Best LLC Formation Services in California

The $800 minimum franchise tax is the whole story of California LLC costs. You owe it every year, profit or none. For scale, Nevada's annual list and business license total about $350 a year. Texas charges most small LLCs no annual tax at all. Its threshold sits at $2.65 million.

California requires an operating agreement by law. Few states do. The state never sees it. It must still exist, filled in and signed. If your package only hands you a blank template, finishing it is on you.

Your LLC must file an Initial Statement of Information within 90 days of formation. It costs $20, at bizfileOnline.sos.ca.gov. Miss it and the penalty is $250. Since August 1, 2026 the portal hides that filing option at first. Your LLC must set up User Access before it appears. That is the state's answer to strangers filing on company records. If a service files for you, ask whose account holds access to your record. Terminations have needed Full Access since July 1.

Anonymous LLCs are not available in California. It helps to know which filing exposes you. The Articles of Organization never ask for a member or a manager by name. The Statement of Information does. It is due within 90 days, then every two years. Corp. Code 17702.09 wants at least one manager named. If you have no manager, it wants every member. So the privacy runs out on day 90, not at formation. Forming in New Mexico or Wyoming adds a $70 fee to register here. The $800 follows you anyway. The FTB charges every LLC doing business in California, wherever it formed.

A series LLC cannot be formed in California. Each series owes its own $800. An out-of-state series doing business here must register with the Secretary of State. The Franchise Tax Board treats every series in the group as its own taxpayer. So the Wyoming series pitch multiplies the bill rather than escaping it.

1. File your Initial Statement of Information within 90 days of formation at bizfileOnline.sos.ca.gov. The fee is $20 and the late penalty is $250. Since August 1, 2026 you must set up User Access on the portal before the filing option appears. Do that the week you form.
2. Pay the $800 franchise tax by the 15th day of the 4th month after formation. It goes to the Franchise Tax Board, not the Secretary of State. Use Form 3522.
3. Draft and sign your operating agreement. California law requires this document. It is never filed with the state, but you must have one on record.
4. Get an EIN from the IRS. This is free and takes about 10 minutes online. You need it to open a business bank account and hire employees.
5. Check whether your city requires a local business license. California has no general state license. Most big cities run their own registration. Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego all do, and some charge yearly fees.
6. Skip the federal Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report. FinCEN exempted every U.S. formed company in an interim final rule of 26 March 2025. A final rule made that permanent on 14 August 2026. A domestic California LLC files nothing. Letters charging a fee to file one are scams, and FinCEN says so.

• $800 Franchise Tax in Year One - Due by the 15th day of the 4th month after formation, even at zero revenue. The 2021 to 2023 first-year waiver is gone. One escape exists. Cancel within the first year using the short form and the first $800 never comes due.
• $20 Statement of Information (Within 90 Days) - Mandatory post-formation filing. The penalty for skipping it is $250. Since August 2026 the online option only appears after your LLC grants User Access on the state portal.
• Paying for Speed You May Not Need - California publishes three paid speeds. The 24-hour filing costs $350 and the same-day filing costs $750, and both can be bought online. The four-hour filing is listed at $500, but the state only accepts a document for it that has already been precleared for another $500, and both steps are drop-off only in Sacramento. So the fastest lane really costs $1,000. On August 29, 2026 the state's own dashboard was still reviewing online filings received on August 26, about two business days behind. Check that dashboard first. Buying speed often buys nothing.
• Suspension Has No Price Tag - California sells no reinstatement. A suspended LLC comes back the hard way. File every missed return. Pay every missed $800 with penalties, plus the $250 Statement of Information penalty. Your name goes up for grabs too. The state can hand it to someone else before you revive.