California LLC Cost

Before you form your LLC, let’s walk through the most common filing fees you’ll encounter. Nervous to get started? Don’t be. We’ve done this for more than 500,000 businesses.

If you want our help, we can form your California LLC for only $0.

The cost to start an LLC in California is$5. Below are the filings and fees that are included in this cost.

Articles of Organization

Free: California recently updated the state’s filing fees for business entities, and now allows most entity types to file their formation paperwork for free. The California state LLC fee is$5, and this covers your California Articles of Organization.

Service of Process

Free: Every LLC in the state of California is required to have a service of process agent (referred to as a registered agent in most other states). You can act as your own service of process agent for free, or you can designate someone else.

Our California registered agent services make it easy for you. We’ll serve as your service of process agent and handle any requirements without any work from you.

Below, you’ll find other fees and filings associated with California LLCs.

Statement of Information

The fee for filing your California Statement of Information is $20. This filing (referred to as an Annual Report in most other states) is due within 90 days of registration and every two years thereafter.

Annual Tax

The Franchise Tax Board requires a minimum yearly tax of $800 to be paid by all California LLCs.

Attachment to Statement of Information

Free: You will file an Attachment to Statement of Information form if your LLC has more than one member. However, this filing is free.

Certificate of Status

You get your Certificate of Status from the California Secretary of State. It costs $15 if filed in person, and $5 if filed via mail. While not required for California LLCs, you’ll need one to open a business bank account or get business loans.

The Certificate of Status is known as a Certificate of Good Standing in most other states.

Name Reservation

It costs $10 to reserve your LLC name in California.

DBA Name or Fictitious Business Name

Want to go by a different name than your official LLC name? Submit a “Doing Business As” (DBA) name, also known as a Fictitious Business Name in California.

The fee for this filing in California varies by city and county. Inquiries should be directed to the Registrar-Recorder / County Clerk’s office in the county where the business will be located.

Statement of No Change

Time to file your Statement of Information, but haven’t made any changes to your LLC? You can file a Statement of No Change instead for $20.

Note: Effective January 1, 2022, a section regarding Labor Judgment was added to the Statement of Information. All LLCs, even those who have made no changes, MUST file a full Statement of Information after January 1, 2022 in order to complete this section. However, once this has been done, LLCs can subsequently file a Statement of No Change for future filings, IF no changes have been made.

Certificate of Amendment

Need to make a change to the specifics of your LLC? File a Certificate of Amendment for $30. You can also file a Certificate of Amendment – Name Change only if you’re only changing your LLC’s name. This filing also costs $30.

Restated Articles of Organization

If you need to make changes to your Articles of Organization, you can file Restated Articles of Organization for $30.

Certificate of Correction

If you need to make corrections to your LLC details, you can file a Certificate of Correction for $30.

Termination

Free: It is free to file LLC termination documents in California. This includes forms such as:

• Certificate of Dissolution
• Certificate of Cancellation
• Short Form Cancellation Certificate

Mergers

It costs between $70 and $150 to merge your LLC with another LLC or business entity.

Conversions

It costs between $30 and $150 to convert your LLC to another type of business entity.

Substituted Service of Process

The Secretary of State’s Office can enforce substituted service of process if all of the following occur:

• Service of process attempts have been unsuccessful.
• Service of process attempts have been diligent, according to the courts.
• The court orders that service of process can be made by hand-delivering to the Secretary of State’s Office.

In this instance of substituted service of process, the Secretary of State’s Office will charge you $50. That’s why it is so important to have a dependable service of process or registered agent.

Foreign LLC

If you already have an LLC in another state, but want to expand your business to California, then you need to file a foreign LLC.

There is no fee to file an Application to Register form to become a foreign LLC in California.

Business Licenses and Permits

Your type of business may need federal, state or local permits to legally open your doors in California. Learn more about California business license requirements and permits.

If you don’t need to worry about these additional fees, the average cost to start an LLC in California is $5.

For just $0, we can form your California LLC for you in just minutes. No LegalZoom promo code required: Pay just $0 plus filing fees for fast LLC formation in California. 

Yes, LLCs that file their Statement of Information late in California pay a late fee.

California corporations and LLCs may be able to arrange for payment plans for the minimum $800 state tax due every year. If the tax or other fees go unpaid, penalties will accrue, and the company’s status may be suspended.

Filing fees for forming a California business all go to the California Secretary of State.

The largest fee associated with forming a business in California is the $800 in annual business taxes that corporations and LLCs must pay.

You can pay online by credit card or directly from your bank account using Web Pay. You can also mail a check to pay your fees.

The main benefit of LLCs over other business entity options like sole proprietors is LLCs offer liability protection. Your personal assets are separate from your business assets. You’ll have legal protection if you get sued, which you don’t receive from other legal structure options.