Business Registers in California: Secretary of State (bizfile Online)

Overview

California is the largest U.S. state by population and GDP. The California Secretary of State is the primary authority for business entity registration, maintaining records on corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), partnerships, and other business organizations formed or authorized to do business in the state. Filings and searches are handled through the online platform bizfile Online.

As with other U.S. states, California does not require private companies to file financial statements publicly, and there is no state-level repository of company accounts. Beneficial ownership information is handled federally through FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA); California has no state-level beneficial-ownership register. Several bills proposing one (SB 1201 in 2024, then SB 594 and SB 738 in the 2025–2026 session) have been introduced, but none have been enacted. For KYB and AML compliance, the Secretary of State provides basic entity verification. Ownership and financial disclosure are limited.

Official Registers

California Secretary of State — bizfile Online

The California Secretary of State maintains the official register of business entities through its online platform, bizfile Online. This is the primary register for all formally organized business entities in the state, including domestic and foreign corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships (LPs), limited liability partnerships (LLPs), and general partnerships.

The bizfile Online business search tool allows anyone to look up an entity by name, entity number, or other available details. The register provides:

• Entity name and entity number
• Entity type (corporation, LLC, LP, etc.)
• Formation or registration date
• Status (active, suspended, dissolved, etc.)
• Agent for service of process (registered agent) name and address
• Jurisdiction of formation (domestic or foreign qualification)

Certified copies of filed documents, including Articles of Incorporation, Articles of Organization, and Statements of Information, can be ordered through bizfile Online for a fee. The register is updated on an ongoing basis as filings are processed.

Foreign entities (those formed in another state or country) that transact business in California must register with the Secretary of State and will appear in the same database.

Franchise Tax Board (FTB)

The California Franchise Tax Board administers and collects state income and franchise taxes for business entities. It is not a corporate registry, but entities that fail to meet franchise tax obligations may have their powers, rights, and privileges suspended or forfeited by the FTB. A suspension or forfeiture is reflected in the entity's status on bizfile Online. The FTB does not publish financial statements or tax returns.

FinCEN — Beneficial Ownership Information (Federal)

Beneficial ownership reporting in the United States is governed federally under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), administered by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Reporting companies, including most corporations and LLCs, must submit Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reports identifying natural persons who exercise substantial control or own 25% or more of the entity.

Following an interim final rule issued in March 2025, FinCEN exempted all U.S.-domestic entities and U.S. persons from BOI reporting. The obligation now applies only to certain foreign companies registered to do business in the U.S. that do not qualify for one of the enumerated exemptions.

The BOI database maintained by FinCEN is not publicly accessible; it is available only to authorized government agencies and, under certain conditions, to financial institutions with customer consent. There is no public UBO register for U.S. entities.

The California Secretary of State has confirmed that beneficial ownership reporting is a federal requirement and is not administered by the state.

A state-level UBO register has been proposed several times but never enacted. SB 1201 passed the California Senate in May 2024 but died in the Assembly without a hearing. Two follow-up bills, SB 594 and SB 738, were introduced in the 2025–2026 session and remain pending. As of today, there is no California state-level beneficial-ownership filing requirement.

Registration and Publication Requirements

Corporations and LLCs

All California corporations (for-profit and nonprofit) must file Articles of Incorporation, and LLCs must file Articles of Organization, with the Secretary of State. Foreign entities must register before transacting business in the state.

California does not require private companies to file annual financial statements with any state authority, and no public repository of company accounts exists.

Corporations and LLCs must file a Statement of Information (SI) periodically with the Secretary of State. Domestic stock corporations must file an SI annually, within 90 days of formation and then by the anniversary month each year. Domestic LLCs must file an SI within 90 days of formation and then every two years by the anniversary month. Failure to file may result in the entity being suspended or its powers being revoked.

In addition, entities are subject to a minimum franchise tax (currently $800 per year for most LLCs and corporations), payable to the Franchise Tax Board.

Financial statements: There is no obligation for private companies to file financial statements publicly. Financial disclosure is limited to federal tax obligations (IRS) and state tax returns (FTB), neither of which are publicly accessible.

Beneficial ownership: Under the federal CTA, most LLCs and corporations formed or registered in California were originally considered reporting companies. Following the March 2025 interim final rule, domestic entities and U.S. persons are currently exempt from federal BOI reporting. California has no state-level beneficial-ownership filing requirement (SB 594 and SB 738 are pending in the 2025–2026 legislative session).

Sole Proprietorships

Sole proprietorships in California are not registered with the Secretary of State and do not appear in the entity registry. A sole proprietorship forms automatically when an individual begins conducting business.

If a sole proprietor operates under a name other than their legal name, they must file a Fictitious Business Name (FBN) statement with the county clerk in the county where the business is located and publish the statement in a local newspaper within 30 days. Local business licenses or permits may be required depending on the municipality and industry.

Sole proprietors report business income on their personal tax returns. They are not subject to Statement of Information filings or franchise tax as an entity.

Nonprofit Corporations and Associations

Nonprofit corporations must file Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State. Those seeking federal tax-exempt status must separately file with the IRS (Form 1023 or 1024). Certain organizations (churches, religious organizations, schools, and hospitals) are exempt from registration with the California Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts.

Nonprofits that are registered charities must file annual reports (Form RRF-1) with the Attorney General's office, accompanied by their IRS Form 990, portions of which are publicly available.

Nonprofit corporations are exempt from filing a Fictitious Business Name statement under California Business and Professions Code Section 17911.

Unincorporated associations may exist under California's Uniform Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act but are not generally required to register with the Secretary of State.

Summary Table

With Topograph

Topograph queries the California Secretary of State's bizfile Online platform to return entity identity, status, registered agent, and the Trade Register Extract in a single API call.

Available Data

Company Profile

• Legal name and entity number
• Entity type (Stock Corporation, LLC, LP, LLP, GP, Non-Profit Corporation, Cooperative, Professional Corporation)
• Formation or registration date
• Jurisdiction of formation (CA-domestic or foreign qualification)
• Principal and mailing addresses
• Registered agent (Individual or Corporation): name and address
• Entity status (Active, Suspended, Dissolved, Forfeited, Cancelled, Merged Out)
• Standing with the Secretary of State, Franchise Tax Board, and registered agent

Lookups are performed by legal name. Officer, shareholder, and beneficial-ownership data are not published in the public bizfile record. Sole proprietorships do not appear in the state entity register.

Available Documents

Financial statements are not available: private company accounts are not filed publicly in California. UBO extracts are not available at the state level. California has no state-level beneficial-ownership register, and the federal FinCEN BOI database is restricted to authorised government agencies and, under certain conditions, financial institutions.

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