California state business registration

If you chose a Limited Liability Company (LLC), Corporation (Corp), Limited Partnership (LP), or Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) as your business structure you must register or incorporate with the California Secretary of State.

Step 1: Check name availability

Check if the name you want is available. You can check name availability. Learn more about this process in our Choose a Name section.

Step 2: Filing

Once you know the name you want is available, you can file the appropriate forms for your business structure with the CA Secretary of State.

Last updated January 27, 2023