Form LLC-5 and corporate statements
California registration for companies formed in another state
We prepare the filing, order your home-state certificate, name the agent for service of process and file it in Sacramento.
Choose the state that issued your formation documents. The rest is asked at checkout.
Registering an out-of-state LLC in California means filing Form LLC-5, the Application to Register a Foreign Limited Liability Company (LLC), with the California Secretary of State, Business Entities and pay $70; a stock corporation files the Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation and pays $100. California Foreign Registration prepares the application, orders the home-state certificate that has to travel with it, names the agent for service of process, files on bizfile Online and sends back the registration. Our charge is $199 on top of the state fee.
Two agencies are involved. The Secretary of State registers the company. Separately, the Franchise Tax Board bills every LLC that holds a California registration an annual tax of $800, and the bill does not wait for the company to earn anything here. We cover the registration and tell you where the tax picks up.
Order placed
Five minutes of questions about your company and who signs.
Filed in Sacramento
Form LLC-5 or the corporate statement goes in through bizfile Online.
Certificate issued
Approved in Sacramento, and your certificate of registration is on its way.
Secretary of State, California
Certificate of Registration
- Company
- Sample Harbor LLC
- Home jurisdiction
- Delaware
- Agent
- On file
A mock-up of what comes back. Your filing will carry your own company details.
- Filed with the Secretary of State in Sacramento
- Home-state certificate ordered for you
- Agent for service of process included
Included in every order
LLC-5 or S&DC, prepared
Your answers go onto the right California form, LLC or corporation, with the name entered exactly as your home state shows it.
Good standing, ordered
California only takes a home-state certificate dated in the last 6 months. We order a current one so it is not stale on arrival.
Submitted on bizfile Online
We file online, which the Secretary of State itself points to as the faster route.
Agent for service of process
We act as your California agent, or we list the individual or registered corporate agent you already use.
Your 90-day reminder
The Statement of Information is due soon after registration. We tell you the date when we send your certificate.
Email a person
Questions about your filing reach the team preparing it, not a ticket queue.
How we register your company in California
Decide whether California applies
The statutory test is repeated and successive transactions inside the state. The California registration test sets out the 10 activities that do not count.
Answer the order questions
Exact legal name, home state, formation date, the principal office address, who signs and whether we serve as your agent for service of process. If the Secretary of State needs more, we email you before filing.
We order the home-state certificate
California accepts a certificate of good standing issued within 6 months of the filing, so we request a new one from your formation state.
We file in Sacramento
On bizfile Online, with the $70 fee for an LLC or $100 for a corporation. Expedite is available if you want it.
You receive the registration and the calendar
The approved registration comes to you with the date the first Statement of Information is due and a note on the Franchise Tax Board payment.
California registration at a glance
- LLC filing
- Form LLC-5, Application to Register a Foreign Limited Liability Company (LLC)
- Corporation filing
- Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation (Form S&DC-S/N); the same form serves a nonprofit
- Filed with
- California Secretary of State, Business Entities
- State fee
- $70 for an LLC or limited partnership, $100 for a stock corporation, $30 for a nonprofit
- Home-state certificate
- Required, dated within the last 6 months
- How to file
- Online on bizfile Online, by mail, or by drop-off in Sacramento
- State handling target
- 5 days or less online, 10+ days on paper
- Faster review
- $350 for a 24-hour answer, $750 for same day
- Agent
- An agent for service of process in California, as an individual who lives here or a registered corporate agent
- First follow-up
- Statement of Information, Form LLC-12 (California Secretary of State): within 90 days of registering, then every 2 years
- Yearly tax on LLCs
- $800 to the Franchise Tax Board
What each entity type pays to register
| Entity type | Filing | Charge |
|---|---|---|
| Limited liability company | Form LLC-5 | $70 |
| Stock corporation | Form S&DC-S/N | $100 |
| Nonprofit corporation | Form S&DC-S/N | $30 |
| Professional corporation | Form S&DC-PC | $100 |
| Limited partnership | Form LP-5 | $70 |
Choosing a faster service adds the state's handling charge on top of these amounts. The California registration cost page lists every option and works through several complete totals.
Does your company have to register?
California defines the trigger by pattern, not by a dollar figure: a foreign LLC that keeps entering repeated, successive transactions of its business inside California, interstate and foreign commerce aside, counts as transacting intrastate business. The statute then sets aside 10 activities, such as defending a lawsuit, finishing one isolated deal within 180 days, selling through independent contractors or keeping a bank account. The Secretary of State will not tell you which side of the line you are on.
Do I need to register in California? works through remote employees, a warehouse, online sales and property, and explains why the Franchise Tax Board's separate sales, property and payroll thresholds can apply to a company that never needed to register.
Which form applies?
An LLC uses Form LLC-5. Stock and nonprofit corporations use Form S&DC-S/N, and a limited partnership uses Form LP-5. Every one of them is filed with a certificate of good standing from the home jurisdiction and names an agent for service of process. We do not file registrations for limited liability partnerships.
What happens if you do business unregistered?
The practical bite is access to the courts. A foreign LLC doing business here with no certificate of registration cannot start a lawsuit in California, though it can defend one, and skipping registration does not by itself make its members personally answerable for company debts. A corporation can face a per-day penalty. California penalties for operating unregistered sets out the statutes and how to catch up.
What California asks for every year
Two things recur. The Secretary of State wants a Statement of Information: for an LLC the first is due 90 days after registration and the next one every 2 years, at $20 each, while a corporation files yearly at $25. The Franchise Tax Board wants the $800 LLC tax by the 15th day of the 4th month after the taxable year begins. The annual tax and Statement of Information page covers dates, late penalties and what a suspension does.
Agent, DIY and leaving
The agent for service of process rules say who may serve and how to change the agent. If you would rather file the application yourself, the screen-by-screen walkthrough shows every bizfile step and where people stall. A Delaware or Wyoming company has its own pages: Delaware LLC in California and Wyoming LLC in California. When the company winds down its California presence, the cancellation page covers Form LLC-4/7 and the final tax return.
What we need from you to start
The order form asks for the company's exact legal name and home state, its formation date, the principal office street address and any California address, the person who will sign, the type of entity and the agent for service of process. For an LLC that is everything Form LLC-5 needs. We order the home-state certificate and check the name against California's designator and distinguishability rules before anything is filed, and we email you if something does not fit.
What you receive
You get the approved registration from the Secretary of State, the entity number to quote on later filings and a short calendar with the Statement of Information date and the Franchise Tax Board payment. Certified copies, when a bank or licensing agency wants one, are $5 per document from the state.
Registered agent: first year included, then $149 a year
$199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Our fee, plus the state fee at cost
Register in California
California$199
+ $70 Secretary of State fee
- Form LLC-5 for an LLC or the Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation for a corporation
- A current certificate from your home state, which we order
- Submitted to Sacramento through bizfile Online
- A California agent for service of process: ours, or the one you name
- The certificate of registration, sent to you once issued
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
Checkout lists our fee and the state fee as separate lines. The state fee is charged at cost. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
California registration questions
What is the total state cost of an LLC from another state registering here?
The state fee is $70 for Form LLC-5. We add $199; the state fee is not marked up. The Franchise Tax Board's $800 annual LLC tax is a separate yearly cost.
Do I need a certificate from my home state?
Yes: a certificate of good standing from the government agency where the company was formed, issued within the last 6 months (Corp. Code 17708.02(b)). We order it for you.
How long does California take?
California's handling target is 5 days or less for online filings and 10+ days for paper. Expedite is $350 for 24 hours or $750 for same day, with the same-day document due in by 9:30 a.m..
What if my LLC name is taken in California?
You register under an alternate name and use it for business here (Corp. Code 17708.05(a)). The alternate name goes in item 1b of the form.
Does a corporation file the same form as an LLC?
No. A stock corporation files the Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation, Form S&DC-S/N, for $100. See the corporation form page.
Who can be my agent for service of process?
We can, at checkout. Otherwise an individual who is a resident of California, or a corporation that has filed a registered corporate agent certificate under Section 1505 and whose capacity to act has not terminated, can serve.
What is the yearly cost after registering?
The Franchise Tax Board charges an LLC $800 a year, due by the 15th day of the 4th month after the taxable year begins, plus a Statement of Information fee of $20 every 2 years. An LLC whose California income reaches $250,000 owes an extra LLC fee.
Can the name be reserved first?
Yes. California reserves a name for 60 days for $10, which helps if the exact name is at risk while you collect the paperwork.
What does it cost to cancel the registration later?
Form LLC-4/7 carries no fee, but the $800 LLC tax keeps running until it is filed.
Does registering in California stop the home state from taxing the company?
No. The company stays a home-state entity, so its home-state annual tax or report continues alongside the California filings.
Can you handle a limited partnership or a nonprofit?
Yes, by email. A limited partnership files Form LP-5 for $70 and a nonprofit files Form S&DC-S/N for $30.
Where these facts come from
- California Secretary of State, foreign LLC forms and fees
- California Corporations Code 17708.02 (application to register)
- California Secretary of State, Business Entities FAQs
- California Secretary of State, foreign corporation forms and fees
- California Secretary of State, foreign limited partnership forms and fees
- California Secretary of State, Form LP-5 (Application for Registration, Foreign LP)
- Franchise Tax Board, Form FTB 3522 instructions (LLC tax voucher)
- Franchise Tax Board, Form 568 booklet (annual LLC tax)
- California Secretary of State, special handling and expedited filing services
- California Corporations Code 17708.03 (transacting intrastate business)
- California Secretary of State, Form LLC-12 (Statement of Information) and instructions
- California Secretary of State, Form SI-550 (Statement of Information, stock and foreign corporations)
- California Secretary of State, Business Entities fee schedule
- California Corporations Code 17708.05 (alternate name)
- California Corporations Code 17701.13 (agent for service of process)
- Franchise Tax Board, limited liability company
- California Secretary of State, name reservations and name rules
Registering an out-of-state company in California?
Order online, and we prepare the filing, get the certificate from your home state and file in Sacramento.