a party or is otherwise bound as an interest owner. Subject to other controlling law, the operating agreement may be in any form, including written, oral, or implied, or any combination thereof. The operating agreement may specify the form that the operating agreement must take, in which case any purported amendment to the operating agreement or other agreement expressed in a nonconforming manner will not be deemed to be part of the operating agreement and will not be enforceable to the extent it would be part of the operating agreement if it were in proper form. Subject to G.S. 57D-2-21 and the other provisions of this Chapter governing articles of organization, the articles of organization are to be deemed to be, or be part of, the operating agreement. If the LLC has only one interest owner and no operating agreement to which another person is a party, then any document or record intended by the interest owner to serve as the operating agreement will be the operating agreement.[1]