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Register Your Washington LLC in California

Step-by-step foreign qualification requirements, fees, and filing instructions for Washington LLCs expanding into California.

California filing fee $70 one-time

Registered agent $125/year based on Northwest RA

Total, all in $2,905

California data last reviewed Sep 11, 2026 · sos.ca.gov Totals include the $70 California filing fee once, Northwest RA at $125/year, and California recurring state costs over the selected period. Adds the $20 Certificate of Existence from Washington once. The report fee is biennial and counted per filing due. The Cost Summary below is the same year one figure without the agent.

Cost Summary

California filing fee: $70
Washington Certificate of Existence: $20
Annual obligation in California: $20 biennial + $800/year franchise tax
Estimated year 1 total: $910

Note: Year 1 total includes the $70 filing fee in California, the $20 Certificate of Existence fee from Washington, and $820 in first-year California state charges. Registered agent fees (typically $100-$200/year) are not included.

Washington data last reviewed Aug 22, 2026 · sos.wa.gov

How to register your Washington LLC in California

Check name availability in California

Before filing, verify that your LLC name (or a distinguishable variation) is available in California. If your exact name is already taken, you may need to register under a fictitious or assumed name.

Search California business names ↗

Get a Certificate of Existence from Washington

California requires a Certificate of Existence from Washington to prove your LLC is in good standing. The fee is $20. Available to order online. When California is the destination for a foreign qualification, the home-state certificate must have been issued within the last six months.

Order from Washington ↗

File the Application to Register a Foreign Limited Liability Company (Form LLC-5) in California

Submit your application along with the Certificate of Existence and the $70 filing fee. See the processing time under Ongoing compliance below. Expedited processing is available, priced under Ongoing compliance below. Online filing is available.

California filing portal ↗

Appoint a registered agent in California

You must designate a registered agent with a physical address in California to accept legal documents on behalf of your LLC. This is required as part of the foreign qualification application.

Need to register your LLC in California?

Northwest files the foreign registration and serves as your registered agent in California, which the filing requires. Only need an agent? Northwest's registered agent service alone is $125/year.

Have Northwest register your LLC in California ↗

$225 + the state fee · One year of registered agent included

Other registered agent options 2 alternatives

Registered Agents Inc

$200/year · Report filing included, state fees extra

Visit site ↗

Harbor Compliance

$99 first year, then $149/year · Full-service compliance option

Visit site ↗

Not sure which service fits? Our full Northwest Registered Agent review and Harbor Compliance review cover pricing, renewal terms, and where each one fits.

Ongoing compliance in California

Annual report: $20 biennial + $800/year franchise tax
Report due: Anniversary month of registration (six-month filing window)
Processing time: California publishes a rolling processed-through date rather than a duration.
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The Secretary of State posts the receipt date it is currently working on: as of its 21 August 2026 update, LLC formations and registrations stood at 20 August for online filings and 17 August for post. Check that page rather than relying on a stored figure, because it moves.
Expedite: $350 for 24 hour filing, Class C, and $750 for same day, Class B. Those are the two tiers available through bizfileOnline.
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Class A four hour service is $500 but is drop-off only in Sacramento and requires the document to have been precleared first at a further $500, so it is $1,000 and a trip to Sacramento rather than a faster checkbox.

Note: Standard annual LLC tax is $800 in 2026 for LLCs taxed as partnerships or disregarded entities, subject to statutory exceptions. R&TC 17941(g)(2), enacted July 13, 2026, sets $400 for the first taxable year beginning in 2027-2029. It does not reduce an existing LLC's recurring annual tax; current 2026 totals retain $800. The tax test is separate from the Secretary of State registration test.

Important to know about California

$800 annual franchise tax applies even if you earn no revenue in California
Franchise Tax Board has its own definition of doing business (Revenue & Taxation Code 23101)

Already operating in California without registering? Our guide to what California charges unregistered LLCs covers fines, back fees, and court access.

What does NOT require registration in California 10 activities

California carves 10 activities out by statute. On their own, none of them requires a foreign LLC to register.

Bringing or defending a lawsuit, administrative proceeding, or arbitration, or settling those claims or disputes
Holding meetings of members or managers, or carrying on internal company affairs
Maintaining bank accounts
Keeping an office or agent to transfer, exchange, and register the company's own securities, or keeping trustees or depositories for them
Selling through independent contractors
Taking orders by mail, online, or through employees or agents, if the orders must be accepted outside California before they become contracts
Creating or acquiring debts, notes, mortgages, liens, or security interests in real or personal property
Collecting debts or enforcing mortgages or security interests, and holding or protecting property acquired that way
Doing a single isolated transaction that is finished within 180 days and is not one of a series of similar transactions
Doing business in interstate commerce

Under Corporations Code Section 17708.03(b), 10 items. California's isolated-transaction window is 180 days, not the usual 30. California has NO standalone safe harbor for simply owning real or personal property. Subsection (c) adds six status-based exclusions (shareholder, limited partner, member or manager of another entity) and subsection (e) states the section does not determine service of process, taxation, or regulation under other California law. Note that Corporations Code Section 191 governs foreign CORPORATIONS and does not reach LLCs, so a citation to it for this list is wrong.

Need a business address in California? mail forwarding

A virtual mailbox gives your LLC a separate address in California for business mail. Confirm whether the state accepts it for the specific filing field. For banking, ask your bank before buying; it may require your actual operating address.

Northwest Mail Forwarding $20/mo

Unique suite number + unlimited digital mail scanning

Learn more ↗

Registered Agents Inc $50/year

10 mail scans/year + unique suite number

Learn more ↗

Independent mailbox providers

iPostal1

Largest address network in the US. Best budget option for a registered business address.

From $14.99/mo Visit site ↗

Alliance Virtual Offices

Real commercial address inside a staffed office center, with an Address Certification Letter for banking and registration.

From $49/mo Visit site ↗

Bizee

Commercial street address with unlimited mail scanning, cheapest bundled with Bizee formation.

$29/mo Visit site ↗

Check your full compliance

Use our free tool to check if you need to register in additional states.

Start free compliance check ↗

Sources 3 links

This page provides general information based on publicly available state requirements. It is not legal advice. Verify all fees and requirements with the California Secretary of State before filing.