How to start an LLC in California

An LLC in California starts with one filing: the Articles of Organization, sent to the California Secretary of State with a $70 fee. From then on, state fees come to $800 a year plus $20 every two years.

File with the California Secretary of State

Before you file in California

California is one of the most expensive states to keep an LLC in because of the $800 yearly tax, which is owed from the first year. An LLC that closes within its first year can file a short form cancellation and avoid the first year's tax. California compares a new LLC name only against other LLC names.

The steps

1. Check that the name is free

   Start from our California business lookup or go straight to the official California search. 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.

   Add an ending such as "LLC" or "Limited Liability Company". What counts as too close to an existing name is in the name availability guide.

2. Reserve the name, if you want to hold it

   Optional. If you are not ready to file, a reservation costs $10 and holds the name for 60 days. Source, checked 2026-10-26

3. Appoint an agent for service of process

   California calls it the Agent for Service of Process.

   Every California LLC names one in its filing: a person or company with a street address in California who accepts legal papers for it. You can be your own agent, but your address then goes on the public record. More in what a registered agent does.

4. File the Articles of Organization

   File the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) with the California Secretary of State. The state fee is $70. Source, checked 2026-10-26

   The Secretary of State lists online submissions at 5 days or less and paper forms at 10 days or more. Source, checked 2026-10-26

5. Get an EIN from the IRS, free

   The IRS issues the EIN free, online, the moment it approves the application. You need it for a business bank account, payroll and most tax filings; how to get an EIN has the details.

6. Write an operating agreement

   It can be short: who owns what, how profit is shared, who decides and how a member leaves, signed by every member, or by you alone for a one-person LLC. It stays with the company's records rather than being filed (what to put in it).

7. File the first Statement of Information within 90 days

   Within 90 days of forming, file a Statement of Information ($20) on bizfile Online listing the LLC's addresses, managers or members and agent. After that it is due every two years. Source, checked 2026-10-26

8. Pay the first $800 annual tax

   The first $800 payment is due by the 15th day of the 4th month after the filing date: an LLC filed on June 18 owes it by September 15. Pay it with Form FTB 3522 or online. Source, checked 2026-10-26

9. Keep it in good standing

   Statement of Information (Form LLC-12): $20, every two years, due within 90 days of forming, then every two years. Source, checked 2026-10-26

   Annual LLC tax: Every LLC organized or doing business in California pays an $800 annual tax to the Franchise Tax Board, even if it does no business, until it is cancelled. The first payment is due by the 15th day of the 4th month after you file with the Secretary of State. An LLC with more than $250,000 of California income also pays an LLC fee on a sliding scale, starting at $900. Source, checked 2026-10-26

   Keep the agent for service of process and the addresses on file up to date too: a state can dissolve an LLC that misses its filings or loses its agent.

After filing, the LLC shows up in the California business lookup with its status and agent. The bank account and local licenses come next; how to start an LLC covers them.