Work out my cost
Every step from California’s own pages · checked October 22, 2026

How to start an LLC in California

Starting an LLC in California takes one online form and $70. The cost that matters comes after: an $800 tax every year, a $20 Statement of Information within 90 days, and a box on the form, about who runs the LLC, that decides whose name goes on the public record.

To file$70Articles of Organization
Year one$890state fees in your first 12 months
Each year after$810$800 tax a year + $20 statement every 2 years
File atbizfile OnlineSecretary of State, online
Approval5 days or lessonline; $350 buys 24 hours
Five years$4,130state fees, being your own agent

Step by step

Forming a California LLC from name to approval

  1. 01

    Check the name is free

    Search on bizfile Online business search. It shows corporation, LLC and LP names already on record, but the Secretary of State says it is only a preliminary search; a name is finally approved or refused only when the Articles are reviewed.

    Name ending
    Limited Liability Company, LLC or L.L.C.; the words Limited and Company may be shortened to Ltd. and Co. If you leave the ending off Form LLC-1, "LLC" is added for you.
    Reserving
    Name reservation: $10, holds the name for 60 days; file online on bizfile or by mail or drop-off. It can be renewed, but not for back-to-back 60-day periods (at least one day gap).

    Words to avoid or that need permission:

    • bank, trust, trustee (not allowed in an LLC name)
    • incorporated, inc., corporation, corp. (not allowed in an LLC name)
    • insurer, insurance company, or any wording suggesting the LLC issues insurance policies
    • words implying a government link, such as Agency, Commission, Department, Bureau, Division, Municipal or Board, especially next to a place name

    Also worth knowing:

    • Since January 1, 2021 the name must be 'distinguishable in the records' from other LLC names only; it is not checked against corporations, trademarks or fictitious business names.
    • Names that differ only by the LLC ending, capital letters, punctuation, symbols, spaces, or '&' versus 'and' count as the same name.
  2. 02

    Name a agent for service of process

    California calls it a “agent for service of process”: the person or company that receives legal papers and official letters for the LLC.

    Can it be you?
    Yes: any individual, including a member or manager, who lives in California at a physical California street address can be the agent, but the LLC itself cannot act as its own agent.
    Address
    An individual agent must live in California and give a physical California street address (no PO box or 'in care of' address); a registered corporate agent is named without an address.
    Their consent
    Neither Form LLC-1 nor Form LLC-12 has an agent signature, but the Secretary of State says you must get advance approval from a registered corporate agent before naming it.
    • A company can serve as agent only if it is a corporation with a current Section 1505 registered corporate agent certificate on file and is in good standing in California.
    • The individual agent's name and street address are public on bizfile, as are all addresses given in the LLC's filings.
    • You change the agent by filing a Statement of Information (no fee for an update outside the required filing period).
  3. 03

    File the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1)

    File online at bizfile Online. Fee: $70 (optional certified copy $5; in-person drop-off in Sacramento adds a $15 special handling fee).

    The form asks for:

    • LLC name
    • initial street address of the principal office (no PO box)
    • mailing address, if different
    • agent for service of process: either an individual's name and California street address, or the name of a registered corporate agent
    • management: one manager, more than one manager, or all LLC member(s)
    • fixed purpose statement (printed on the form, cannot be changed)
    • organizer's signature and printed name

    What is different about California’s form:

    • You must tick how the LLC is managed (one manager, more than one manager, or all members); this choice decides who must later be named on the public Statement of Information.
    • The purpose statement is pre-printed and must not be altered, so there is no custom business purpose on the Articles.
    • If you use a registered corporate agent, you give only its name and no address.
    • The form itself warns that LLCs may owe the $800 minimum tax to the Franchise Tax Board every year.

    On paper: Yes: the PDF Form LLC-1 can still be mailed or dropped off in Sacramento, but paper takes 10+ days and online filings are reviewed first.

  4. 04

    Wait for approval, or pay to go faster

    Online submissions: "5 days or less"; PDF (paper) forms: "10+ days". On October 21, 2026 the processing-dates page showed online LLC formations received October 16, 2026 under review (mail: 14 Oct).

    Extra feeSpeedNotes
    $35024 hours (excluding weekends and holidays)Online on bizfile or drop-off in Sacramento; added to the $70 filing fee.
    $750Same day by 4:00 p.m. if received by 9:30 a.m.Online on bizfile or drop-off in Sacramento; added to the $70 filing fee.
    $5004 hoursSacramento drop-off only, and the document must first be precleared (24-hour preclearance is a separate $500 drop-off service).

    Processing slows at the end of the fiscal and calendar years; expedite fees buy a faster review, not guaranteed approval.

  5. 05

    Do what comes after filing

    Approval is the start. Get the LLC’s EIN, free from the IRS, then work through what California expects next:

    • Statement of Information (Form LLC-12)Within 90 days of filing the Articles, then every 2 years in a 6-month window ending with your formation month (odd or even years to match the year you formed) · $20

      Names the managers (or every member if there are no managers), any CEO, the principal office, the agent and the type of business, and asks whether any manager or member has an unpaid Labor Code wage judgment. Filing late brings a $250 penalty.

    • Set up bizfile 'User Access' for the LLCBefore your first online Statement of Information

      Since August 1, 2026 the online Statement of Information option only appears for users who have User Access to the entity, which the Secretary of State added to stop unauthorized filings on a company's record.

    • $800 annual LLC tax (FTB 3522)First payment by the 15th day of the 4th month after the Secretary of State files your Articles; after that by the 15th day of the 4th month of each tax year (April 15 for calendar-year LLCs) · $800 a year

      Due every year the LLC exists, even with no income or business, until it is canceled. The first-year exemption covered only tax years beginning 2021 to 2023 and no longer applies.

    • LLC fee estimate (FTB 3536), if total California income is $250,000 or more15th day of the 6th month of the tax year · $900 ($250k-$499,999), $2,500 ($500k-$999,999), $6,000 ($1m-$4,999,999), $11,790 ($5m+)

      This gross-receipts fee is on top of the $800 tax; underpaying the estimate brings penalties and interest.

    • Form 568 LLC tax return15th day of the 3rd month after the tax year ends (LLCs taxed as partnerships, and single-member LLCs owned by pass-through entities); 15th day of the 4th month for other single-member LLCs

      Every LLC registered with the Secretary of State or doing business in California files Form 568 each year, even with no income.

    • Seller's permit from CDTFA (only if selling or leasing goods)Before you start selling tangible goods that would normally be taxable at retail · free (CDTFA may ask for a security deposit)

      Applies to LLCs, wholesalers and retailers alike; short-term sellers (for example seasonal sales) need a temporary seller's permit. Apply online through CDTFA.

    • Employer registration with EDD (only if you hire)Within 15 days of paying more than $100 in wages in a calendar quarter

      Register through EDD e-Services for Business to get a California employer payroll tax account.

    • Local business licenseBefore trading, per your city or county rules

      There is no statewide general business license from the Secretary of State; most cities (or the county in unincorporated areas) require their own business license, and professions may need state licenses. CalGold lists the permits by location.

The $800 tax starts in year one

Every California LLC pays the Franchise Tax Board $800 a year, from the year it forms until it is canceled, whether or not it earns anything. The first payment is due by the 15th day of the 4th month after your filing date, and the next calendar year’s $800 is due on April 15. Form late in the year and the two payments land a few months apart. The first-year exemption that older guides mention only covered 2021 to 2023.

Once the LLC’s California income reaches $250,000 an income-based LLC fee is added, from $900 to $11,790. To see both amounts and every due date from your own filing date, use the California LLC fee calculator.

The cost

What a California LLC costs to start and to keep

Every state fee, worked out for your own choices. Change the date you file, add a registered agent service, or set where you’ll run the business. To compare California with anywhere else, use the LLC cost calculator.

LLC cost calculatorState fees checked 21 October 2026
If this is a different state, you'll usually have to register there too.
Registered agent
Free if you have a street address in the state and are there in office hours.
Filing speed
Used for the due-date calendar.
Year one$890filing day: $70
Each year after$810to stay in good standing
Five years$4,130state fees + your choices

    When you file

    Filing fee$70Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) · official page · checked 2026-10-21

    Also in year one

    Initial report$20Statement of Information (Form LLC-12) within 90 days of filing the Articles · official page · checked 2026-10-21
    Annual LLC tax$800Owed for your first year: due by the 15th day of the 4th month after you file · official page · checked 2026-10-21

    Every year after

    Statement of Information every two years$10$20 every 2 years, shown as a yearly average. Filed in the six months ending with your formation month. · official page · checked 2026-10-21
    Annual LLC tax$800Due by the 15th day of the 4th month after you file, then every April 15 (Form FTB 3522). Owed even with no income. · official page · checked 2026-10-21

    Year one counts the filing, set-up items and any tax charged for the year you form. Yearly reports sit under "every year after" even when the first one lands inside your first 12 months; the due dates tab shows exactly when. Taxes that depend on profit or sales are explained, not counted. Not legal or tax advice.

    When you file

    Filing fee$70Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) · official page · checked 2026-10-21

    Also in year one

    Initial report$20Statement of Information (Form LLC-12) within 90 days of filing the Articles · official page · checked 2026-10-21
    Annual LLC tax$800Owed for your first year: due by the 15th day of the 4th month after you file · official page · checked 2026-10-21

    Every year after

    Statement of Information every two years$10$20 every 2 years, shown as a yearly average. Filed in the six months ending with your formation month. · official page · checked 2026-10-21
    Annual LLC tax$800Due by the 15th day of the 4th month after you file, then every April 15 (Form FTB 3522). Owed even with no income. · official page · checked 2026-10-21
    Year one$890
    Each year after$810
    Five years$4,130

    Optional or for other cases

    Assumes you are your own registered agent, file at standard speed and owe no tax based on profit or sales. Figures from California's own pages, checked 21 October 2026. Not legal or tax advice.

    What’s different in California

    • The 'double $800' trap: the first $800 is due by the 15th day of the 4th month after you form, and the next by April 15. A calendar-year LLC formed in, say, June pays $800 in September and another $800 the following April, both inside its first year.

      Official source

    • The only ways to avoid a first-year $800: cancel the LLC within 12 months using the short-form cancellation (LLC-4/8), or have a first tax year of 15 days or less in which the LLC does no business in California.

      Official source

    • The management box on Form LLC-1 matters for privacy: if 'All LLC Member(s)' is ticked, every member's name and address goes on the public Statement of Information.

      Official source

    • An LLC cannot be its own agent for service of process, and an individual agent must live in California, so out-of-state founders need a California resident or a registered 1505 corporate agent.

      Official source

    Who ends up on the public record

    Only partly. A member-managed LLC must list every member on the public Statement of Information; a manager-managed LLC lists its managers instead, and anyone named can give a business address rather than a home address.

    On the formation filing: Form LLC-1 shows the organizer (signature and printed name), the agent (individual’s name and California street address, or a corporate agent’s name), the principal office and mailing addresses, and whether the LLC is run by one manager, several managers or all members. No members or managers are named.

    On yearly filings: The Statement of Information (LLC-12) names every manager, or every member if there are no managers, plus any chief executive officer, each with a business or residential address; managers and members are searchable on bizfile Online.

    If you’d rather pay someone to file

    Every major formation service, with its own registered agent price after year one, which is where most of the money goes. Cheapest over five years in California first. What each package includes, and the add-ons to switch off at checkout, are on the best LLC service page.

    ServiceThey chargeYear one, all inEach year afterFive years
    File it yourself on the state websiteBeing your own registered agent$0$890$810$4,130State site ↗
    Northwest Registered AgentTurn off the $100 annual report service it adds automatically$39$929$935$4,669Visit ↗
    BizeeThe free filing takes about 4 to 6 weeks$0$890$959$4,726Visit ↗
    Swyft FilingsCancel the ComplianceGuard trial within 14 days or it charges $199 a year$0$1,039$959$4,875Visit ↗
    Inc AuthorityAgent renewal price not published; reviews say $179 to $249, $199 used here$0$890$1,009$4,926Visit ↗
    CorpNetIncludes its 3% card fee$225.57$1,115.57$959$4,951.57Visit ↗
    Harbor Compliance$99$1,088$969$4,964Visit ↗

    Each service’s own prices, checked 21 Oct 2026. Registered agent in the formation state only. Optional extras are left out, including EIN filing ($50 to $99), which the IRS does free. State fees for California are included. Some links are partner links: if you buy, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes the order, which is always cheapest first. How partner links work.

    Questions about California LLCs

    How much does it cost to start an LLC in California?

    $70 to file with the state. Counting the initial report and annual llc tax, your first year comes to $890. After that, $810 a year in state fees, and $4,130 over five years if you are your own registered agent.

    Can I be my own registered agent in California?

    Yes, if you live in California and give a physical California street address (no PO box); members and managers often do this. The LLC itself cannot be its own agent, and your name and street address become public.

    Do I have to pay the $800 California LLC tax the first year?

    Yes. The first-year exemption only covered tax years beginning 2021 to 2023, so the first $800 is due by the 15th day of the 4th month after you file with the Secretary of State.

    How long does it take to form an LLC in California?

    The Secretary of State says online filings take 5 days or less and paper forms 10+ days. You can pay $350 for 24-hour or $750 for same-day review.

    Official pages this guide is checked against

    Fees checked 21 October 2026, steps checked October 22, 2026. Not legal or tax advice.