Sun Document Filings, LLC makes it easy to file a foreign Corporation in California. First, we can obtain a Certificate of Status, sometimes called a Certificate of Existence or Certificate of Good Standing from your home state. Second, we check name availability with the California Secretary of State to make sure the foreign Corporation's name is available. Third, you will fill out the form Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation. Finally, we will file the Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation in Sacramento at the Secretary of State's California foreign Corporation counter. We will obtain a California Corporation file number from the Secretary of State for your foreign corporation. We will obtain two certified copies of the Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation and a Certificate of Qualification for all foreign Corporation filings at no extra charge. Simply follow our Step by Step process to get started.

Step 1: Obtain a Certificate of Good Standing from home state or country: If you have already obtained a Certificate of Good Standing from the company's home state that is less then 6 months old or are in the process of obtaining one, please skip this step. If you need assistance in obtaining a Certificate of Good Standing from your home state, we can assist you for an additional service and state fees. If the corporation is a non profit, the Certificate of Existence/Certificate of Good Standing must state the corporation's non profit status or the California Secretary of State will file it as a profit corporation and require additional filing fees.

Note: If the foreign Corporation is from outside the United States and the Certificate of Good Standing is in a different language, you will be required to have it translated before you can register the foreign Corporation. Please contact the Secretary of State to make sure they will accept your translated Certificate of Good Standing before sending your document for filing. Call them at 916-653-3365.

Step 2: Check name availability: Skip this step if you have already checked name availability. A foreign Corporation name must be available in California or the Corporation will have to conduct business under a DBA. Sometimes, adding the home state in front of the name will make it available. Please download our name availability order form in PDF format. For name restrictions for professional corporations, click here.

Step 3: Prepare the form: Prepare the California Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation. The form is provided in PDF format. For your convenience, you may download a copy of the form including detailed instructions prepared by the California Secretary of State in PDF format below. The form provided can be viewed and printed from your computer using the most current version of the Adobe Reader (available for free from Adobe's Website).

Download Form Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation for a profit/Non-profit corporation

Download Form Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation for a professional corporation (For professions of law and accountancy ONLY)

Please note that we provide California registered agent services for $159.00 a year. For more information about California registered agent services, please click here. Please contact us if you are interested and we will assist you in designating the registered agent correctly on the Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation

Please read helpful tips to avoid document rejection by clicking here.

Step 4: How fast do you need your document filed? Select the appropriate order form and fax or e-mail the completed form with the signed Statement and Designation to 800-498-3611 or e-mail to order@sundocumentfilings.com
**The order forms are in PDF format. Please type on the form from your computer. For legibility purposes, please do not handwrite.** Fees

Option 1: Same day rush order form - Documents received by 11:00am PST
Option 2: 24 hour rush order form
Option 3: Routine - 7 business days order form*

*NOTE: Documents submitted on a routine basis (normally 7 business days from March - November) from December thru February will take between 10-15 business days to be processed due to the increased filing volume at the Secretary of State's office. If you need your document faster, please use the rush option. The yearly slowdown happens in all 50 states every December and recovers in March.

If you fax the order, we will fax a received stamped copy back or if you e-mail the document, we will reply to confirm receipt of the order.

Step 5: Document is Filed:  Once the document is submitted to the Secretary of State, the State will take 5-7 business days* to process your document. 5-7 business days maybe longer then desired, but keep in mind that if you mail the document to the state for processing, you will have to wait 5-7 weeks if you mail the document in. From mid November to mid February, turnaround times will increase. RUSH OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE.

Step 6: Document is complete: Our runners' will pick up your document and bring it back to our office. We will immediately fax or e-mail a copy of the filed document to you. We will return the two certified copies via regular mail. FedEx is available for an additional fee of $25.00 or if you have your own FedEx account number, there is no additional charge. That is it. So fast and easy!

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Service and State Fees

Name availability check: $30.00 for one first choice plus 2 back up name choices for no extra charge plus a state fee of $4.00 per each name checked.

California Registered Agent services for one year: $159.00. Annual fee due at time of filing.

Obtain Certificate of Good Standing from the home state or District of Columbia: Please contact us for exact quotes. Fees are often determined upon whether or not you need the document on a rush. Please provide your time constraints prior to placing the order.

RUSH OPTIONS: If you need to form a corporation on a rush basis, there are rush options available.

SAME DAY FILING (We must receive the document and payment by 11:00am). We file the document and fax you a copy the same day, the certified copies will arrive the following business day via FedEx. If the document is received after that time, we will do our best to have it filed the same day. Otherwise, the document will be filed the next business morning. Our service fee: $635.00 plus the Secretary of State's fee of $115.00. Total $750.00 Price includes a fax copy return and FedEx priority overnight to a continental US address. Credit card required.

Fax/e-mail form: 24 Rush: $350.00 Secretary of State rush fee + $100.00 state filing fee + $100.00 rush service fee. Total: $550.00 Credit card required.

Routine fax/e-mail: 7 business days: Our service fee is $70.00 plus the California Secretary of State fee of $115.00 ($100.00 filing fee + $15.00 counter fee) for a total of $185.00. Fax or e-mail the document to our office. Credit card required. This option shaves a day of the filing time and saves a FedEx fee to our office.

Budget Mail in: 7 business days plus shipping time: Our service fee is $50.00 plus the California Secretary of State fee of $100.00 filing fee + $15.00 counter fee. To qualify for the reduced service fee, you must send the following: 1 originally signed document and 2 photocopies along with either 3 copies of the good standing certificate. Two separate checks both made payable to the Secretary of State; one for $100.00 and one for $15.00. A third check for our fee made payable to Sun Document Filings for $50.00. Add $3.00 if you would like a fax return copy. Add $5.00 for a scan and e-mail. Add $25.00 if you would like FedEx overnight. See Contacts for mailing address.

Routine filings: Obtain a Certificate of Good Standing at the time of filing: Our service fee is $35.00 plus $5.00 state fee per certificate. On a 24 hour rush with filing add $70.00 plus $5.00 state fee. Same day - add $180.00 plus $5.00 state fee per certificate.

Why choose Sun Document Filings?  We have filed thousands of foreign Statement and Designations by Foreign Corporations with the California Secretary of State over the years. We personally visit the California Secretary of State's California Corporation counter 3 times a day to drop off and pick up documents. We are very experienced in handling foreign Corporation registration in California. Please read what your peers have to say about our services by viewing our testimonials.

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In addition to checking name availability, professional corporations typically have name restrictions depending upon the licensing agency (medical board, dental board, etc.). Many medical and dental corporations have specific name restrictions/ requirements that must be met. Please contact the responsible agency for further information or consult the California Corporations Code. In addition, some states allow certain professional corporation endings that California does not. Please verify that the proposed name will not conflict with the California Corporations Code or call the California Secretary of State at 916-653-3365 for further information. Unfortunately, Sun Document Filings cannot answer legal questions regarding professional names. Back to Step 2

Please follow these tips while preparing the form

a. Read all instructions provided by the Secretary of State.
b. On line 1, type the name of the foreign Corporation EXACTLY as it appears on the Certificate of Good Standing including spaces and punctuation.
Note: A foreign Corporation must use its own name or less its legal name is unavailable for use in California.
c. If the legal name is not available for use in California because it conflicts with an entity that is registered with the California Secretary of State, the foreign corporation must use a DBA. If the legal name is ABC, Inc. and the corporation is going to the name Nevada ABC, Inc., please type on the form: ABC, Inc. which will do business in California as Nevada ABC, Inc.
DO NOT type ABC, Inc. DBA Nevada ABC, Inc. or ABC, Inc. doing business as Nevada ABC, Inc. or the Secretary of State will reject your document.
d. An agent for service or process is required. An agent for service of process is the person or entity that will accept service of process on behalf of the company if the Corporation is ever sued. The agent for service of process must be have a California address. If you do not have a California address or a person that can act as the agent for service of process, you can appoint a registered agent for you for a fee of $159.00 per year. Please click here for further information regarding         California registered agent services.
e. Don't forget the authorized person's title such as President, Secretary, Vice-President, or Assistant Secretary. Shareholder or Director is not an acceptable title to sign on a Statement and Designation by Foreign Corporation.
f. Type the form. If you must hand write it, please write clearly. If the Secretary of State cannot read it, the document will be rejected and you will have to prepare a new form.

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NOTE: We hope you find our foreign corporation qualification steps useful and easy to follow. Nothing contained in our steps should be construed as giving legal or financial advice. Our intended audience is attorneys and accountants. Therefore, if you are not an attorney or accountant, you should contact an attorney or accountant for specific legal or tax questions regarding your corporation. Please be aware that the Franchise Tax Board and Secretary of State are government agencies and can change their fees/procedures/forms/turnaround times without notification. Although we do our best to update our steps and stay current, we shall not be held liable for any omissions or errors contained. We do not profess to be giving legal or financial advice to the general public as we are a typing and filing agency.

File a foreign corporation or a California foreign corporation. We file a foreign qualification in California. Qualify a foreign corporation in California. Sometimes called a Certificate of Authority, a Statement and Designation is required. We registered all foreign corporations in California.