California LLC Statement of Information late fee: the filing costs $20, the penalty is $250
The California LLC Statement of Information filing fee is $20, but the late penalty for most businesses is $250. California says failure to file the required Statement of Information may lead to penalties and suspension or forfeiture. The Franchise Tax Board collects the Statement of Information penalty on behalf of the Secretary of State, and only the Secretary of State can waive it.
The short answer
If you file a California LLC Statement of Information late, the number to know is $250. That is the penalty amount the Franchise Tax Board lists for businesses when the Secretary of State reports that the filing was not made on time. The regular filing fee is still $20, so the late problem is much bigger than the normal cost.
This is one of those cases where the cheap filing turns into an expensive reminder failure.
| California LLC Statement of Information penalty snapshot | Amount or rule |
|---|---|
| Regular filing fee | $20 |
| Late penalty for businesses | $250 |
| Who collects the penalty | California Franchise Tax Board |
| Who can waive it | California Secretary of State |
| Initial filing deadline | Within 90 days of registration |
| Recurring filing cycle | Every two years thereafter |
Where the $250 number comes from
The Franchise Tax Board has a specific section for the Secretary of State Statement of Information penalty. It says the FTB collects this penalty after the Secretary of State notifies it that a business did not file its annual or biennial Statement of Information on time. The penalty listed for all other businesses is $250.
The Secretary of State says the same problem more broadly on its filing-tips page: failure to file the required Statement of Information may result in penalties assessed by the Franchise Tax Board and suspension or forfeiture. So the penalty is not a rumor or a blog number. It is part of the official California compliance system.
The late penalty is not a small service charge. It is a $250 state penalty tied to a filing that normally costs $20.
Why people get confused
Part of the confusion is that California has two separate things happening around LLC compliance. One is the Secretary of State record filing. The other is tax administration through the Franchise Tax Board. Owners sometimes assume that if a penalty shows up at the FTB, it must be a tax-return problem. Here, that is not the full story.
The FTB page explains that this penalty exists because the Secretary of State reported a late or missed Statement of Information. In other words, the issue starts with the Secretary of State filing, even though collection happens through the tax agency.
Who can waive the penalty
This is another point people miss. The Franchise Tax Board says only the Secretary of State can waive the Statement of Information penalty. That means paying or disputing the issue is not the same as asking the FTB for mercy. The waiver authority sits with the filing agency, not the collector.
If you are trying to fix the problem after the fact, it helps to know which office controls which part of the process.
How late filings turn into bigger problems
California does not stop at a penalty warning. The Secretary of State says failure to file may also lead to suspension or forfeiture. That matters because a suspended or forfeited entity can run into trouble with banking, contracts, state status checks, and ordinary admin cleanup.
So even if the first number you care about is $250, the practical cost can be higher if the LLC drifts out of good standing and you have to spend time fixing the record later.
The deadline that starts the risk
California LLCs are expected to file a Statement of Information within 90 days of initial registration and every two years after that. The recurring filing cycle is tied to the entity's formation or registration timing. This catches owners who think the first real compliance task arrives a year later. In California, it often arrives much sooner.
That is why the late penalty shows up so often in founder searches. The deadline feels minor until it is not.
Do not confuse the real fee with third-party mailers
The Secretary of State has a public warning about misleading Statement of Information solicitations. Some of these letters create urgency and charge much more than the official filing fee. California says these notices are not from the state and reminds owners that Statements of Information can be filed directly online.
The real filing fee for an LLC Statement of Information is $20. If you are paying dramatically more, you are probably paying a middleman rather than the state.
What to do if you are close to the deadline
The practical move is to file directly through bizfile Online as soon as possible. California says Statements of Information can be filed online, and the LLC form listing marks the filing as online only. Since August 1, 2026, the state also requires User Access before the online filing option appears, so account access is part of the real workflow now.
If you are already late, the best first step is still to get the filing in and then deal with any penalty follow-up through the correct state channels.
Bottom line
The California LLC Statement of Information late fee people mean is a $250 penalty, not just the regular $20 filing fee. The Secretary of State can trigger the penalty, the Franchise Tax Board collects it, and only the Secretary of State can waive it. Because California also warns about suspension or forfeiture, this is one deadline worth treating as real admin, not optional cleanup.