California LLC Statement of Information (Form LLC‑12) and Your Six‑Month Filing Window

Which Six Months Belong to Your LLC

California puts its LLCs on a biennial report cycle, and two entries on the record set each window: the month and the year of the “Date Filed.” Odd-year LLCs file in odd years, even-year LLCs in even years.

Each window runs from the first day of the fifth month before the formation month to the final day of the formation month, which is the real deadline.

Source: the filing-period chart in the Form LLC‑12 instructions and the Secretary of State’s Statements of Information filing tips.

For January through May, the window opens in the previous calendar year. A company registered on January 20, 2025 owes its statement “in 2027,” yet the window opens August 1, 2026 and closes January 31, 2027. Waiting for the odd year to arrive leaves one month, not six.

A worked case: an LLC filed on March 10, 2025 sends its initial statement by June 8, 2025, ninety days later. Its next one is due in the window from October 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027, and then every second year on the same months.

Statement of Information or the $800 Tax: Two Agencies, Two Calendars

The annual fee of a California LLC is the $800 annual tax, which goes to the Franchise Tax Board rather than the Secretary of State (the FTB’s own “LLC fee” is a second charge, covered below). Paying it does not count as the Statement of Information, and filing the statement does not pay the tax.

The LLC fee is separate again. It applies once total California income reaches $250,000, and it is estimated and paid by the 15th day of the 6th month of the tax year:

A Foreign LLC Counts From Two Different Dates

Form LLC‑12 and its $20 fee don’t change for a foreign LLC, and a missed filing ends in forfeiture rather than suspension. What changes is the starting point of each clock.

Secretary of State

The 90 days and the window run from the California registration date, the “Date Filed” on the state’s record, not from formation back home.

Franchise Tax Board

The first tax year starts when the LLC was organized in its home state.

So if the 15th day of the 4th month of that tax year has already passed when the LLC registers or starts doing business in California, the $800 is due right away.

bizfile Online and User Access for the California Statement of Information

Effective August 1, 2026, web User Access is required to file a Statement of Information online. Only someone the LLC has authorized can see the option and submit the Statement of Information, and the Secretary of State presents the change as protection against unauthorized filings on an entity’s record.

1. Look up the recordOn the bizfile Business Search, note the Entity Number and the “Date Filed.” The instructions ask filers to match the jurisdiction shown on that record.
2. Get access to the entityLog in to bizfile Online (Okta multifactor sign-in). Whoever filed the formation online already has full access. Otherwise, a request sends an email to the current full-access user or, if there is none, a PIN by mail to the LLC’s mailing address of record, so ask for it well before the window closes.
3. Share access if neededA full-access user can grant basic access to an attorney, CPA or staff member, or more full access; basic users cannot grant access to anyone.
4. File the Statement of InformationAnswer the items listed below and pay $20 for an initial or biennial statement. An update outside your window costs nothing.
5. Keep the filed copyThe processing time the Secretary of State gives for an online statement: generally within minutes. A plain copy is free; a certified one is $5.

Paper still works: Form LLC‑12, with a $20 check made out to the Secretary of State, goes to the Statement of Information Unit, P.O. Box 944260, Sacramento, CA 94244‑2600. Online submissions are reviewed first, so the paper processing time is longer, and the $15 in-person handling fee does not apply to Statements of Information. Questions about access go to bizfile@sos.ca.gov or (916) 653-6814.

What the LLC‑12 Asks, Item by Item

1

The exact name on file, ending included (or the alternate name a foreign LLC registered under)

2

The Secretary of State Entity Number, printed above the file stamp of the registration document

3

State or country of formation, left blank for a California LLC

4a-c

Principal office street address (no P.O. Box), mailing address, and a California office if the principal one is elsewhere

5

Each manager, or each member if no manager was appointed; more names go on Form LLC‑12A

6

Agent for service of process (the registered agent): an individual living in California or a registered corporate agent, never both; it accepts lawsuits and other legal documents for the LLC

7

A short description of the type of business

8

The chief executive officer, only if the LLC has one

9

Yes or no: does a manager or member have an outstanding final judgment, with no appeal pending, for a wage order or Labor Code violation

10

Date, name, title and signature of the person filing

Everything on the form becomes public record, including the names and addresses of managers or members and the agent’s street address. The Secretary of State advises against adding anything not asked for, such as a Social Security number or an EIN, and suggests weighing whether a home address belongs on it.

Changing an Address or Agent Between Two Windows

A Statement of Information filed after the initial or required one, only to update the record, is a no-fee statement. That is how a California LLC changes its address or its agent for service of process; there is no separate change form for those.

The Secretary of State’s forms page for limited liability companies lists two statement forms: LLC‑12 and the LLC‑12A attachment. Instructions that still mention an LLC‑12R or a “no change” version describe forms that are not on that list.

The difference between LLC‑1 and LLC‑12 is formation versus upkeep:

LLC‑1, $70, once

The Articles of Organization, filed when forming a California LLC

LLC‑12, $20, every two years

The Statement of Information, first within 90 days of the LLC‑1

California LLC renewal means two payments on two calendars: the $20 statement every two years with the Secretary of State, and the FTB’s $800 tax every year until the LLC is canceled.

The “Annual Order Form” in the Mail Is Not From Sacramento

The Secretary of State has posted a sample of a mailer titled “California Corporations Annual Order Form” that charges a “Service Process Fee” of nearly ten times the state filing fee. A payment to such a company is not a filing with the state, so the statement stays unfiled until the company actually submits it.

Complaints go to the California Attorney General’s Public Inquiry Unit, with the whole mailing, envelopes included, using the form at oag.ca.gov/consumers. The full description is on the misleading solicitations alert.

The $250 Penalty and the Suspension After a Missed Statement

1. About 3 months beforeReminderSent to the address on file, or by email if the LLC opted in.
2. Window closesDue date passesNot receiving the reminder is no excuse, per the Secretary of State.
3. Notice of delinquency60 more daysIf nothing is filed by the end, the penalty process starts.
4. After those 60 days$250 penaltyThe Secretary of State refers the LLC; the Franchise Tax Board assesses and collects.
5. Pending suspension notice60 days from its dateThen suspension (California LLC) or forfeiture (foreign LLC), including the right to the name.

The $250 comes from California Corporations Code sections 17713.07(b) and 17713.09 and Revenue and Taxation Code section 19141, as cited on the form. A waiver can be requested online through the penalty waiver page or by mail, with a reasonable cause or unusual circumstance, once a current statement is on file.

Suspended by the Secretary of State, the FTB, or Both

An LLC can still file Form LLC‑12 while suspended or forfeited. What brings it back depends on who suspended it, and the business search shows which status applies.