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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 set up$70Articles of Organization
First year$890state fees in your first 12 months
Every year after$810$800 tax a year + $20 statement every 2 years
Where to filebizfile OnlineSecretary of State, online
How long it takes5 days or lessonline; $350 buys 24 hours
Five years in total$4,130state fees, if you are your own registered agent

Step by step

Setting up a California LLC, step by step

  1. 01

    Check your business name is free

    Search for your name on bizfile Online business search. The search shows corporation, LLC and LP names already on record. The Secretary of State says it is only a first check. A name is finally approved or refused only when your Articles of Organization (the form that creates your LLC) are reviewed.

    Your name must end with
    Your name must include Limited Liability Company, LLC or L.L.C. You may shorten Limited to Ltd. and Company to Co. If you leave the ending off Form LLC-1, "LLC" is added for you.
    Holding a name
    Name reservation: $10 holds the name for 60 days. Reserve online on bizfile, by mail or by drop-off. You can renew it, but not for back-to-back 60-day periods (there must be at least a one-day gap).

    Words you can’t use, or need permission to use:

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

    Also worth knowing:

    • Since January 1, 2021, your name only has to be clearly different from other LLC names on the records. It is not checked against corporations, trademarks or DBAs (trading names that are different from a business's legal name).
    • Names that differ only by the LLC ending, capital letters, punctuation, symbols, spaces, or '&' instead of 'and' count as the same name.
  2. 02

    Choose your registered agent

    Every LLC needs a registered agent: a person or company with an address in California who receives legal papers and official letters for it. California calls it an “agent for service of process”.

    Can you do it yourself?
    Yes. Any individual who lives in California at a physical California street address can be the registered agent. This includes a member (owner) or manager. The LLC itself cannot be its own agent.
    Address rules
    An individual agent must live in California and give a physical California street address. A PO box or 'in care of' address is not allowed. A registered corporate agent (a company registered with the state to act as agent) is named without an address.
    Do they need to agree?
    Neither Form LLC-1 nor Form LLC-12 asks the agent to sign. But the Secretary of State says you must get approval from a registered corporate agent before you name it.
    • A company can be your agent only if it is a corporation in good standing (up to date with the state) in California. It must also have a current Section 1505 registered corporate agent certificate on file.
    • The individual agent's name and street address are public on bizfile. So are all addresses given in the LLC's filings.
    • To change your agent, file a Statement of Information. There is no fee for an update outside the required filing period.
  3. 03

    File the form that creates your LLC

    The form is called the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1). File it online at bizfile Online. The fee: $70 (optional certified copy $5; dropping it off in person in Sacramento adds a $15 special handling fee)

    You’ll be asked for:

    • LLC name
    • first street address of your main office (no PO box)
    • mailing address, if different
    • registered agent (the person or company that receives legal papers for your LLC): either a person's name and California street address, or the name of a registered corporate agent
    • who runs the LLC: one manager, more than one manager, or all LLC member(s) (owners)
    • a fixed purpose statement (printed on the form, cannot be changed)
    • signature and printed name of the organizer (the person who files the form)

    Good to know about the California form:

    • You must check a box to show who runs the LLC: one manager, more than one manager, or all members (owners). This choice decides who must later be named on the public Statement of Information.
    • The purpose statement is printed on the form and must not be changed. So you cannot write your own business purpose on the Articles.
    • If you use a registered corporate agent, you give only its name, not its address.
    • The form itself warns that LLCs may owe the $800 minimum tax to the Franchise Tax Board every year.

    Prefer paper? Yes. You can still mail the PDF Form LLC-1 or drop it off in Sacramento. But paper takes 10+ days, and online filings are reviewed first.

  4. 04

    Wait for approval (or pay to speed it up)

    Online filings: "5 days or less". PDF (paper) forms: "10+ days". On October 21, 2026, the processing-dates page showed the state reviewing online LLC filings received on October 16, 2026 (by mail: October 14).

    Extra feeHow fastDetails
    $35024 hours (not counting weekends and holidays)Online on bizfile or drop-off in Sacramento. Paid on top of 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. Paid on top of the $70 filing fee.
    $5004 hoursSacramento drop-off only. The document must first be checked in advance (precleared). The 24-hour preclearance is a separate $500 drop-off service.

    Processing slows at the end of the fiscal year (a 12-month accounting year that may not start in January) and at the end of the calendar year. Paying for faster service buys a quicker review, not a guaranteed approval.

  5. 05

    After approval: what to do next

    Once your LLC is approved, get its EIN (the business tax number), free from the IRS. Then work through what California asks for 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 the month you formed (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 main office, the agent and the type of business. It also asks if any manager or member owes wages under an unpaid Labor Code wage judgment (a court or state order to pay workers). 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 LLC. The Secretary of State added this to stop people filing on a company's record without permission.

    • $800 yearly 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 LLCs whose tax year is the calendar year) · $800 a year

      Due every year the LLC exists, even with no income or business, until it is canceled. The first-year exemption only covered tax years starting 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 fee is based on your total income (gross receipts). You pay it on top of the $800 tax. If you underpay the estimate, you owe penalties and interest.

    • Form 568 LLC tax return15th day of the 3rd month after the tax year ends for LLCs taxed as partnerships (the default for an LLC with two or more owners). The same applies to single-member LLCs owned by pass-through businesses (whose profits are taxed to their owners). 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 you sell or lease goods)Before you start selling physical goods that would normally be taxed when sold at retail (to the final buyer) · free (CDTFA may ask for a security deposit)

      This applies to LLCs, wholesalers and retailers alike. If you sell only for a short time (for example, seasonal sales), you need a temporary seller's permit. Apply online through CDTFA (the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration).

    • 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. EDD is California's Employment Development Department.

    • Local business licenseBefore you start trading, following your city or county rules

      The Secretary of State does not issue a general business license for the whole state. Most cities (or the county, in areas outside any city) 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 (California’s tax office) $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

Answer four quick questions and your costs appear underneath: every state fee for your own case, and your deadlines. To compare California with anywhere else, use the LLC cost calculator.

LLC cost calculatorState fees checked 21 October 2026
Usually the state you live in, or where your office or staff are.
Most people set it up in the state they run it from. Some choose Wyoming or Delaware, but then they usually pay two states.
Who will receive the LLC's official mail? Every LLC must name a "registered agent" with an address in the state, to receive legal papers and letters from the state.
What does this mean?

You can be your own registered agent if you live in the state, have a street address there (not a PO box) and are around in office hours. Your address then goes on the public record. A registered agent service does it for you, keeps your home address private, and costs about $125 a year.

So we can work out your real deadlines. Not sure yet? Leave it blank.
Optional extras
How fast do you need it?
Some states charge extra to process your filing faster.

Your costs appear below as soon as you choose a state, and change as you answer. Free, and nothing you enter leaves your browser.

Choose a state in question 1 to see what you'll pay: to set up, every year after, your deadlines, and what a company would charge to help.

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. Say your LLC uses the calendar year and forms in June. It pays $800 in September and another $800 the next April, both inside its first year.

    Official source

  • There are only two ways to avoid paying $800 in the first year. 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 you check 'All LLC Member(s)', every member's name and address goes on the public Statement of Information.

    Official source

  • An LLC cannot be its own registered agent (who receives legal papers for your LLC), and an individual agent must live in California. So founders who live outside California need a California resident or a registered 1505 corporate agent (a company that has filed a certificate with the state to act as agent).

    Official source

Whose details are made public?

Only partly. A member-managed LLC (run by its owners) must list every member on the public Statement of Information. A manager-managed LLC (run by managers you name) lists its managers instead. Anyone named can give a business address instead of a home address.

When you set up: Form LLC-1 shows the organizer (the person who files the form), with signature and printed name. It also shows the agent (a person’s name and California street address, or a corporate agent’s name) and the main office and mailing addresses. It says whether one manager, several managers or all members run the LLC. No members or managers are named.

Every year: The Statement of Information (LLC-12) names every manager, or every member if there are no managers, plus any chief executive officer. Each one is listed with a business or home address. Anyone can search for managers and members on bizfile Online.

If you’d rather pay someone to file

Every big company that sets up LLCs, with what it charges to be your registered agent each year after the first, 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 (owners) 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 starting 2021 to 2023. So your 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 take 10+ days. You can pay $350 for a review within 24 hours, or $750 for a 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.