Bogus Corporate Filing Notices

Recently we've received many inquires from clients who have received mailings from various California companies with official-sounding names like"Corporate Compliance Board". These mailings typicallly include a form with an official looking seal on it, advising the corporation or LLC that a Statement of Information must be filed, and encouraging them to use the form to make the filing.  The forms usually quote a specific statute which requires annual filings by corporations and LLCs.  A large filing fee (up to $250) is charged by the company sending the form for filing the statement of information. 

Many of these forms appear to be deliberately misleading, designed to trick the business owner into thinking that the form comes from government.  The problem has gotten so severe the the California Secretary of State has  put a consumer alert notice on its website stating that these mailings do not come from the State of California or the Secretary of State. 

If you receive one of these mailings, the best thing to do is to throw it away.  The Secretary of State will send you your annual statement of information well before it becomes due, and the fee to file the statement is only $25 for corporations and $20 for LLCs. 

You may also want to consider reporting the senders of these mailings to the California Department of Justice, either by telephone at 800-952-5225 or on the DOJ website.