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California Foreign Registration · Do it yourself

How to register a foreign LLC in California yourself

Registering a foreign LLC in California yourself means completing Form LLC-5 on bizfile Online, uploading a home-state certificate of good standing and paying $70. This page lists what to gather, every field in order, the paper alternative and the places where filings stall.

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Gather these first

  • The LLC's name exactly as the home state's records show it, and the state, country or place of formation.
  • A certificate of good standing from the home state, issued within the last 6 months, saved as a file you can upload.
  • A street address for the principal office. A P.O. box or in-care-of address is not accepted for the principal office lines.
  • The agent for service of process: a California resident with a physical street address, or a registered corporate agent whose exact registered name you have checked.
  • Someone with authority to sign for the LLC, and a card or bank account for the $70 fee.

Create the bizfile account

Go to the Secretary of State's bizfile Online site and choose Login at the top right, then Sign Up. The account is an Okta account; your email address is your username. The password needs at least 8 characters with a number, a symbol, a lowercase letter and an uppercase letter, and it may not contain part of your username or your first or last name. Check every field before you press Register, because the guide warns that the account details cannot be changed afterwards. Initial filings only need this login. Full access to the record goes to whoever submits the approved initial filing.

The fields, in the order of the form

The online form is drafted to meet the statute's minimum requirements, and the Secretary of State attaches filing tips to each one. The entries follow the paper Form LLC-5 described on the Form LLC-5 page. Enter the LLC name exactly as on the certificate (item 1a); add an alternate name only if the California designator or distinguishability rules block the real one (1b); choose the jurisdiction so it matches the certificate (2); enter the principal office street address and any California office (3); name the agent, individual or corporate but not both (4); upload the certificate; and sign electronically (5). The Secretary of State accepts only signatures made through its own online process.

Pay and choose the speed

The registration fee is $70. The Secretary of State offers the 24-hour filing service for $350 and the same-day service for $750 online; same-day needs the filing received by 9:30 a.m.. Without a paid tier, California's online handling target is 5 days or less. After the filing is approved, download the filed registration; copies of filed documents are free online, and certified copies cost $5 each. A name reservation costs $10 and holds a name for 60 days if you want it held before you file.

Timing

Every answer for the application comes from the formation papers. The unpredictable part is the home-state certificate, so start there. After submission the state's handling target is 5 days or less for an online filing. If the date matters more than the money, add the 24-hour or same-day tier at submission. Keep the confirmation email and the filed document together with the formation papers, since you will need them again.

If the filing is rejected

Read the response before anything else. For expedited filings the Secretary of State states the reasons for a rejection, and its guidance explains that many paper filings come back for name issues, errors, omissions or misstatements. Fix the single item named, keep the same certificate if it is still inside the 6-month window, and submit again. If the delay has used up the window, order a new certificate rather than arguing the date.

Check the public record afterwards

Once the filing is approved, search for the LLC on the Secretary of State's Business Search and confirm three things: the jurisdiction matches your home state (the search can show several entities with similar names), the addresses are the street addresses you entered, and the agent is the person or company you intended. Save the entity number, since the cancellation, any amendment and the Statement of Information all ask for it. New entity numbers begin with the letter B, and a search on bizfile needs that letter.

The paper route

Download Form LLC-5, complete it legibly, sign it by hand, and attach the certificate of good standing and a check payable to the Secretary of State for $70. Mail it to P.O. Box 944260, Sacramento, CA 94244-2600, or deliver it to 1500 11th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 on Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except state holidays. A drop-off carries a $15 special handling fee, but gets priority over mail. The paper handling target is 10+ days, against 5 days or less online. Copies of filed documents are free online afterwards, and a certificate of status costs $5.

Where DIY filings stall

  • The certificate is too old or does not match. It must be dated within 6 months and carry the same name as item 1a.
  • The agent. A corporate agent must have a current registered corporate agent certificate on file with the Secretary of State, and its name must be entered exactly as registered. An individual agent needs a California street address.
  • The name. If the name fails the California rules, you have to supply the alternate name yourself.
  • The address lines. City names cannot be abbreviated, and P.O. boxes are rejected for principal office lines.
  • Access later. Signing in as someone other than the person who made the initial filing means requesting access to the record, and the PIN arrives by mail at the entity's mailing address.

After the filing is approved

Three obligations start. The Statement of Information, $20 for an LLC, is due 90 days after registration, and the web User Access rule means the person filing it online needs access to the record first (the Secretary of State's hub page dates that requirement to August 1, 2026). The Franchise Tax Board's $800 annual tax is due by the 15th day of the 4th month after the taxable year begins, using FTB 3522. And the registered agent must stay in place. A Statement of Information left unfiled for 60 days after the delinquency notice adds a $250 penalty. The annual tax and Statement of Information page has the dates and penalties.

Registering a foreign LLC in California yourself

  1. Order the home-state certificate

    No more than 6 months old at filing, and under the LLC's exact name.

  2. Create the bizfile account

    Sign up with an email address and a password that meets the rules.

  3. Start the out-of-state LLC registration

    Complete the name, jurisdiction, addresses and agent fields.

  4. Upload the certificate and sign

    Use the portal's electronic signature.

  5. Pay and submit

    $70, plus any expedite tier.

  6. Diary the follow-ups

    Statement of Information inside 90 days; FTB tax by the 15th day of the 4th month after the taxable year begins.

Or let us do it

Our order form asks for the same information once, orders the certificate for you, completes the form and files it with the fee passed through at cost. Our fee, $199, is added to the state's $70.

Let us file it for me

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
Start my California filing

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.

Where these facts come from

  1. California Secretary of State, foreign LLC forms and fees
  2. California Corporations Code 17708.02 (application to register)
  3. California Secretary of State, Business Entities FAQs
  4. California Secretary of State, foreign corporation forms and fees
  5. California Secretary of State, foreign limited partnership forms and fees
  6. California Secretary of State, Form LP-5 (Application for Registration, Foreign LP)
  7. Franchise Tax Board, Form FTB 3522 instructions (LLC tax voucher)
  8. Franchise Tax Board, Form 568 booklet (annual LLC tax)
  9. California Secretary of State, Form LLC-5 (Application to Register a Foreign LLC)
  10. California Secretary of State, special handling and expedited filing services
  11. California Secretary of State, name reservations and name rules
  12. California Secretary of State, bizfile hub page
  13. California Secretary of State, Form LLC-12 (Statement of Information) and instructions
  14. Franchise Tax Board, Form FTB 3522 instructions (LLC tax voucher)
  15. California Corporations Code 17713.07 (Statement of Information penalty)

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.

Start my California filing