Aerlex Law Group

California Business Entity Data Filing & Access Enhancements

 

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla recently announced new online procedures for the filing of Limited Liability Company (LLC) Statements of Information, simplifying a filing system that processes hundreds of thousands of submissions annually. As of Wednesday, June 21, 2017, businesses no longer have to submit physical LLC Statements of Information because the records may now be filed via the California Secretary of State’s website. Those who want to submit the forms on paper can still do so.

Secretary Padilla launched the new system at the same time that he unveiled bizfile California, a new online portal to help businesses file, search and order business records quickly from one webpage.

Click here for the Secretary of State’s online LLC Statement of Information portal

Click here for the Secretary of State’s bizfile California online portal

These new online procedures are part of Secretary Padilla’s Digital Initiative to modernize and digitize the Agency’s divisions, including the Business Program Division. In January, we reported the Secretary’s December announcement of the first step in this modernization effort with the introduction of the California Business Search tool which now provides online access to more than 10 million records relating to corporations, limited liability companies and limited partnerships. Many of these can be downloaded in PDF form.

Aerlex’s corporate paralegal, Susan Orozco-Neu, said that these new procedures should save business owners valuable time. “The December modification simplified and expedited access to business documents. Before, requests for copies of Statements of Information for corporations and LLCs had to be submitted in person or by mail, and receiving the documents could take days or even weeks. Recent enhancements now simplify the LLC Statement of Information filing process as well,” she said. She points out that to form a California LLC, Articles of Organization must still be filed in-person or by mail, but that will be modified soon as well. Secretary Padilla is working to have online filing of Articles of Organization by the end of this year. Persons submitting filings should keep in mind that the information contained in filings is now easily accessible public record. Avoid submitting confidential information (unless required) because individuals and companies will use the public records to create third-party access to the information.

If you have questions regarding these important changes, need help establishing a corporation or LLC, or require assistance with business entity maintenance and filing Statements of Information, please contact Susan Orozco-Neu at 310-392-5200 or sorozco-neu@aerlex.com.