Start an LLC in California

The very first thing you need? A name. Sounds easy enough, but your name has to meet some requirements. And most importantly, it needs to be available.

You can find the exact rules in CA Corp Code § 17701.08, but here are the basics.

• Include LLC, Limited Liability Company, Ltd. Co., or some combination of identifiers.
• Don’t use words that might trick people into thinking your company is something that it isn’t, like corporation or bank.
• Be unique! If your name is too close to the name of another business operating in California, your paperwork will be rejected. You can check by doing a Business Name Search in California.

Your business name is listed on your Articles of Organization. If you would like to do business under a different name, you’ll need to register a Fictitious Business Name (FBN). This is done at the city or county level. Prices range from $10 to $60.

Once you register your FBN, you’ll need to publish a notice in a local newspaper once a week for four consecutive weeks. Want to skip the headache? For just $125 + county fees, we’ll register your FBN for you when we form your LLC or act as your agent for service of process.

Your domain name is the first step of getting your business online. From launching a website, building social media profiles, setting up email communications, and printing business cards, choosing a good domain name opens up a lot of doors for your business to reach customers.

When you choose your business domain, consider:

• Does your domain work well with your business name?

• Is your domain easy to remember and spell?

• Is your domain available wherever else you want it, like social platforms, trademarks, or business name registries?

Once you have a domain you’re happy with, it’s time to claim it. When you order your domain through Northwest, we’ll also set you up with a website, custom built by our business website experts, hosted and secured through us. You can test drive that website completely free for 90 days.

Articles of Organization is the name of the form you’ll submit to the California Secretary of State. Once they approve your paperwork, your LLC is official. But you want to make sure you get it right. Otherwise, they’ll reject your paperwork and you’ll be back at square one. Here’s the information you’ll need for your California Articles of Organization.

How Do You File the California Articles of Organization?

Filing just means getting your paperwork to the California Secretary of State with the correct filing fee ($70). You can do that a few ways.

You can drop it off in person here:
Secretary of State
Business Programs Division – Business Entities
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

Or mail it in here:
Secretary of State
Business Entities Filings
P.O. Box 944260
Sacramento, CA 94244-2600

Or do it online here:
California Secretary of State

An operating agreement is just what it sounds like—an agreement on how your LLC should operate. A solid operating agreement will cover how your LLC will undertake important procedures, like voting, allocating profits, and resolving disputes. Operating agreements are internal documents, kept on record with your LLC. They’re not required by law in California, but they’re essential for any LLC.

Tip: Writing an operating agreement is hard. We had our attorneys draft an operating agreement specifically for use in California—you can use it for free.

Your LLC probably needs to get an EIN (sometimes called a FEIN). Kind of like a social security number for your business, your EIN is a nine-digit number that the IRS will assign to your business for tax identification purposes. You’ll use your LLC’s EIN to open a business bank account, apply for loans and licenses, pay taxes, and protect your personal identity. You can apply for one online with the IRS or hire us to take care of it for you.

If you let your personal finances mix with your business finances, you’re at risk of piercing the corporate veil (a dramatic-sounding metaphor that just means a court has found your LLC isn’t a separate entity from you, the owner). So you’ll need a business bank account. The bank will likely ask to see your operating agreement, EIN, and an LLC Resolution to Start a Bank Account.

Most states have some sort of annual or biennial reporting requirement—in California, you have to file a Statement of Information within 90 days of forming your LLC. It costs $20 to file and requires basic information about your LLC. We recommend that you just file it at the same time you form your LLC.

Then you can forget about it for two years, until it comes due again. And if you want to forget about it forever, you can hire us to file the California Statement of Information for you.

Then there’s the $800 California Franchise Tax. This is the annual tax you’ll pay for the privilege of doing business in California, and all businesses are required to pay it. Oof, what a bummer. As soon as you form an LLC, the clock starts ticking. You have four months and 15 days to pay it.

Now that you’re legally ready to start making sales, it’s time to get physically ready. Depending on what your business does, this may include:

• staffing your business
• organizing your merchandise or products
• getting business insurance

Regardless of what your business does, you’ll need to get your name out to potential customers and have a way for them to get ahold of you. A good business website and business email addresses give clients a way to reach you directly. But vendors, employees, and legal agencies need a bit more formality than your website contact page.

That’s why many business owners get a California virtual office. Virtual offices let you organize your communication professionally no matter where you’re working while protecting your private information.

Our California Virtual Office service includes a unique address you can put on anything from your business cards to your invoices, a phone line with a local area code, and your choice of same-day digital scans and weekly physical mail forwarding.