Filing Your California Annual Report in 2026

California has no filing literally named the "annual report." The equivalent document here is the Statement of Information, and for LLCs it runs on a two-year cycle: biennial, not annual. Plan around two recurring obligations, owed to two different agencies:

• Statement of Information (Form LLC-12): $20 to the Secretary of State, once every two years
• Minimum franchise tax: $800 to the Franchise Tax Board, every single year (a tax, not a report)

When the California Annual Report Is Due

The LLC schedule under Cal. Corp. Code § 17702.09, as published on the Secretary of State's Statements of Information page:

• First filing: within 90 days of registering the LLC
• After that: every two years, by the last day of your registration anniversary month
• Year parity: registered in an even year, you file in even years; odd year, odd years
• Filing window: opens five months ahead of the anniversary month, six months of runway total
• Grace period: none. One day late is delinquent.

Different entity types run on different cycles:

Entity	Form	Cycle	Fee
LLC (domestic or foreign)	LLC-12	Every 2 years	$20
Stock corporation	SI-550	Every year	$25
Nonprofit corporation	SI-100	Every 2 years	$20

The California Annual Report Fee ($20 Biennially)

$20 is the official state fee for Form LLC-12. Two variations worth knowing:

• Nothing changed since your last complete statement? File Form LLC-12NC, the no-change version. No fee.
• Corporations pay $25 with the annual SI-550.

How to File: Statement of Information in Five Steps

The Secretary of State takes the filing online or on paper, and the official state portal is the faster path:

1. Pull up your entity number and current company details before you start.
2. Log in at bizfileOnline.sos.ca.gov and find your LLC in the search.
3. Confirm or update each field: addresses, management, and your registered agent (the form uses California's statutory term, agent for service of process).
4. Pay the $20 and submit, or submit the no-fee LLC-12NC if nothing changed.
5. Verify the filing posted to your record in the business search, then calendar the next window two years out.

Late Filing: The $250 Penalty and Suspension Timeline

Miss the deadline and the sequence looks like this:

• One day past the deadline: the LLC is delinquent, and the Franchise Tax Board can assess a $250 penalty (R&T Code § 19141)
• Continued failure to file: the Secretary of State can suspend or forfeit the entity
• While suspended: no legal capacity to transact business in California, no access to its courts
• Reinstatement: file the overdue statements and clear both agencies before status returns to active

The $800 Franchise Tax (a Tax, Not a Report)

Separate from anything the Secretary of State collects, every LLC organized or doing business in California owes the FTB a minimum franchise tax of $800 per year:

• Form FTB 3522 (LLC Tax Voucher) carries the $800; due the 15th day of the 4th month of the taxable year, April 15 for calendar-year LLCs
• Form FTB 3536 adds a tiered fee once California-source income reaches $250,000: $900, $2,500, $6,000, or $11,790 depending on the income band
• Form 568 is the annual LLC return that reconciles both amounts
• First-year break? Gone. The AB 85 waiver covered LLCs registered from 2021 through 2023 and has expired, so 2026 formations owe the $800 in year one.

How We Help

As your registered agent, we track your Statement of Information window and email you before it opens and again before it closes. Compliance alerts are part of the $99/year service, not an upsell.

Filing the form itself requires your signature and current business details, so that step stays with you. We make sure the deadline never arrives unannounced.

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