Published: 2015-07-08
Key Benefits:
(a) One or more persons may act as organizers to form a limited liability company by signing and delivering to the Secretary of State for filing articles of organization on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State.
(b) The articles of organization shall state all of the following:
(1) A statement that the purpose of the limited liability company is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which a limited liability company may be organized under this title.
(2) The name of the limited liability company, which shall comply with Section 17701.08.
(3) The street address of the initial designated office and the mailing address of the limited liability company if different from the street address of the initial designated office.
(4) The name and street address of the initial agent for service of process of the limited liability company who meets the qualifications specified in subdivision (c) of Section 17701.13. If a corporate agent is designated, only the name of the agent shall be set forth.
(5) If the limited liability company is to be manager-managed, the articles of organization shall contain a statement to that effect.
(6) If the limited liability company is to be managed by only one manager, the articles of organization shall contain a statement to that effect.
(c) Subject to subdivision (c) of Section 17701.12, articles of organization may also contain any other provision not inconsistent with law other than those provisions required by subdivision (b).
(d) A limited liability company is formed when the Secretary of State has filed the articles of organization.
(e) Except in a proceeding by this state to dissolve a limited liability company, the filing of the articles of organization by the Secretary of State is conclusive proof that the organizer satisfied all conditions to the formation of a limited liability company.
(f) The Secretary of State may cancel the filing of the articles of organization if a check or other remittance accepted in payment of the filing fee is not paid upon presentation. Upon receiving written notification that the item presented for payment has not been honored for payment, the Secretary of State shall give a first written notice of the applicability of this subdivision to the agent for service of process or to the person submitting the instrument. Thereafter, if the amount has not been paid by cashier’s check or equivalent, the Secretary of State shall give a second written notice of cancellation and the cancellation shall thereupon be effective. The second notice shall be given 20 days or more after the first notice, and 90 days or less after the original filing.
(g) The Secretary of State shall include with the instructional materials, provided in conjunction with the form for filing the articles of organization under subdivision (a), a notice that filing the registration will obligate the limited liability company to pay an annual tax for that taxable year to the Franchise Tax Board pursuant to Section 17941 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. That notice shall be updated annually to specify the dollar amount of the tax.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
(a) The articles of organization may be amended or restated at any time.
(b) To amend its articles of organization, a limited liability company shall deliver to the Secretary of State a certificate of amendment, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State for filing, stating all of the following:
(1) The present name of the limited liability company.
(2) The Secretary of State’s file number for the limited liability company.
(3) The changes the amendment makes to the articles of organization as most recently amended or restated.
(c) To restate its articles of organization, a limited liability company shall deliver to the Secretary of State for filing, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State entitled “Restated Articles of Organization,” stating, as applicable, the following:
(1) The present name of the limited liability company and the Secretary of State’s file number for the limited liability company.
(2) The entire text of the articles of organization as amended to the date of filing, except that if the limited liability company has filed a statement of information under Section 17702.09, the initial street address, the initial mailing address, and the name and address of the initial agent for service of process shall not be set forth.
(d) Subject to subdivision (c) of Section 17701.12 and subdivision (c) of Section 17702.05, an amendment to or restatement of the articles of organization is effective when filed by the Secretary of State and shall be duly executed by at least one manager of a manager-managed limited liability company or at least one member of a member-managed limited liability company unless a greater number is provided in the articles of organization.
(e) If a member of a member-managed limited liability company, or a manager of a manager-managed limited liability company, knows that any information in filed articles of organization was inaccurate when the articles were filed or has become inaccurate owing to changed circumstances, the member or manager shall promptly do the following:
(1) Cause the articles to be amended.
(2) If appropriate, deliver to the Secretary of State for filing a statement of information under Section 17701.14 or a certificate of correction under Section 17702.06.
(f) A limited liability company shall not amend its articles of organization pursuant to subdivision (b) or restate its articles of organization pursuant to subdivision (c) in order to change its designated office, its mailing address, its agent for service of process, or the address of its agent for service of process. To change that information, the limited liability company shall deliver to the Secretary of State for filing a statement of information under Section 17701.14.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 834, Sec. 40. Effective January 1, 2015.)
(a) A record delivered to the Secretary of State for filing pursuant to this title shall be signed as follows:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), a record signed on behalf of a limited liability company shall be signed by a person authorized by the limited liability company.
(2) A limited liability company’s initial articles of organization shall be signed by at least one person acting as an organizer.
(3) A record filed on behalf of a dissolved limited liability company that has no members shall be signed by the person winding up the limited liability company’s activities or a person appointed under Section 17707.04 to wind up those activities.
(4) A certificate of cancellation under Section 17707.02 shall be signed by each organizer that signed the initial articles of organization, but a personal representative of a deceased or incompetent organizer may sign in the place of the decedent or incompetent.
(5) A certificate of cancellation under Section 17707.08 shall be signed by a majority of managers unless the event causing the dissolution that is specified in subdivision (c) of Section 17707.01 occurs, in which case the certificate of cancellation shall be signed as provided in paragraph (3).
(6) A certificate of correction shall be executed in the same manner in which the record being corrected was required to be executed.
(b) Any record filed under this title may be signed by an agent.
(c) A limited liability company may record in the office of the county recorder of any county in this state, and county recorders, on request, shall record a certified copy of the limited liability company articles of organization and any exhibit or attachment, or any amendment or correction thereto, that has been filed in the office of the Secretary of State. A foreign limited liability company may record in the office of the county recorder of any county in the state a certified copy of the application for registration of the foreign limited liability company, or any amendment thereto, that has been filed in the office of the Secretary of State. The recording shall create a conclusive presumption in favor of any bona fide purchaser or encumbrancer for value of the limited liability company real property located in the county in which the certified copy has been recorded, of the statements contained therein.
(d) If the Secretary of State determines that an instrument submitted for filing or otherwise submitted does not conform to the law and returns it to the person submitting it, the instrument may be resubmitted accompanied by a written opinion of a member of the State Bar of California submitting the instrument or representing the person submitting it, to the effect that the specific provisions of the instrument objected to by the Secretary of State do conform to law and stating the points and authorities upon which the opinion is based. The Secretary of State shall rely, with respect to any disputed point of law, other than the application of Sections 17701.08, 17701.09, 17708.02, and 17708.03, upon that written opinion in determining whether the instrument conforms to law. The date of filing in that case shall be the date the instrument is received on resubmission.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 834, Sec. 41. Effective January 1, 2015.)
(a) If a person required by this title to sign a record or deliver a record to the Secretary of State for filing under this title does not do so, any other person that is aggrieved may petition the superior court to order any of the following:
(1) The person to sign the record.
(2) The person to deliver the record to the Secretary of State for filing.
(3) The Secretary of State to file the record unsigned.
(b) If a petitioner under subdivision (a) is not the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company to which the record pertains, the petitioner shall make the limited liability company a party to the action.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
(a) A record authorized or required to be delivered to the Secretary of State for filing under this title shall be captioned to describe the record’s purpose, be in a medium permitted by the Secretary of State, and be delivered to the Secretary of State. If the filing fees have been paid, unless the Secretary of State determines that a record does not comply with applicable laws, the Secretary of State shall file the record.
(b) Upon request and payment of the requisite fee, the Secretary of State shall send to the requester a certified copy of a requested record.
(c) Except for original articles of organization and except as otherwise provided in Sections 17701.14 and 17702.06, a record delivered to the Secretary of State for filing under this title may specify a delayed effective date. Subject to Section 17702.06, a record filed by the Secretary of State is effective as follows:
(1) If the record does not specify a delayed effective date, on the date the record is filed as evidenced by the Secretary of State’s endorsement of the date on the record.
(2) If the record specifies a delayed effective date, on the date specified in the record. A delayed effective date specified in the record shall not be more than 90 days after the date the record is filed.
(d) In the case of a delayed effective date, the instrument may be prevented from becoming effective by a certificate stating that by appropriate action it has been revoked and is null and void. This certificate shall be executed in the same manner as the original instrument and shall be filed before the delayed effective date.
(e) In the case of a merger agreement or certificate of merger, a certificate revoking the earlier filing need only be executed on behalf of one of the constituent parties to the merger. If no revocation certificate is filed, the instrument becomes effective on the date specified.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
(a) A limited liability company or foreign limited liability company may deliver to the Secretary of State for filing a certificate of correction on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State to correct a record previously delivered by the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company to the Secretary of State and filed by the Secretary of State, if at the time of filing the record contained inaccurate information or was defectively signed.
(b) A certificate of correction under subdivision (a) may not state a delayed effective date and shall do all of the following:
(1) State the present name of the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company and the Secretary of State’s file number.
(2) Describe the title to the document to be corrected, including its filing date.
(3) Set forth the name of each party to the document to be corrected.
(4) Specify the inaccurate information and the reason it is inaccurate or the manner in which the signing was defective.
(5) Correct the defective signature or inaccurate information.
(c) A certificate of correction shall be executed in the same manner in which the record being corrected was required to be executed.
(d) When filed by the Secretary of State, a certificate of correction under subdivision (a) is effective retroactively as of the effective date of the record the certificate corrects, but the statement is effective when filed as to persons that previously relied on the uncorrected record and would be adversely affected by the retroactive effect.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 834, Sec. 42. Effective January 1, 2015.)
(a) If a record delivered to the Secretary of State for filing under this title and filed by the Secretary of State contains inaccurate information, a person that suffers a loss by reliance on the information may recover damages for the loss from the following:
(1) A person that signed the record, or caused another to sign it on the person’s behalf, and knew the information to be inaccurate at the time the record was signed.
(2) Subject to subdivision (b), a member of a member-managed limited liability company or the manager of a manager-managed limited liability company, if all of the following apply:
(A) The record was delivered for filing on behalf of the limited liability company.
(B) The member or manager had notice of the inaccuracy for a reasonably sufficient time before the information was relied upon so that, before the reliance, the member or manager reasonably could have done all of the following:
(i) Effected an amendment under Section 17702.02.
(ii) Filed a petition under Section 17702.04.
(iii) Delivered to the Secretary of State for filing a statement of information under Section 17701.14 or a certificate of correction under Section 17702.06.
(b) To the extent that the operating agreement of a member-managed limited liability company expressly relieves a member of responsibility for maintaining the accuracy of information contained in records delivered on behalf of the limited liability company to the Secretary of State for filing under this title and imposes that responsibility on one or more other members, the liability stated in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) applies to those other members and not to the member that the operating agreement relieves of the responsibility.
(c) An individual who signs a record authorized or required to be filed under this title affirms under penalty of perjury that the information stated in the record is accurate.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
(a) Every limited liability company and every foreign limited liability company registered to transact intrastate business in this state shall deliver to the Secretary of State for filing within 90 days after the filing of its original articles of organization or registering to transact intrastate business and biennially thereafter during the applicable filing period, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State, a statement of information containing:
(1) The name of the limited liability company and the Secretary of State’s file number and, in the case of a foreign limited liability company, the name under which the foreign limited liability company is authorized to transact intrastate business in this state and the state or other jurisdiction under the laws of which it is organized.
(2) The name and street address of the agent in this state for service of process required to be maintained pursuant to Section 17701.13. If a corporate agent is designated, only the name of the agent shall be set forth.
(3) The street address of its principal office. In the case of a foreign limited liability company, the street address of its principal business office in this state, if any, and, in the case of a domestic limited liability company, the street address of the office required to be maintained pursuant to Section 17701.13.
(4) The mailing address of the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company, if different from the street address of its principal office, or principal business office in this state, or, in the case of a domestic limited liability company, the street address of the office required to be maintained pursuant to Section 17701.13.
(5) The name and complete business or residence addresses of any manager or managers and the chief executive officer, if any, appointed or elected in accordance with the articles of organization or operating agreement or, if no manager has been so elected or appointed, the name and business or residence address of each member.
(6) If the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company chooses to receive renewal notices and any other notifications from the Secretary of State by electronic mail instead of by United States mail, the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company shall include a valid electronic mail address for the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company, or for the limited liability company’s or foreign limited liability company’s designee to receive those notices.
(7) The general type of business that constitutes the principal business activity or the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company, such as, for example, manufacture of aircraft, wholesale liquor distributor, or retail department store.
(b) If there has been no change in the information contained in the last filed statement of information of the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company on file in the office of Secretary of State, the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company may, in lieu of filing the statement of information required by subdivision (a), advise the Secretary of State, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State, that no changes in the required information have occurred during the applicable filing period.
(c) For purposes of this section, the applicable filing period for a limited liability company shall be the calendar month during which its original articles of organization was filed or, in the case of a foreign limited liability company, the month during which its application for registration was filed, and the immediately preceding five calendar months. The Secretary of State shall provide a notice to each limited liability company or foreign limited liability company to comply with this section approximately three months prior to the close of the applicable filing period. The notice shall state the due date for compliance and shall be sent to the last mailing address of the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company according to the records of the Secretary of State, or if none, to the street address of the principal office, or, in the case of a domestic limited liability company, the office required to be maintained pursuant to Section 17701.13, or to the last electronic mail address according to the records of the Secretary of State if the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company has elected to receive notices from the Secretary of State by electronic mail. The failure of the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company to receive the notice shall not exempt the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company from complying with this section.
(d) Whenever any of the information required by subdivision (a) changes, other than the name and address of the agent for service of process, the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company may file a current statement containing all the information required by subdivision (a). When changing its agent for service of process or when the address of the agent changes, the limited liability company or foreign limited liability company shall file a current statement containing all the information required by subdivision (a). Whenever any statement is filed pursuant to this section, that statement supersedes any previously filed statement pursuant to this section, the statement in the original articles of organization, and the statement in any previously filed amended or restated articles of organization that have been filed, or in the case of a foreign limited liability company, in the application for registration.
(e) If a statement of information delivered to the Secretary of State for filing under this section does not contain the information required by subdivision (a), the Secretary of State shall promptly return the statement of information to the reporting limited liability company or foreign limited liability company for correction.
(f) The Secretary of State may destroy or otherwise dispose of any statement filed pursuant to this section after it has been superseded by the filing of a new statement.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)
An instrument shall be deemed filed, and the date of filing endorsed thereon, upon receipt by the Secretary of State of any instrument accompanied by the fee prescribed in Article 3 (commencing with Section 12180) of Chapter 3 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The date of filing shall be the date the instrument is received by the Secretary of State unless the instrument provides that it is to be withheld from filing for a period of time not to exceed 90 days or unless, in the judgment of the Secretary of State, the filing is intended to be coordinated with the filing of some other document that cannot be filed. The Secretary of State shall file a document as of any requested future date not more than 90 days after its receipt, including a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, if that document is received in the office of the Secretary of State at least one business day prior to the requested date of filing. Upon receipt and after filing of any document under this title, the Secretary of State may microfilm or reproduce by other techniques any filings or documents and destroy the original filing or document. The microfilm or other reproduction of any document under this section, or corresponding provision under prior law, shall be admissible in any court of law.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 419, Sec. 20. Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 32 of Ch. 419.)