Initial Registration

Every charitable corporation, unincorporated association, and trustee doing business in or holding property in California is required to register with the Attorney General's Registry of Charities and Fundraisers within 30 days of receiving charitable assets. NOTE: Assets include public donations, property, government grants, noncash donations, and/or contributions of value. For more information, please see our Guide for Charities page that includes the Attorney General's Guide for Charities. See also Government Code sections 12581, 12583, 12585 and 12586.

If the organization is incorporated with the CA Secretary of State, a certified copy of the founding documents may be obtained from the California Secretary of State at businesssearch.sos.ca.gov or sos.ca.gov if an online copy is not available.

For unincorporated entities, bylaws, articles of association or articles of organization are required. The founding document should be signed and dated by the founders and contain organizational information such as, but not limited to: the charitable purpose and what will happen to the entity's assets should it dissolve.

Charities operating in California are required to report to many different government agencies, including the Secretary of State, the Franchise Tax Board and the Attorney General's Registry of Charities and Fundraisers. The Attorney General has primary supervisory jurisdiction over charitable organizations to assure that their assets are used for charitable purposes. The Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act (Government Code sections 12580 - 12599.10) requires charitable organizations to register and file annual reports with the Attorney General's Registry of Charities and Fundraisers.

The registration and reporting requirements under the Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act apply to persons and entities that solicit, conduct business, or hold charitable assets in or from California. This includes foreign corporations, trustees, and fundraising professionals.

As is the case for any charitable organization or trustee, the foreign entity is required to register within 30 days of first receiving property (i.e., a cash donation, property donation, or other assets with financial value received for charitable purposes) as a result of doing business in California. In addition, the foreign entity must provide a copy of its tax exemption application, IRS Form 1023 or Form 1023-EZ (if submitted to the IRS), a copy of its IRS determination letter if it received tax exempt status from the IRS, and copies of its founding documents. For more information, see the Attorney General's Guide for Charities and Government Code sections 12580-12599.10.

Completed applications will typically be processed in less than 90 days. Online submissions will have faster processing times. Applications that are incomplete or inaccurate will be delayed until the missing documents or deficiencies are resolved. For submissions made online or processed by the Registry through the Online Filing Service, organizations can get information on the status of their application through the Online Filing Service. For paper submissions processed through the Registry's existing database, use the Registry Search Tool to determine status.

The two most common reasons for receiving a Notice to Register are: (1) your tax preparer's software directed the preparer to submit a copy of your IRS Form 990 or an Annual Registration Renewal Fee Report (Form RRF-1) to this office, and then we determined that the entity is required to register and report to this office; or (2) a member of the general public made an inquiry concerning a solicitation from your organization.

Charitable organizations are required to register with the Registry within 30 days of the initial receipt of assets. The Form RRF-1 is a form to renew an existing registration and report on the charity's activities during the prior fiscal year. The organization needs to complete the initial registration process first before the Registry can process the registration renewal filings submitted by the organization. Once your organization is registered, the Registry will assign your organization a State Charity Registration Number, at which time the organization will be able to renew online.

Contact the accountant or attorney who assisted your organization. You may also be able to obtain records from the California Secretary of State and the Internal Revenue Service. If your organization was incorporated in California, you can obtain a certified copy of the founding documents from the Secretary of State at businesssearch.sos.ca.gov.

If you anticipate a delay in obtaining missing documents from other government agencies, please notify the Initial Registration Program using the Contact the Initial Registration Program form and provide the organization's name, applicant number, and organization number (if applicable).

Our office reviews Registration Exemption Requests on a case-by-case basis. Entities organized primarily as a hospital, educational institution, or religious organization are exempt from the registration and annual reporting requirements by law. Nonprofit Mutual Benefit corporations are only required to register and annually report if the organization received or solicited assets for charitable purposes.

If an organization would like a review from the Registry staff to determine if it is exempt from registration, please submit a letter requesting a determination of exemption with a detailed explanation of the reasons the organization is exempt from registration, a copy of the organization's founding document(s), and IRS determination letter. Please note exemption requests cannot be submitted via the Online Filing Service.

Depending on the date (month/day/year) the organization first received assets (funds, property, etc.) in/from California, the organization may be required to renew registration and pay past due renewal fees.

The consequences for failing to register may lead to penalties, administrative or legal action, and the loss of tax exemption status with the Franchise Tax Board. So it is important for your organization to fully comply with the registration requirements.