Start a nonprofit · California
How to Start a Nonprofit in California
California puts four offices between a founder and a working nonprofit. The Secretary of State creates the corporation, the Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts registers it to hold charitable assets, the IRS decides on 501(c)(3) status, and the Franchise Tax Board decides on exemption from California tax. The Registry step runs on a deadline: it starts a 30-day clock the first time charitable assets arrive.
Every fee and rule on this page was checked against the agency's own publication on November 8, 2026. Sources are linked under each item.
At a glance
The California requirements in one table.
| Type of entity | A California nonprofit corporation, created by filing articles of incorporation with the Secretary of State through the bizfile Online portal. Sources: SOS FAQs |
|---|---|
| State filing fee | $30 for the articles of incorporation, and $20 for each Statement of Information (Form SI-100). Both amounts come from the Secretary of State's fee schedule dated June 2018, the most recent one this page could confirm, so check the amounts in bizfile Online before you file. Sources: SOS fee schedule (June 2018) |
| Required officers | A chair of the board or a president (or both), a secretary, and a treasurer or chief financial officer (or both). One person may hold several offices, but the secretary, treasurer and chief financial officer cannot also be the president or chair, so at least two people are needed. Sources: Corp. Code 5213 |
| Federal exemption | Form 1023 ($600) or Form 1023-EZ ($275), filed electronically on Pay.gov. Sources: IRS fee page, IRS e-filing notice |
| State tax exemption | Form FTB 3500A with the IRS determination letter, or Form FTB 3500 if the organization has no federal letter. The Franchise Tax Board dropped its $25 fee for Form FTB 3500. Exemption is not automatic. Sources: FTB exemption booklet |
| Attorney General registration | Required within 30 days of first receiving charitable assets. Form CT-1, $50 initial fee. Hospitals, educational institutions and religious organizations are exempt by law. Sources: Initial registration |
| Annual Attorney General filing | Form RRF-1 plus a copy of the federal Form 990-series return, or Form CT-TR-1 for organizations that file the 990-N. Due 4 months and 15 days after the fiscal year ends. Sources: Annual renewal |
| Statement of Information | Filed every two years, in the month the corporation registered. Sources: SOS FAQs |
The steps
Six steps, in the order they happen.
Choose officers and recruit the people to fill them.
California law requires a corporation to have a chair of the board or a president, a secretary, and a treasurer or chief financial officer. Any number of offices may be held by one person unless the articles or bylaws say otherwise, with one firm limit: the secretary, the treasurer and the chief financial officer cannot also serve as the president or chair of the board.
That limit means a California nonprofit needs at least two people in office from the first day. The Franchise Tax Board also asks for an original signature from an officer, a director, a trustee or an authorized representative, so those roles should be filled before any application is signed.
Sources: Corp. Code 5213, FTB exemption booklet
File articles of incorporation through bizfile Online.
The articles of incorporation are the document that creates the corporation. California nonprofit articles are filed online at the Secretary of State's bizfile Online portal. The fee on the Secretary of State's June 2018 schedule is $30.
The online form meets the state's minimum statutory requirements, and extra provisions can be added in an attachment. The Secretary of State does not address 501(c)(3) wording and recommends talking to private legal counsel about tax-exempt language before submitting formation documents. Language the IRS expects, such as a charitable purpose and a statement of what happens to assets on dissolution, is much easier to include now than to amend later.
Sources: SOS FAQs, SOS fee schedule (June 2018)
Adopt bylaws and keep the stamped articles.
Bylaws are the internal rules for how the board meets, votes and replaces its members. Two later steps ask for them. The Franchise Tax Board wants the articles stamped by the Secretary of State and the bylaws from a California corporation, and the Attorney General wants the founding documents and the most recent bylaws.
Keep the Secretary of State's stamped copy of the articles in a place every officer can find. It is needed again each time one of those agencies asks.
Sources: FTB exemption booklet, Initial registration
Register with the Attorney General within 30 days of receiving assets.
The Registry of Charitable Trusts is the Attorney General's office that registers organizations holding assets for charitable purposes. Registration is due within 30 days of first receiving charitable assets, and the Attorney General counts donations, property, government grants, noncash gifts and other contributions of value.
The filing is Form CT-1, submitted through the Registry's online filing service, with a $50 fee that is not refundable. Attach the articles, the current bylaws and the IRS determination letter. If the letter has not arrived, give the federal employer identification number (EIN) instead, and attach a copy of Form 1023, 1023-EZ or 1024 if one was submitted. The form is signed under penalty of perjury.
Sources: Initial registration
Apply to the IRS for 501(c)(3) status.
Forming a California corporation does not make it tax-exempt. The federal application is Form 1023, with a $600 user fee, or the shorter Form 1023-EZ, with a $275 user fee, for organizations that meet the eligibility worksheet in the form instructions. Both are filed electronically on Pay.gov, and the IRS returns paper applications. The IRS notes that the amounts can change.
The IRS answers with a determination letter, the written ruling that recognizes the exemption. California asks for it in the next step.
Sources: IRS fee page, IRS e-filing notice
Apply to the Franchise Tax Board for state tax exemption.
Federal status does not automatically exempt an organization from California tax, and California may require the federal determination letter before it issues a state exemption letter. An organization that is federally exempt under section 501(c)(3) submits Form FTB 3500A with the letter. An organization without one uses Form FTB 3500, with financial statements or, if it has not started operating, a four-year budget.
The Franchise Tax Board says exempt organizations are no longer required to pay the $25 fee that used to accompany Form FTB 3500. Until exemption is granted, the organization remains taxable and must keep filing returns, although the Board can grant exemption retroactively for periods in which the organization shows it was organized and operated for exempt purposes.
Sources: FTB exemption booklet
Fees that no longer apply
Two California charges that older guides still list.
Many guides written before the recent changes still tell founders to budget for two charges that the Franchise Tax Board has dropped.
The $25 fee for Form FTB 3500.
The Franchise Tax Board's current instructions state that exempt organizations are no longer required to pay the $25 fee when submitting Form FTB 3500. The page does not mention a fee for Form FTB 3500A.
Sources: FTB exemption booklet
The $10 annual Form 199 fee.
The Franchise Tax Board's instructions also state that the $10 annual filing fee for Form 199 was eliminated.
Sources: FTB exemption booklet
After you form
Staying in good standing.
Two recurring filings keep a California nonprofit current with the state.
File the Attorney General renewal every year.
The annual filing is Form RRF-1 with a copy of the federal Form 990, 990-EZ or 990-PF (leaving out the pages of Schedule B), or Form CT-TR-1 for an organization eligible to file the 990-N. It is due 4 months and 15 days after the fiscal year ends, unless the IRS granted an extension: May 15 for a December 31 year end. The renewal fee depends on total revenue, using the schedule in effect since January 1, 2022: $25 under $50,000; $50 from $50,000 to $100,000; $75 from $100,001 to $250,000; $100 from $250,001 to $1 million; $200 from $1,000,001 to $5 million; $400 from $5,000,001 to $20 million; $800 from $20,000,001 to $100 million; $1,000 from $100,000,001 to $500 million; and $1,200 above $500 million. The Registry's page notes a one-time deadline extension that ended August 31, 2026, so confirm the current due date with the Registry.
Sources: Annual renewal
File the Statement of Information every two years.
California nonprofit corporations file a Statement of Information (Form SI-100) every two years, in the month the corporation registered, with the fee shown on the Secretary of State's schedule.
Sources: SOS FAQs, SOS fee schedule (June 2018)
Common questions
Quick answers.
How much does it cost to start a nonprofit in California?
The published government fees are $30 to the Secretary of State (per its June 2018 schedule), $50 to the Attorney General's Registry, and the IRS user fee of $275 for Form 1023-EZ or $600 for Form 1023. That totals $355 or $680 as of the date this page was verified. The Franchise Tax Board has dropped its $25 fee for Form FTB 3500. Optional costs such as an attorney are not included.
Do I have to register with the California Attorney General?
Charitable corporations generally must, within 30 days of first receiving charitable assets, on Form CT-1 with a $50 fee. Hospitals, educational institutions and religious organizations are exempt by law, and other exemption requests are reviewed case by case.
Is a California nonprofit corporation automatically exempt from California tax?
No. Federal exemption does not automatically exempt an organization from California tax. The organization applies to the Franchise Tax Board, on Form FTB 3500A if it holds an IRS determination letter.
Can one person run a California nonprofit?
Not alone. The secretary, treasurer and chief financial officer cannot also serve as the president or chair of the board, so at least two people must hold office.
After the filing
What comes next for a California nonprofit.
The state filing is the short part. These are the next four jobs, and the book that handles each.
- Book I
Get the federal application and first-year budget right
The name, bylaws, the IRS application, a founding board and a first-year budget that balances.
- Book X
Start from finished documents
Forty annotated documents, including bylaws, budgets, policies, job descriptions and board papers, as editable Word files.
- Book VII
Build the board on purpose
What a board is for, recruiting for the skills you lack, working with the chair and running meetings that reach decisions.
- Book VIII
Stay in good standing
Charitable solicitation registration, operating in a second state, insurance and annual filings.
The complete set
All ten books and forty documents, $149.
All ten books in PDF and EPUB, plus the forty documents from Book X as editable Word files. The books are not sold separately.
Free when you join the list
Every Document a New Nonprofit Needs
Articles, bylaws, minutes, the exemption application, the policies and the filings: the whole sequence a new organization has to produce, in the order it arrives.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
- California Secretary of State, Business Entities FAQs
- California Secretary of State, Business Entities fee schedule (Rev. 06/2018)
- California Corporations Code section 5213, required officers
- California Franchise Tax Board, Instructions for Form FTB 3500, Exemption Application Booklet
- California Attorney General, Registry of Charitable Trusts
- California Attorney General, Initial Registration
- California Attorney General, Annual Registration Renewal
- IRS, Form 1023 and 1023-EZ: amount of user fee
- IRS, Changes to the exempt organization determinations process
Last verified November 8, 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm with the agency before you file. This page is general information and not legal or tax advice.