California Business Entity Search

The California Secretary of State only answers searches on its own site. Start here and land on the right one.

California only answers searches on its own site. Search opens the official California search in a new tab and copies your search term, so you can paste it into the business name field there.

California at a glance

LLC filing fee $70 Source, checked 2026-10-26
Corporation filing fee $100 Source, checked 2026-10-26
Statement of Information (Form LLC-12 for LLCs) $20, every two years Source, checked 2026-10-26
Name reservation $10, held 60 days Source, checked 2026-10-26
Certificate of Status $5 Source, checked 2026-10-26

California business records

California charges an $800 yearly tax on LLCs and corporations through the Franchise Tax Board, separate from Secretary of State fees, and an entity can be suspended by either agency. Corporations file their Statement of Information every year ($25, Form SI-550) while LLCs file every two years ($20).

The California Secretary of State, Business Programs Division (Business Entities) keeps these records; many people call its search bizfile.

What California calls the registered agent, the person or company that accepts legal papers for the business: Agent for Service of Process. (source, checked 2026-10-26)

Statuses you may see in California

Status	What it means
Active	The entity has filed its formation or registration document and is authorized to do business in California.
SOS Suspended / SOS Forfeited	The Secretary of State suspended the entity (or forfeited a foreign entity's rights) for not filing its required Statement of Information.
FTB Suspended / FTB Forfeited	The Franchise Tax Board suspended or forfeited the entity for not meeting tax requirements, such as filing returns or paying tax.
SOS/FTB Suspended / SOS/FTB Forfeited	Both the Secretary of State and the Franchise Tax Board suspended or forfeited the entity.
Dissolved	A domestic corporation was dissolved, or a domestic LLC or limited partnership chose to wind up its business.
Canceled	An LLC or limited partnership filed a Certificate of Cancellation and its rights have ended, or a corporation's filing was canceled because its fee payment was not honored.
SOS Canceled	An LLC's or limited partnership's formation filing was canceled because its fee payment was not honored.
Surrender	A foreign corporation gave up its right to do business in California.
Merged Out	The entity merged into another entity and no longer exists in California.
Converted-Out	The entity converted to another entity type or moved to another jurisdiction.
Term Expired	A domestic corporation's term of existence set in its articles has ended.
Pending Cancel	An LLC filed for cancellation before September 29, 2006 without the tax clearance then required, so the cancellation was not completed.
Inactive	The entity is no longer active for another reason, most often conversion to a federal entity or consolidation.

Source, checked 2026-10-26. Words other states use are in the business entity status guide.

Starting an LLC in California?

An LLC here starts with the Articles of Organization ($70), then $800 a year plus $20 every two years to keep it. The steps and the official links are in one guide.

How to start an LLC in California

Questions

Is this the official California business search?

No. This is an independent site, not run by or affiliated with the California Secretary of State. The search itself runs on the state's own site (bizfile Online), which this page links to.

What is bizfile?

bizfile is what many people call the California Secretary of State's online business records. The official search linked on this page is part of the same system.

How do I check if a business name is available in California?

Run a preliminary search in bizfile Online; names are compared only against entities of the same type (an LLC name against other LLCs), and a new name must be distinguishable in the records and not likely to mislead the public. The search is only preliminary, so a name is confirmed only when the filing is accepted or the name is reserved.

Does California charge a franchise tax or a similar yearly tax?

Every LLC doing business or organized in California pays an $800 annual tax to the Franchise Tax Board, and every corporation incorporated, registered or doing business in California pays the $800 minimum franchise tax (newly formed corporations are exempt in their first taxable year).

More about a California business

Every fee and rule above links to the official page it came from. How we check our facts · Report an error