Forming a California LLC: Secretary of State Steps and Fees (2026)

Every California LLC now starts in the same place: the Secretary of State's bizfileOnline portal at https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/. The Business Programs Division accepts Articles of Organization online only, and the downloadable paper version of Form LLC-1 is no longer offered. The official California filing fee is $70, set under the California Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (Cal. Corp. Code § 17702.01). For the big-picture overview, see our main California LLC formation guide.

The Filing Steps, In Order

1. Search your name before you touch the filing. Run the name through the Business Search tool at bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov. California rejects names that match or are misleadingly similar to an existing entity, and your name must carry "LLC," "L.L.C.," or "Limited Liability Company." Our name search guide covers search strategy.
2. Reserve the name if you are not ready to file yet. This step is optional. A name reservation is submitted through the same bizfileOnline portal and holds the name for you for a limited period; details are in our name reservation guide.
3. Line up a registered agent. California's statute calls this role the agent for service of process (Cal. Corp. Code § 17701.13), and you must name one in the Articles. The agent is either an adult California resident with a street address in the state or a corporation holding a Corp. Code § 1505 certificate. An LLC cannot fill the role, and a company can never act as its own agent. See our registered agent guide.
4. File Articles of Organization, Form LLC-1, and pay $70. Complete the form inside bizfileOnline and submit it electronically; there is no mail or counter option for this filing anymore. Your LLC legally exists the moment the Secretary of State files the Articles. Our Articles of Organization guide walks through each field.
5. Submit the initial Statement of Information, Form LLC-12, within 90 days. The fee is $20, filed through the same portal. It records your agent, addresses, and management. After this first filing, the Statement of Information repeats every two years, not annually.
6. Register the Franchise Tax Board deadlines on your calendar. Forming with the Secretary of State automatically puts your LLC on the FTB's books. The $800 annual tax is paid with Form FTB 3522, first due by the 15th day of the 4th month of the tax year, and there is no first-year waiver (the AB 85 exemption ended after 2023). LLCs with California-source income of $250,000 or more also prepay a gross-receipts fee with Form 3536, and every LLC files the Form 568 return.
7. Adopt an operating agreement. California does not file this document, but the Revised Uniform LLC Act treats it as the company's governing contract. Cover ownership, management, profit splits, and exit terms. See our operating agreement guide.
8. Get your EIN and open the bank account. The EIN is free at irs.gov. Banks typically want the filed Articles, the EIN letter, and the operating agreement. See our EIN guide and bank account guide.

The Official Form and Fee

The formation document is the Articles of Organization, Form LLC-1, and the official state fee is $70. Filing is online only through bizfileOnline; the Secretary of State's forms page lists the domestic LLC Articles as an online-only filing, so ignore any instructions elsewhere that tell you to download and mail a PDF. Statutory authority sits at Cal. Corp. Code § 17702.01, which lets one or more organizers form an LLC by delivering articles of organization to the Secretary of State.

Two Clocks Start When the Articles Are Filed

Clock one is the Statement of Information. The initial Form LLC-12 is due within 90 days of registration at $20. From then on the filing is biennial: it lands in a six-month window that ends on the last day of your registration anniversary month, in years matching the parity of your registration year (registered in an even year, file in even years). A no-change filing uses Form LLC-12NC at no fee.

Clock two belongs to the Franchise Tax Board. The $800 annual tax comes due by the 15th day of the 4th month of the taxable year and repeats every year the LLC exists. This is a tax agency obligation entirely separate from the Secretary of State's filings.

Prefer to hand the whole sequence off? Our formation service is $199 and includes your first year of registered agent service, then $99 per year after that. Start your California LLC.

FAQ

What is the fastest way to form an LLC in California?

File through bizfileOnline, because it is now the only channel for Form LLC-1. Have your name search done, your registered agent confirmed, and your card ready before you start, and follow the Articles immediately with the Statement of Information and the free online EIN application so nothing sits waiting on you.

Can I file Form LLC-1 by mail or in person?

No. The Secretary of State lists the domestic LLC Articles of Organization as an online-only filing, and the LLC-1 paper PDF is no longer offered. Submit through bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov.

Can I start doing business before the Statement of Information is filed?

Yes. Your LLC exists once the Articles are filed, so you can sign contracts and open accounts right away. The initial Statement of Information simply has to be in within 90 days; missing that window invites a $250 penalty assessed by the Franchise Tax Board and, eventually, suspension by the Secretary of State.