California LLC Statement of Information

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Statement of Information for California LLCs

Every California LLC is required to file a Statement of Information (sometimes referred to as a “Biennial Report”) every 2 years.

Your first Statement of Information is due within 90 days of your LLC being approved.

This is required in order to keep your LLC in good standing with the California Secretary of State.

California LLC Statement of Information fee

There is a $20 fee to file a Statement of Information.

Preferred method of filing

The California Secretary of State prefers that you file your LLC Statement of Information online via BizFile. We also recommend this method as it’s the easiest to complete.

What’s the purpose of the Statement of Information?

The purpose of the Statement of Information is to keep your California LLC’s contact information up to date with the Secretary of State.

When is my LLC Statement of Information due?

  • Your first Statement of information is due within 90 days.
  • After that, it’s due every 2 years for the life of your LLC.

First Statement of Information:

Your first California LLC Statement of Information is due within 90 days of your LLC’s approval date.

You can find your LLC’s approval date by:

  • looking at your approved Articles of Organization
  • or by doing a business search and looking for the “registration date”

Ongoing Statements of Information:

After your first Statement of Information is filed, you are required to file a Statement of Information every 2 years. It’s due by your LLC’s anniversary date.

LLC Annual ReportYour LLC’s anniversary date is the same date your LLC was approved. It’s also the same thing as your “registration date”, as mentioned above.

For example, if your California LLC was approved on August 10th 2024:

  • August 10th is your anniversary date
  • Your first Statement of Information is due by November 8th 2024 (90 days from August 10th)
  • Ongoing Statements of Information are due every 2 years, due by your anniversary date (August 10th 2026, August 20th 2028, August 20th 2030, and so on)

Is there a penalty if I don’t file an LLC Statement of Information?

Yes, there is a penalty.

The Secretary of State will give you a 60-day grace period (counted from the date you have been notified for failure to file) within which you must file the Statement of Information.

If you fail to file within the 60-day grace period, you have to pay a $250 penalty.

(Source: Common penalties and fees; see “Statement of Information penalty”)

If you continue to ignore this requirement, the Secretary of State may administratively dissolving (shut down) your LLC.

Statement of Information reminders

The Secretary of State will send a postcard reminder (by regular mail) to your LLC’s business address 1 to 2 months before the due date.

However, this is a courtesy reminder and even if you don’t receive one, it is still your responsibility to file all your Statements of Information on time.

For this reason, we recommend:

  • putting a repeating reminder on your phone and/or computer
  • and bookmarking this page

How early can I file?

First Statement of Information:

Again, your first Statement of Information is due within 90 days of your LLC being formed. You can file this Statement of Information as soon as your LLC is approved.

Ongoing Statements of Information:

You can file your ongoing Statements of Information up to 6 months before the due date.

For example, if your next Statement of Information is due by August 10th 2024, you can file it as early as February 10th 2024.

And the same thing applies for upcoming years. For example, in 2026, you can file your Statement of Information anytime between February 10th 2026 and August 10th 2026.

How to file your Statement of Information (online)

Get started:

  1. Go the Secretary of State’s BizFile page and login
  2. Click File a Statement of Information
  3. Search for your LLC either by its name or Entity Number
  4. Click on your LLC name, and then click File Annual Report
    • You may need to “Request Access” if your BizFile account isn’t connected to your LLC
  5.  Login to your BizFile account and continue the filing.
  6. Review the privacy message and agree to the terms

Submitter Information

Enter the name and contact information for the person submitting the Statement of Information. The Secretary of State will use this information to contact you with questions about the filing, if they have any.

Entity Information

There’s nothing to do on this page. It just displays your LLC information.

Business Address – Principal Office

Review your LLC’s Principal Office address and make any changes if necessary.

Domestic LLC: If your LLC was formed in California, you can enter the same address that you listed in your Articles of Organization (your LLC’s Designated Office address).

Foreign LLC: If your LLC was formed in another state and is registered to do business in California, enter your LLC’s Principal Office. For most Foreign LLCs, this is usually the LLC address in the state in which it was formed.

Some notes about your LLC’s Principal Office address:

  • It must be a street address
  • It can’t be a PO Box address
  • It can be a home address
  • It can be an office address
  • It can be a friend or family member’s address

If you want to keep your address off public records:

Business Address – Mailing Address

Review your LLC’s Mailing Address and make any changes if necessary. The Mailing Address is used to receive paperwork from the state.

If needed, your LLC’s Mailing Address can be the same as its Principal Office address. But it doesn’t have to be.

Some notes about your LLC’s mailing address:

  • You can use any address you’d like, as long as you can get mail.
  • It can be located in the U.S. or outside the U.S.
  • The address can be a PO box address.

Business Address – California Office

If applicable, update or enter your LLC’s California Office address. This only applies to LLCs with a principal office not in California.

Management

If your LLC is Manager-managed, you only need to enter the Manager(s) information.

If your LLC is Member-managed, you only need to enter the Member(s) information.

Add your LLC’s first Manager/Member. Then add any additional Manager(s) or Member(s), if needed.

Agent for Service of Process

Note: Agent for Service of Process is the same thing as a Registered Agent.

Review your LLC’s Registered Agent information and make any changes if needed.

Type of Business

Enter, or edit, the brief description of your LLC’s primary business activity. You can enter a few words or a sentence or two to explain your LLC’s primary business activity.

If your LLC is engaged in multiple business activities, just enter the primary one. Your Information Statement doesn’t have to list every single thing your business does.

Email Notifications

Also on the Type of Business page is the option to request Email Notifications from the Secretary of State. This includes reminders about filings that are due and other notifications.

We recommend entering your email address (twice) in order to get an “approved” copy of your LLC’s Statement of Information by email. Otherwise, they will send it by USPS mail.

Chief Executive Officer

Note: This section is optional. It can be filled in or left blank.

The state defines a CEO as either:

  • a person — besides the LLC member(s) or manager(s) — who is appointed to run the company
  • or the highest level position in the LLC’s organization in charge of management

If you’d like to enter a CEO for your LLC, you can do so here.

Most filers prefer to leave this information off public record, so they skip this section and leave it blank.

Labor Judgment

This page asks whether any manager or member of your LLC has judgments against them from a Labor Code violation. That includes things like wage disputes, occupational safety, and other employment issues. The judgment could be from a court or from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

Answer Yes or No.

Review Statement of Information

Review the information you entered for accuracy. Check for any typos, and go back to make any changes if needed.

Submitter Confirmation

Enter the Submitter’s information. The Submitter is the person signing the LLC’s Statement of Information and submitting it to the state.

You can enter business titles like Member or Manager, or Authorized Person.

Processing Fee Information

The next page shows the total amount due ($20).

You have the option of adding a Certified Copy of the filing for an extra $5. This isn’t necessary, and we don’t recommend it. The regular filed copy of the Statement of Information is fine.

Payment

Enter your billing information and submit your payment to the state.

Congratulations! Your California LLC Statement of Information has been sent to the Secretary of State.

Statement of Information Approval (online filing)

The California Secretary of State will process and approve your Statement of Information in 1 to 2 business days. If you entered your email address during the online filing, the state will email you a stamped and approved copy.

If you didn’t enter your email address, you can always download your LLC’s filed/stamped Statement of Information from the business search page.

California Secretary of State Contact Info

If you have any questions, you can contact the California Secretary of State at 916-657–5448. Their hours are Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm, Pacific Time.


How to file your Statement of Information (by mail)

As mentioned earlier, we recommend filing your Statement of Information online. However, if you prefer to file by mail, you’ll find instructions below.

The video starts with an overview of the Statement of Information, then at 6 min. 50 sec. you can see the form being completed. The state has made some minor updates to the form, so the one you see in the video (outdated) will be slightly different from the one you download.

Secretary of State
Statement of Information Unit
PO Box 944260
Sacramento, CA 94244-2600

  • The Mail Submission Cover Sheet is private (not on public records):
    • Contact Person: Enter your name and phone number
    • Entity Information: Enter your LLC name. Enter your LLC’s SOS Entity ID Number in the ‘Entity Number’ field. You can leave ‘Comments’ blank.
    • Return Address: Enter the address where you’d like your approved Statement of Information sent to. This can be any address you’d like; it doesn’t have to match the address in the form.
California LLC - Annual Report (Statement of Information)

California Secretary of State Contact Info

If you have any questions, you can contact the California Secretary of State at 916-657–5448. Their hours are Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm, Pacific Time.

Matt Horwitz
Matt Horwitz
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.

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12 comments on “California Statement of Information”

Disclaimer: Nothing on this page shall be interpreted as legal or tax advice. Rules and regulations vary by location. They also change over time and are specific to your situation. Furthermore, this comment section is provided so people can share their thoughts and experience. Please consult a licensed professional if you have legal or tax questions.

  1. Hi matt,
    First off, thank you so much for compiling all this information and keeping it up to date!

    Using your step by step instructions like a bible, I registered for a single member LLC with California and it got approved as well. I learned along the way and saved some money too. I also took your advice and hired a registered agent to keep my details private as much as possible.

    Now for the questions:
    1. I noticed that my name shows up in the Articles of Organization which is public information. Could that have been avoided? Remember I did pay for a registered agent and used their details where the process asked.

    2. I have the same question for Statement of Information. it has member name and address details in a few places. Are there steps I can follow to keep my name and address completely private?

    3. In line with the same privacy concern, in order to open a business checking account, the bank is also asking for business and mailing address. I would like to receive the checks, statements, cards etc at my home. I am hoping the address details I provide to the bank are generally help private. is that a fair assumption?

    As you can tell, the theme of my questions is privacy. Any specific suggestions you can give for the next 2 steps – Statement of Information and Business Checking Account would be great.

    Thanks in advance.

    • Hi John, you are very welcome! That is fantastic to hear :)

      1. If you filed your LLC yourself, I think you are talking about your name appearing as the LLC Organizer, correct? If so, that could have been avoided by hiring someone to file the LLC for you (and they would sign as the Organizer). You can’t change the LLC Organizer after the filing has been processed with the state.

      2. Unless your LLC is a Manager-managed LLC (in that case, you’d list the Manager’s name and not the Members’ names), you’re supposed to list the LLC Members in the Statement of Information. You can use the address of your Registered Agent though (if they allow it) for the address of the Member or Manager.

      3. Yes, banking information is private. It’s not publicly accessible, unlike state LLC filings. And yes, you can use a physical address and a mailing address that are different than the address listed on your Articles of Organization and/or Statement of Information. Hope that helps!

      • Thanks Matt for answering all the questions.

        For #1, you thought right. I was indeed talking about LLC Organizer name. Sorry I forgot to mention it in my initial question but it shows how good you know this stuff.

  2. Hi Matt,
    As always your website is a treasure of information!!
    I am going to set an LLC next week and I have a doubt about what to insert in the field 5. and 8. of the Statement of Information. Hope you can help me to clarify…
    The LLC will be a multi-member LLC (two members) and one of them will be the only manager and CEO.
    The question is related to the ADDRESS to put in fields 5. (Managers or Members) and 8. (Chief Executive Officer) of the Statement of Information:

    – Since the document is public I would prefer not insert the residential address in these fields for privacy reasons. So, is it possible to insert in both 5. and 8. the First name and Last Name of the manager/CEO and the LLC business office address instead of the residential???

    I would also hire a Registered Agent (NorthWestern) for the Article of Organization for the same reason (privacy), but if in the State of Information I have to disclosure anyway the residential address I don’t see the point to hire the RA for the AO….

    The instructions along with the form llc-12 says:
    field 5. “Enter the name and complete business or residential address of any manager(s),
    appointed or elected in accordance with the Articles of Organization or Operating
    Agreement, or if no manager(s) has been so elected or appointed, the name and
    business or residential address of each member.”

    field 8. “Enter the name and complete business or residential address of the chief executive officer, if any”

    So in theory it seems possible since they accept a business address… but I would like to have your opinion.
    Thank you!

    • Hi Vince! Thank you! Regarding the Statement of Information (Form LLC-12), you can technically leave #8 blank if you’d like. It also may not matter much, since it’ll be the same information you place in #5.

      Regarding #5, I assume your LLC is going to be a Manager-managed LLC. If so, you don’t need to attach the LLC-12A (to add additional Members). In that case, yes, you are correct: You just need to list the LLC Manager and yes, you can use the LLC business office address.

      Regarding using Northwest’s address in the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1): You can use their address for the Return Address, Business Address, and of course the Service of Process address. Or if you have an office address, you can just use the office address for all of those address fields and list yourself or the LLC Manager (or another agent or employee of the LLC; who agrees, of course) as the Registered Agent. Hope that helps!

      • Hey Matt! Thank you SO much for your reply!!

        Yes, it is correct, the LLC will be a Manager-managed LLC, where one of the two members (me) will be either manager and CEO.
        Perfect then, I will put the office address.

        Have a great day!

        • You’re very welcome Vince! Sounds great :) Thanks, you too!

  3. MR Horwitz, Just wanted to say thanks for all the info you provided. I’m doing my best to start a small trucking company and don’t have too much money and everything I can do myself really helps me and my Family. Again thnk you so much.

    • Pedro, thank you so much for the nice comment, I’m so happy to hear that :) I wish you nothing but the best in your business!

  4. Very helpful and clear information! I only wish I had read it sooner. Thank you.

    • Thank you for the nice comment Eveline. You’re welcome :)

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