Secr
etary of State
Business Programs Division
Business Entities, 1500 11th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Foreign Name Registration - Information (Rev. 01/2013)
California Secretary of State
bizfile.sos.ca.gov
Foreign Name Registration
A foreign corporation not transacting intrastate business in California, but wishing to protec
t the name for
future use, may register its corporate name with this office, provided the name would be available pursuant
to Section 201, California Corporations Code. To accomplish this, the corporation would file an application
for registration in compliance with California Corporations Code Section 2101. A Registration of Corporate
Name by Foreign Corporation form designed for compliance with these requirements is attached.
The registration is effective until the close of the calendar year in which the application for registration is
filed. A corporation may renew its registration by filing a new form between October 1 and December 31 of
each year. The renewal, when filed, extends the registration for the following calendar year. The attached
form may be used for initial registration or for renewal if the foreign corporation has previously registered
its corporate name with the California Secretary of State.
Additional Requirement
A certificate by an authorized public official of the state or place of incorporation, to the effect that the
corporation is an existing corporation in good standing status in that state or place, must be attached to
the Registration of Corporate Name by Foreign Corporation form at the time of filing. Note: A certified
copy of the Articles of Incorporation does not meet statutory requirements and cannot be accepted in lieu
of the required certificate.
Where to File
The Registration of Corporate Name by Foreign Corporation can be mailed to Secretary of State,
Document Filing Support Unit, 1500 11th Street, 3rd Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814 or delivered in person
(drop off) to the Sacramento office. Registration documents are filed only in the Secretary of State’s
Sacramento office.
To facilitate the processing of documents mailed to the California Secretary of State, a letter referencing
the corporate name as well as the sender’s name, return address and telephone number should be
included with the submittal.
Go to www.sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/processing-times to get the current processing
times and determine which method of submission meets your needs.
Fees
The fee for filing a Registration of Corporate Name by Foreign Corporation is $50.00. In addition to the
filing fee, there is a non-refundable $15.00 special handling fee for processing documents delivered in
person (drop off) at the Sacramento office. The preclearance and/or expedited filing of a document within
a guaranteed time frame can be requested for an additional non-refundable fee in lieu of the special
handling fee. For detailed information about preclearance and expedited filing services, go to
www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/service-options.htm. Payment for special handling or preclearance and
expedited filing services should be made in a separate check. These services are not applicable to
documents submitted by mail. Check(s) should be made payable to the Secretary of State.
Copies
Upon filing, we will return one (1) uncertified copy of your filed document for free, and will certify the copy
upon request and payment of a $5.00 certification fee at the time of submission. To get additional copies,
include a separate request and payment for copy fees when the document is submitted. Copy fees are
$1.00 for the first page and $.50 for each additional page. For certified copies, there is an additional $5.00
certification fee, per copy.
