California LLCs file a Statement of Information ($20) within 90 days of formation and then every two years, and pay a separate $800 minimum franchise tax every year. Missing the Statement of Information adds a $250 penalty and moves the LLC toward suspension, which can void the liability shield. Anonymousllc.co tracks both deadlines and files the Statement of Information as part of registered agent service.
California requires a Statement of Information rather than a yearly annual report. LLCs file it within 90 days of formation and then every two years, for a $20 fee paid to the Secretary of State. The Statement of Information (Form LLC-12) updates the registered agent, principal office address, mailing address, and at least one manager or member. Separately, every California LLC pays an $800 minimum franchise tax to the Franchise Tax Board each year. The two filings are distinct: the $20 Statement of Information is biennial, the $800 franchise tax is annual. Founders coming from a one-report-per-year state expect a single annual filing; California instead splits the obligation into a biennial informational filing and an annual tax. Both must stay current for the LLC to keep good standing and the right to operate in California.
The first Statement of Information is due within 90 days of formation. After that, it is due every two years during the anniversary month of formation, by the last day of that month. The $800 franchise tax follows a different calendar: the first payment is due by the 15th day of the fourth month after formation, and each subsequent payment by April 15. Anonymousllc.co tracks both the biennial Statement of Information window and the annual franchise tax date, so neither deadline slips. The 90-day initial window is easy to miss because it opens the moment the Articles are accepted, before the business is running. The biennial window then repeats in the same anniversary month for the life of the LLC, and Anonymousllc.co sets a reminder against both dates.
The California Statement of Information fee is $20, paid to the Secretary of State each biennial filing. A late or missed filing adds a $250 penalty assessed by the Franchise Tax Board. The $20 is separate from the $800 minimum franchise tax, which every California LLC owes annually regardless of income. Together, a California LLC's mandatory state costs run $800 every year plus $20 every two years, on top of the $100/year registered agent renewal if using a commercial agent. The $250 penalty is assessed per missed filing, so a Statement of Information left unfiled across a full biennial cycle compounds into real money on top of the tax owed. The $20 filing fee is small, but the $250 late penalty and the suspension that follows make on-time filing the point. A suspended LLC cannot enforce a contract in California court, which turns a $20 oversight into a business-stopping problem.
Missing the Statement of Information adds a $250 penalty and moves the LLC toward suspension by the Secretary of State and the Franchise Tax Board. A suspended LLC loses the right to sue, defend a lawsuit, or use its name in California. Continued non-filing, combined with unpaid franchise tax, leads to administrative dissolution, which removes the LLC from good standing and can void the liability shield. Anonymousllc.co files the Statement of Information on time as part of registered agent service to prevent the penalty and the suspension that follows. Reviving a suspended LLC costs more time and money than the original filing, and any lawsuit filed while suspended can proceed to default judgment. Keeping the Statement of Information and franchise tax current is the cheaper path by a wide margin.
California Statements of Information are filed online with the Secretary of State through the bizfileOnline portal, using the LLC's entity number and the $20 fee. The form updates the agent, addresses, and management. Anonymousllc.co clients opt into automatic filing as part of registered agent service: the team completes Form LLC-12, submits it, and confirms the filing each biennial cycle. This keeps the entity in good standing without the owner tracking the anniversary month or the 90-day initial window. The portal requires the LLC's Secretary of State entity number and the current agent and address details, which Anonymousllc.co holds on file from formation. The confirmation is stored so the owner has a record of every biennial filing.
The Statement of Information is a $20 biennial informational filing with the Secretary of State; the franchise tax is an $800 annual payment to the Franchise Tax Board. They are separate obligations with separate deadlines. The Statement of Information keeps the LLC's public record current. The $800 franchise tax is the price of the LLC existing in California, owed even in years with no revenue, plus a graduated LLC fee once California-sourced income passes $250,000. Missing either can suspend the LLC, so both are core compliance. The Secretary of State handles the Statement of Information; the Franchise Tax Board handles the $800 tax and the graduated LLC fee. Two agencies, two calendars, one entity that must satisfy both to stay in good standing.
Yes. The Statement of Information discloses at least one manager or member on the public record, so California ownership is not private at formation or on the biennial update. Because the disclosure repeats every two years, ongoing anonymity is not achievable through a direct California LLC. Founders who need ownership off the public record form a Wyoming or New Mexico anonymous LLC and foreign-qualify into California; the Statement of Information for the California registration then lists the anonymous parent company and a registered agent rather than the individual. A $397 all-in Wyoming LLC keeps members off the public record. The Wyoming parent holds ownership, and the California registration and its biennial Statement of Information list the parent company and a registered agent rather than the individual. This is the only route to ongoing ownership privacy for a business operating in California.
Reinstating a suspended California LLC requires filing back Statements of Information, clearing the $800 franchise tax owed, paying penalties, and submitting a reinstatement application to the Franchise Tax Board and Secretary of State. Anonymousllc.co handles California reinstatements at $250 plus state fees on a case-by-case basis. The team files the outstanding Statements of Information, coordinates the franchise tax balance, and files for revivor so the LLC returns to good standing. Acting before litigation or a bank review is filed keeps the process straightforward. Reinstatement clears the back Statements of Information and the accumulated franchise tax at once, so the balance grows the longer the LLC stays suspended. Anonymousllc.co confirms the full amount owed before starting the revivor filing.
New Mexico has the lightest requirements: no annual report and no annual state fee, versus California's $800 franchise tax plus a $20 Statement of Information every two years. A New Mexico LLC formed with Anonymousllc.co is $347 all-in, with no biennial statement and no annual state fee to track. For a founder whose business has no California nexus, that removes both the $800 tax and the deadline risk in a single move. Wyoming requires one $60 annual report per year and is $397 all-in with strong anonymity. Delaware charges a $300 flat annual franchise tax. All three cost less to maintain than California's $800 franchise tax. Founders without a California nexus form in one of these states to cut ongoing filings. A New Mexico LLC has no biennial or annual state filing at all, which removes the deadline risk entirely. Where California operations exist, the anonymous parent still foreign-qualifies in and the California filings apply to that registration.
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