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Filing rules and the statutory window
By entity type
| Entity | Form | Cycle | Fee | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock corporation | SI-550 | Annual | $25 | $250 |
| Nonprofit corporation (domestic) | SI-100 | Biennial | $20 | $50 |
| LLC | LLC-12 | Biennial | $20 | $250 |
| Limited partnership | — | None | — | — |
| Foreign nonprofits file SI-350; consumer cooperative corporations file annually rather than biennially. | ||||
| LPs can be tracked here for their FTB dates; changes of agent or address are filed as an amendment (LP-2 / LP-6), not a statement. | ||||
The six-month window
The filing period runs the anniversary month plus the five months before it, and closes on the last day of the anniversary month. Filing early costs nothing extra.
| Month filed | Window opens | Window closes |
|---|
What happens if it's late
- The statement is delinquent after the last day of the anniversary month.
- The Secretary of State mails a notice of delinquency with a 60-day grace period.
- If it's still unfiled, the Franchise Tax Board assesses the penalty.
- Continued failure leads to suspension or forfeiture of the entity's powers, rights and privileges — a suspended entity cannot prosecute or defend an action in California (R&TC §23301).
- To cure: file the delinquent statement and pay the penalty.
Two rules that catch people
- Biennial filers follow the year they registered. Registered in an even year, the statement is due in even years; odd year, odd years.
- Foreign entities run off the California registration date, not the home-state formation date.
Franchise Tax Board dates
These key off tax classification, not entity type. Day is always the 15th; a weekend rolls to the next business day, and a state holiday can push it further.
| Classification | Return | $800 tax |
|---|---|---|
| LLC as partnership | 568 — 3rd mo. after close | 3522 — 4th mo. after start |
| SMLLC, individual owner | 568 — 4th mo. after close | 3522 — 4th mo. after start |
| SMLLC, pass-through owner | 568 — 3rd mo. after close | 3522 — 4th mo. after start |
| S corporation | 100S — 3rd mo. after close | with the return |
| C corporation | 100 — 4th mo. after close | with the return |
| LP, LLP | 565 — 3rd mo. after close | with the return |
| General partnership | 565 — 3rd mo. after close | none |
| Exempt organization | 199/199N — 5th mo. after close | none |
The estimated LLC fee (3536) is due the 15th day of the 6th month of the tax year, and only if California total income reaches $250,000. Corporate estimated tax (Form 100-ES) falls in the 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th months of the tax year, with the third at 0% under the standard schedule — not tracked here, because the amounts depend on projected income this tool doesn't hold. The first-year $800 exemption applied only to LLCs registered between 2021 and 2023.
Which form to file
If nothing has changed since the last complete statement, corporations file SI-550NC and LLCs file LLC-12NC. If the agent, an address or an officer has changed, the full statement is required. Tick the change box on an entity and the form shown on its card switches accordingly. Nonprofits have no short form.
Off-cycle changes
If the agent for service, an address, or an officer changes between periods, an updated statement can be filed at any time at no charge.
Common questions
- Do California LLCs file every year?
- No. An LLC files its Statement of Information every two years, on Form LLC-12, under Corporations Code section 17702.09. Corporations file annually. The confusion usually comes from the $800 franchise tax, which is annual and goes to a different agency.
- When exactly is it due?
- By the last day of the month the entity was originally filed with the Secretary of State. The filing period opens five months before that, so there is a six-month window. There is no penalty for filing early.
- What does the initial filing mean?
- Every new corporation and LLC files a first Statement of Information within 90 calendar days of registering. That is a hard deadline, separate from the recurring cycle, and it applies even if nothing has changed since formation.
- Which years does a biennial filer use?
- The parity of the registration year. Registered in an even year, statements fall in even years; registered in an odd year, odd years. Foreign entities count from the California registration date, not the home-state formation date.
- What happens if the deadline passes?
- The Secretary of State issues a notice of delinquency with a 60-day cure period. File inside it and no penalty is assessed. Miss it and the Franchise Tax Board assesses $250 for corporations and LLCs, or $50 for nonprofits, and the entity can be suspended or forfeited. A suspended entity cannot sue or defend in California.
- Does an address change reset the clock?
- No. An updated statement filed between periods — a new agent for service, an address, an officer — is free and keeps the record current, but it does not satisfy the periodic requirement or move the due date.
California entity compliance, explained
Statement of Information deadlines, filing windows, penalties and the mistakes that cause them
Do California LLCs file a Statement of Information every year?
No — LLCs file every two years. The annual filing people are thinking of is the $800 franchise tax, which goes to a different agency on a different schedule.
11 August 2026The six-month filing window, and why filing early costs nothing
California gives you a six-month window ending on the last day of your anniversary month. Filing on day one of that window is identical to filing on the last day.
11 August 2026You missed the Statement of Information deadline. What actually happens?
A missed deadline is not an automatic $250. The Secretary of State issues a notice with a 60-day cure period, and filing inside it costs nothing extra.
11 August 2026SI-550NC and LLC-12NC: when you can file the short form
If nothing has changed since the last complete statement, corporations and LLCs can file a no-change short form. Here is what counts as a change.
11 August 2026bizfile now requires User Access before you can file a Statement of Information
Since 1 August 2026, the filing option does not appear on an entity's record unless web User Access has been established. Request it before you need it.
11 August 2026
Enter an entity's Date Filed and get the form, the fee, the six-month window and the delinquency date — plus a calendar file so the reminders live in Outlook or Google. Free, no account, nothing leaves your browser.
Open the deadline trackerDo California LLCs file a Statement of Information every year?
11 August 2026
No. A California LLC files its Statement of Information every two years, on Form LLC-12, under Corporations Code section 17702.09. A California corporation files every year, on Form SI-550. Same state, same agency, different cycles.
This trips up experienced people constantly, and the reason is worth understanding rather than memorizing.
Why everyone thinks it's annual
Two things push in that direction.
First, the $800 franchise tax is annual — and for most LLC clients it's the obligation they actually feel. It's due the 15th day of the 4th month after the taxable year begins, which is April 15 for a calendar-year LLC, and it's paid to the Franchise Tax Board on Form 3522. Different agency, different form, different schedule, and nothing to do with the Secretary of State. When someone says "the annual LLC thing," this is usually what they mean.
Second, most other states are annual. Most call it an annual report and want one every year; only a small number use a biennial cycle. If you handle entities in more than one state, California is the exception you have to remember — and worth confirming state by state rather than assuming.
| Statement of Information | Franchise tax | |
|---|---|---|
| Agency | Secretary of State | Franchise Tax Board |
| LLC frequency | Every two years | Every year |
| Form | LLC-12 | FTB 3522 |
| Amount | $20 | $800 |
| Late consequence | $250 and possible suspension | Penalties, interest, suspension |
Which two years?
The cycle follows the parity of the year the LLC registered. Registered in an even-numbered year, the statements fall in even years. Registered in an odd year, odd years. An LLC formed in 2024 files in 2026, 2028, 2030; one formed in 2025 files in 2027, 2029, 2031.
Foreign LLCs count from the date they registered in California, not the date they were formed in their home state. That distinction changes the answer more often than you'd expect.
The first one is different
Every new LLC files an initial Statement of Information within 90 calendar days of registering, whatever the biennial cycle says. It's a hard deadline, it applies even if nothing has changed since formation, and it's the one most commonly missed — because at 90 days the entity is new enough that nobody has set up a reminder yet.
Enter an entity's Date Filed and get the form, the fee, the six-month window and the delinquency date — plus a calendar file so the reminders live in Outlook or Google. Free, no account, nothing leaves your browser.
Open the deadline trackerNonprofits and partnerships
Domestic nonprofit corporations file biennially on Form SI-100, with a $50 late penalty rather than $250; foreign nonprofits use Form SI-350. Consumer cooperative corporations are the odd one out and file annually. California limited partnerships have no periodic Statement of Information at all — a change of agent, address or general partner is filed as an amendment (LP-2, or LP-6 to restate) whenever it happens.
The short answer
Corporations annual, LLCs and nonprofits biennial, LPs never. And if the thing you're actually being asked about costs $800, it isn't a Statement of Information.
← All guidesThe six-month filing window, and why filing early costs nothing
11 August 2026
A California Statement of Information is due by the last day of the anniversary month — the month the entity was originally filed with the Secretary of State. The filing period opens five months before that, so you have a six-month window, and the statement is delinquent the moment the window closes.
The anniversary month is the month shown as Date Filed on the Secretary of State's Business Search. Not the date on the signed articles, not the date the client thinks the business started — the date the filing was accepted.
The window by month
| Registered in | Window opens | Window closes |
|---|---|---|
| January | August 1 | January, last day |
| February | September 1 | February, last day |
| March | October 1 | March, last day |
| April | November 1 | April, last day |
| May | December 1 | May, last day |
| June | January 1 | June, last day |
| July | February 1 | July, last day |
| August | March 1 | August, last day |
| September | April 1 | September, last day |
| October | May 1 | October, last day |
| November | June 1 | November, last day |
| December | July 1 | December, last day |
Note what happens for January through June: the window opens in the previous calendar year. A March-anniversary corporation can file its March 2027 statement from October 1, 2026. That's the single most useful thing about the window, and the most commonly wasted.
Filing early is free and identical
There is no discount for filing late in the window and no penalty for filing on the first day. The statement is the same document either way. If the information hasn't changed and isn't about to, the rational move is to file the day the window opens and take the deadline off your desk for another year or two.
The only reason to wait is a known upcoming change — a manager appointment, an office move, a registered agent switch. Filing before it and again after means two filings; the second one is free as an off-cycle update, but it's still work.
Enter an entity's Date Filed and get the form, the fee, the six-month window and the delinquency date — plus a calendar file so the reminders live in Outlook or Google. Free, no account, nothing leaves your browser.
Open the deadline trackerBiennial filers use the same window
The six-month window applies to LLCs and nonprofits too. It just occurs every other year. An LLC registered in November 2024 has a window from June 1 to November 30 in 2026, then again in 2028. In the intervening year there is no window and nothing due — which is exactly when a spreadsheet reminder set to "annual" starts generating noise that people learn to ignore.
What the window doesn't do
It doesn't extend past the last day of the anniversary month. There's no grace period built into the deadline itself — the 60-day cure period people think of comes later, and only after the Secretary of State issues a notice of delinquency.
← All guidesYou missed the Statement of Information deadline. What actually happens?
11 August 2026
Missing the deadline does not automatically cost $250. There's a sequence, and the middle of it is a window where the whole thing is still free.
The sequence
- The statement becomes delinquent after the last day of the anniversary month.
- The Secretary of State mails a notice of delinquency with a 60-day cure period.
- File inside those 60 days and no penalty is assessed.
- Fail to file, and the Franchise Tax Board assesses the penalty — $250 for corporations and LLCs, $50 for nonprofits.
- Continued non-filing leads to suspension or forfeiture of the entity's powers, rights and privileges.
Suspension is a different problem
People treat suspension as "more delinquent." It isn't. A suspended entity has lost its powers, rights and privileges, and under Revenue and Taxation Code section 23301 it cannot prosecute or defend an action in a California court.
Where the suspension is a tax suspension, section 23304.1 also makes every contract the entity made in California during that period voidable at the request of the other party — not the entity itself. Reinstating does not automatically cure that; curing voidability is a separate application to the Franchise Tax Board under section 23305.1. So anything signed during a suspension period is a live risk, not an administrative inconvenience.
And filing the delinquent statement alone does not revive the entity. Suspension can come from the Secretary of State side, the Franchise Tax Board side, or both, and each has to be cleared separately. An entity that's been suspended for FTB reasons will stay suspended no matter how many statements you file.
Filing late does bring you current
One thing that confuses people building their own trackers: you don't file back-statements. If an entity has missed three cycles, you file the current Statement of Information and the entity becomes current. There's no separate filing for each missed year and no accumulating per-cycle penalty on the statement itself.
Enter an entity's Date Filed and get the form, the fee, the six-month window and the delinquency date — plus a calendar file so the reminders live in Outlook or Google. Free, no account, nothing leaves your browser.
Open the deadline trackerBefore you file a delinquent statement
Check the entity's status on the Business Search first. If it already shows suspended or forfeited, filing the statement is a step in the cure, not the cure. Work out which agency suspended it, clear that, and file.
And note that since 1 August 2026, bizfile requires established web User Access before a Statement of Information can be filed at all — the filing option isn't visible on the entity's record without it. If you're up against a cure deadline, that access request is the thing that will actually delay you.
← All guidesSI-550NC and LLC-12NC: when you can file the short form
11 August 2026
California offers a no-change short form: SI-550NC for corporations, LLC-12NC for LLCs. You can use it when nothing has changed since the last complete Statement of Information was filed.
The word doing the work there is "complete." The comparison isn't against the last time you filed anything — it's against the last full statement. An off-cycle update filed in between doesn't reset that baseline in the way people assume.
What counts as a change
- Agent for service of process — a new agent, or the same agent at a new address
- Principal executive office or principal business address
- Mailing address, if different
- Officers, for a corporation — CEO, CFO, Secretary
- Managers or managing members, for an LLC
- The stated principal business activity
A change in ownership that doesn't touch any of the above generally doesn't require the full form. A change of the individual serving as agent — even if the entity's own address is identical — does.
Nonprofits don't have one
There is no published no-change variant of Form SI-100. Nonprofit corporations complete the full statement each cycle. Note too that the SI-100 instructions require a complete statement whenever the name or address of the agent for service of process has changed — that one is explicit.
Is it worth it?
Honestly, marginally. The short form saves a few minutes of data entry, not money — you still pay the filing fee. The reason to care is accuracy: if you reach for the short form and then realize the agent changed eight months ago and nobody filed anything, you've caught a real problem. Treating "can I use the NC form?" as a checklist question turns a clerical step into a review.
Enter an entity's Date Filed and get the form, the fee, the six-month window and the delinquency date — plus a calendar file so the reminders live in Outlook or Google. Free, no account, nothing leaves your browser.
Open the deadline trackerChanges between periods
If something changes mid-cycle, you can file an updated statement at any time, and there's no fee for an off-cycle update. It keeps the public record current — but it does not satisfy the periodic requirement and does not move your due date. That's the single most common mistake in home-grown tracking systems: someone files an agent change in month three of the window, records it as "filed," and the actual statement never goes in.
← All guidesbizfile now requires User Access before you can file a Statement of Information
11 August 2026
Since 1 August 2026, the California Secretary of State's bizfile portal requires established web User Access before a Statement of Information can be filed online. Without it, the filing option simply doesn't appear on the entity's record — there's no error message explaining why, which is what makes this worth knowing in advance.
The stated purpose is preventing unauthorized submissions on an entity's record. It lets the entity control who can file on its behalf, which is a reasonable thing to want and a genuine improvement over a system where anyone who knew a file number could submit.
Why it matters more for firms than for owners
A business owner filing for their own entity sets this up once. A firm filing for forty client entities needs access on forty records, each requested through the portal and each dependent on someone at the client responding.
That's fine when you start three months out. It's a problem when you discover it on the last day of an anniversary month, or worse, inside a 60-day cure period on a delinquent entity — because the access request is now sitting between you and a $250 penalty, and it isn't something you can resolve by paying more or filing on paper.
Requesting it
Access is requested through bizfile Online at bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov. The Secretary of State's Video Resources Library has a walkthrough titled How to Establish User Access Control. Questions go to the Business Programs Division.
Enter an entity's Date Filed and get the form, the fee, the six-month window and the delinquency date — plus a calendar file so the reminders live in Outlook or Google. Free, no account, nothing leaves your browser.
Open the deadline trackerWhat this doesn't change
Deadlines are unaffected. The six-month window, the 90-day initial filing, the biennial cycle for LLCs, the penalties — all identical. This is purely a gate on the filing mechanism, which is exactly why it catches people: nothing about the deadline looks different until you try to file.
← All guides