Forms & Steps

California · Start an LLC

Starting a California LLC: the real cost is the $800, not the $70

Every formation service advertises California's $70 filing fee. The number that actually matters is the $800 annual franchise tax — you owe it every year, even with zero revenue, and the first-year exemption that older articles mention expired for LLCs formed after 2023. Here are the steps and the honest arithmetic, every figure cited to the Secretary of State or Franchise Tax Board.

True minimum cost, year one

$890

$70 Articles of Organization + $20 Statement of Information + $800 annual franchise tax — before a registered-agent service, licenses, or anything optional. Years after: $800/yr minimum, plus $20 every two years. SOS fee schedule FTB: LLC annual tax

The steps, in order

  1. Check the name (reserve it only if you must)

    Search existing entities free at bizfile Online. A 60-day name reservation costs $10 — useful only if you're not filing right away; most people skip it and just file. SOS: name reservations

  2. Pick your agent for service of process

    An individual California resident (you can be your own agent) or a registered corporate agent. The LLC cannot be its own agent, and the agent's name and street address become public record — the real reason many people pay ~$100–300/yr for a commercial agent is privacy, not law. SOS FAQ

  3. File the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) — $70, online only

    As of 2026 the SOS lists LLC-1 as online only through bizfile — older guides describing a mail-in PDF are out of date. Online filings are currently processed in about 1–3 business days (the SOS publishes live processing dates). SOS fee schedule

  4. File the initial Statement of Information within 90 days — $20

    Also online only, and as of August 1, 2026 you need established "User Access" to the entity in bizfile before the filing option even appears — set that up right after formation, not at day 89. Then it recurs every two years ($20). Missing it draws a $250 penalty, collected by the FTB. SOS: statements FTB: penalty

  5. Get the EIN — free, directly from the IRS

    Ten minutes on the IRS site, $0. Anyone charging you for an EIN is reselling a free government form. IRS: get an EIN

  6. Budget the $800 — it's due in year one

    Every LLC organized or doing business in California owes the $800 annual tax even if not conducting business. The AB 85 first-year exemption applied only to tax years 2021–2023 — an LLC formed in 2026 owes the $800 by the 15th day of the 4th month after filing (file in June, owe it by September 15), paid with FTB Form 3522, and again each year after. If total California income reaches $250,000, a tiered LLC fee stacks on top: $900 to $11,790. FTB: LLC annual tax FTB 3556

No newspaper publication — with one exception

California requires no newspaper publication to form an LLC — nothing in the SOS's own formation checklist mentions it. The exception: operating under a fictitious business name (a "DBA") triggers a county-level FBN statement that does have to run in a newspaper. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17917

Common questions

Is there any way around the $800 annual tax?

Only one clean exit: an LLC that never conducted business can file a short-form cancellation (LLC-4/8) within its first year. Otherwise the $800 accrues every year the LLC exists — this is the single most common unpleasant surprise in California formation, and why 'form your LLC for $0 + state fees' offers understate reality by more than 10×.

Can I file the LLC-1 by mail?

No — as of 2026 the SOS lists both the Articles of Organization and the Statement of Information as online-only filings through bizfile. Guides showing mail-in PDFs for those two are describing the old process.

What does year two actually cost?

$800 (annual tax), plus $20 for the Statement of Information in the years it's due (every two years), plus whatever you pay a registered-agent service if you use one. Call it roughly $800–1,100 a year to keep a small California LLC alive.

Do I owe the tiered LLC fee too?

Only when total California income hits $250,000 — then a fee stacks on top of the $800: $900 (to $500k), $2,500 (to $1M), $6,000 (to $5M), $11,790 above that, estimated mid-year on Form 3536. Below $250,000, just the $800.

Should I form in Wyoming or Delaware instead to dodge the $800?

If you live and operate in California, no — a foreign LLC 'doing business' in California owes the same $800 and registers with the SOS anyway, so you'd pay two states to get one state's obligations. The dodge only works for people who actually aren't doing business in California.

What this guide is, honestly: a careful, statute-cited map of the standard process — not legal advice, and not a substitute for a licensed attorney when the situation is contested or unusual.

Fees and rules verified against the Secretary of State and Franchise Tax Board pages linked above, August 2026 — those pages are the authority, and California changed two filing processes this year alone. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Coming: the guided pack. We're building a $19 step-by-step pack for this process — your answers filled into the right documents, the filing steps for your county, and a checklist you can hand to the bank or clerk. This site is new; the pack ships when it meets our bar.