California Free LLC Formations until June 2023

California’s Budget Act of 2022 Waives the Filing Fee for LLCs

Forming a California LLC is free until July 1, 2023!

California passed a new Budget Act (Senate Bill 154) that waives the registration fees for California LLCs formed between July 1st, 2022 and June 30, 2023.

That means instead of $70 to form a California LLC, you can start an LLC for free in California!

If I already formed an LLC, can I get my money back?

No, unfortunately not. If you already formed a California LLC, there is no refund. Senate Bill 154 only affects newly formed LLCs in California.

Is a Certified Copy of my Articles of Organization free?

To start an LLC in California, you’ll file a form called the California Articles of Organization. Once the Articles of Organization is approved by the state, your LLC officially goes into existence.

If you’d like a Certified Copy of your approved Articles of Organization, this will cost $5.

Senate Bill 154 didn’t waive this $5 fee. It only waived the $70 fee to file the Articles of Organization. Said another way, you’ll still have to pay $5 for a Certified Copy of your Articles of Organization. We recommend obtaining this document when forming an LLC in California.

What other fees are there to form an LLC?

After your California LLC is formed, there are some other fees to be aware of.

Within 90 days of your LLC being approved, you’ll need to file an initial California Statement of Information. Then every 2 years, you’ll need to file a Statement of Information for the life of your LLC.

Then there is the California Annual Franchise Tax. This is $800 and is due every year by April 15th.

The two fees above were not changed via Senate Bill 154. They are still $20 for the Statement of Information and $800 per year for the Annual Franchise Tax.

Matt Horwitz

Founder & Educator, LLC University®

Matt Horwitz has been the leading expert on LLC education for the past decade. He founded LLC University in 2010 after realizing people needed simple and actionable instructions to start an LLC that other companies weren't offering. He's cited by Entrepreneur Magazine, Yahoo Finance, and the US Chamber of Commerce, and was featured by CNBC and InventRight.
 
Matt holds a Bachelor's Degree in business from Drexel University with a concentration in business law. He performs extensive research and analysis to convert state laws into simple instructions anyone can follow to form their LLC - all for free! Read more about Matt Horwitz and LLC University.