California LLC Statement of Information online: where to file, what it costs, and the login change to know

If you need to file a California LLC Statement of Information online, the state wants you to do it through bizfile Online. For LLCs, the filing is online only, the fee is $20, the first filing is due within 90 days of registration, and later filings come every two years. Starting August 1, 2026, California also requires User Access before the online filing option appears.

Checked against California Secretary of State and Franchise Tax Board materials on September 3, 2026.

The short answer

Yes, California LLC Statements of Information are filed online. The Secretary of State's LLC Statement of Information page labels the filing as online only and points filers to bizfile Online. This is not one of those state filings where the website quietly prefers paper but still accepts both. California is fairly direct here.

That matters because a lot of founders search for a PDF first. For this specific filing, the better question is not where to download the form. It is where to log in.

California LLC Statement of Information online	What the state says
Where to file	bizfile Online
Submission format	Online only for LLC Statements of Information
Fee	$20
Initial deadline	Within 90 days of initial registration
Ongoing cycle	Every two years thereafter
Extra 2026 rule	User Access required for online filing visibility

Where the filing actually happens

California routes this through the Secretary of State's bizfile system. The general File Online page has a dedicated LLC Statement of Information button, and the filing-tips page says Statements of Information can be filed online at bizfileOnline.sos.ca.gov.

So if you are looking for the official filing path, it is the Secretary of State portal, not a county office, not the Franchise Tax Board, and not a third-party mail-forwarding service pretending to be a compliance department.

For California LLCs, the state treats the Statement of Information as an online filing, not a paper-first filing.

The login change that can trip people up

The California Secretary of State updated its filing tips page in 2026 with a new warning: effective August 1, 2026, web User Access is required for Statement of Information filings, and the option to file online is visible only to users with access established.

That is easy to miss if you formed an LLC earlier and expect the old workflow. In plain English, the filing still happens online, but you may need to set up or request access before the button you want is available. If you log in and think the feature vanished, this is probably why.

What you are filing and why California wants it

The Statement of Information is California's way of keeping the entity record current. It updates core record details such as service-of-process information and management details. Even if nothing dramatic changed, the state still expects the filing on schedule.

That is why the filing exists separately from your formation filing. Forming the LLC gets the entity on record. The Statement of Information keeps the record current after that.

The timing rule is faster than many owners expect

California says the Statement of Information is due within 90 days of initial registration and every two years after that. Many new owners expect the follow-up to happen on the first tax season or a one-year anniversary. California does not wait that long.

If you just formed the LLC, this is one of the first compliance deadlines you need to calendar. And because the filing itself is relatively simple, missing it is usually a reminder problem, not a hard-process problem.

The fee is small, but ignoring the filing is not

The official fee for an LLC Statement of Information is $20. That is the real state fee. California also warns owners about misleading solicitations that try to charge much more for the same filing through a third party. The Secretary of State specifically says these solicitations are not from the state and notes that the filing can be done directly through bizfile Online.

The fee is small enough that there is usually no reason to outsource it unless someone is already handling the whole compliance stack for you.

What about late filings

This page is about filing online, but the late consequence is worth knowing because it affects how urgent this task is. California says failure to file the required Statement of Information may result in penalties assessed by the Franchise Tax Board, and the FTB penalty page says the penalty for businesses is $250. The FTB also notes that only the Secretary of State can waive that penalty.

That is a big jump from a $20 filing fee, which is why this is one of those boring tasks that deserves a real reminder.

How to avoid the common mistakes

The first mistake is paying a fake compliance notice instead of filing directly with the state. The second is confusing the Statement of Information with California tax obligations and assuming one filing covers both. It does not. The third is waiting until the deadline week and then discovering the User Access setup needs attention first.

The cleaner approach is simple: create the bizfile account early, confirm you have access to the entity record, and file before you are in a rush.

Bottom line

To file a California LLC Statement of Information online, use the Secretary of State's bizfile Online portal. The filing is online only for LLCs, the fee is $20, the first filing is due within 90 days of registration, and later filings come every two years. Since August 1, 2026, User Access is part of the workflow, so do not wait until the last minute to discover you still need account access.