Forming Nonprofit in California
The Process
California nonprofits are formed by filing Articles of Incorporation with California Secretary of State. The entire filing process in California greately depends on the season and the choice of expedited options. Generally it varies from 2 to 3 weeks with regular filing, but periodically can be as long as 2 month or as short as 1 week. Expedited options exist for extra fee. We recommend you to contact our office to check the most recent processing times. To learn more about forming a nonprofit in California you can visit California State government website.
ALSO IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER: Most municipal jurisdictions in California require businesses operating within the municipal limits to obtain a Business License. That includes home based business. Check with your municipal government if such license is required and how to obtain it (we also offer License Research service, and will research all licenses that your business might need).
Name Identifiers and Abbreviations
The name of the California nonprofit can have no identifier, or one of the listed below:
- Inc.
- Corp.
- Co.
- Incorporated
- Corporation
- Company
Additional Filings
Depending on the nature of your activity some additional filings could be necessary to complete the proper set up of your nonprofit. Click on the items below to learn about each:
- EIN (tax ID)
- Sales Tax Registration
- Payroll Registration & Business Licensing
- Statement of Information
KEEP IN MIND: in order for your nonprofit to be exempt from State and Federal income and property taxes some additional filings might be necessary. Click to learn more about various aspects of filing and running a nonprofit.
Ready to Order?
We will prepare and file your nonprofit application quickly and professionally with California Secretary of State, as well as other state and federal authorities - all you need to do is complete our simple application below.
Ready to Start Your Nonprofit in California?
Forming Nonprofit in Another State:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- DC
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
