California does not offer a true anonymous LLC. Every LLC formed in the state must name its managers or members on the Statement of Information, and that document sits in a free public database anyone can search. The workaround privacy-minded owners use is a two-entity structure: form an LLC in a state that keeps owner names off public records, then list that out-of-state entity as the manager of your California LLC. Your personal name never appears on a California filing. The privacy is real, but it has limits worth understanding before you spend the money.
What California Puts on the Public Record
Two filings create the exposure. The Articles of Organization, filed to create the LLC, ask for the company name, the principal office address, and the name and address of the agent for service of process. If the LLC will be manager-managed, the Articles must say so, but they do not require manager or member names.1California Legislative Information. California Corporations Code 17702.01
The problem is the second filing. The Statement of Information is due within 90 days of formation and every two years after that. It requires the names and full business or residential addresses of every manager, or every member if the LLC has no managers, plus the name of any chief executive officer.2California Legislative Information. California Corporations Code 17702.09 The Secretary of State posts these filings in a searchable database with free PDF copies of more than 17 million business documents.3California Secretary of State. Business Search Anyone with an internet connection can look up your LLC and see who runs it. That is the default the double-LLC structure is designed to defeat.
How the Double-LLC Workaround Works
The idea is straightforward. Instead of listing yourself as the California LLC’s manager, you list another LLC formed in a state that does not publish owner names. When someone pulls up your California entity, they see a Wyoming or New Mexico holding company in the management fields. Your name is not on any California document.
The sequence in practice:
- Form an LLC in a privacy-friendly state. The holding entity’s formation documents list only the company name, its registered agent, and basic organizational details.
- Form your California LLC and designate it manager-managed on the Articles of Organization. On the Statement of Information, list the out-of-state holding company as the manager. Its name and address fill the fields that would otherwise carry your own.
- Operate through the California entity. It signs contracts, holds licenses, and conducts the business. The holding company exists solely to own or manage it.
Nothing false goes on any filing. The statute asks for the name of the manager, and the manager is legitimately the holding company. The privacy comes from the fact that the holding company’s home state does not publicly connect that entity to you.
One boundary matters: the holding company generally does not have to register as a foreign LLC in California just because it serves as a member or manager of a California entity. Under the Corporations Code, being a member or manager of a domestic LLC is specifically listed among the activities that do not constitute transacting intrastate business.
Which States Allow Anonymous Formation
Four states let you form an LLC without listing member or manager names on public filings: Delaware, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming.4Wolters Kluwer. Anonymous LLCs: States, Requirements, and Formation Steps The costs and ongoing obligations differ.
- New Mexico is the cheapest bare-bones option. Formation documents ask only for the company name, registered agent, management structure, and organizer’s signature. No member names or addresses appear anywhere, and there is no annual report, which removes a recurring chance for your identity to surface.
- Wyoming offers similar privacy. Owner and manager names are not required on formation documents, and the registered agent’s details appear in public records instead of yours. Wyoming requires an annual report, but it likewise does not demand member or manager names.
- Delaware keeps LLC member and manager names off public formation records. Annual franchise taxes and a registered agent requirement add ongoing costs.
- Nevada allows anonymous formation but charges higher fees than New Mexico or Wyoming and imposes an annual list filing.
For a holding structure whose sole job is to hold or manage a California LLC, New Mexico and Wyoming are usually the most cost-effective, because their formation and maintenance costs are lower.
Filing the California LLC
Once the out-of-state holding company is active, you file the California LLC through the Secretary of State’s bizfile online portal or by mail.5California Secretary of State. Bizfile California Two documents are involved.
The Articles of Organization cost $70.6California Secretary of State. Limited Liability Companies – California You provide the LLC name, the principal office address, and the registered agent for service of process. The agent must have a physical California address and be available during business hours. Mark the LLC as manager-managed.
The Statement of Information costs $20 and is due within 90 days of formation.6California Secretary of State. Limited Liability Companies – California In the manager fields, enter the name and address of the out-of-state holding company. This is the filing that would normally expose your identity, and where the structure earns its keep.
Ongoing Costs and Filings
Forming the LLC is the easy part. The recurring obligations are where owners lose either their good standing or their privacy.
Biennial Statement of Information
Every California LLC must refile the Statement of Information every two years, during a six-month window based on the original registration date.2California Legislative Information. California Corporations Code 17702.09 The fee is $20. Miss the deadline plus a 60-day grace period and the Secretary of State can impose a $250 penalty and begin suspension proceedings.7California Franchise Tax Board. FTB 1024 Penalty Reference Chart A suspended LLC cannot legally conduct business in California.
Annual Franchise Tax
Every LLC doing business in California or organized in the state owes an $800 annual tax, whether or not the business earns any revenue.8California Franchise Tax Board. Limited Liability Company Payment is due by the 15th day of the fourth month of the taxable year. For a new LLC, the first payment is due by the 15th day of the fourth month after formation. A first-year exemption existed for LLCs formed between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2023, but that exemption has expired.
Income-Based LLC Fee
On top of the $800 tax, California charges an additional fee once the LLC’s total California-source income crosses $250,000:9California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 17942
- $250,000 to $499,999: $900
- $500,000 to $999,999: $2,500
- $1 million to $4,999,999: $6,000
- $5 million or more: $11,790
The measure is gross income plus cost of goods sold, not net profit. A business with $300,000 in revenue and thin margins still owes the $900.
Two Registered Agents
The structure involves at least two entities in two states, so you need a registered agent in California and another in the holding company’s home state. Professional agent services typically run between $49 and $300 per year per state.
Where the Anonymity Ends
The structure keeps your name off the Secretary of State’s public website. That is genuinely useful against casual searches, competitors, and unsolicited contact. It is not invisibility.
Banks Look Through the Structure
Federal anti-money-laundering rules require banks to identify every individual who directly or indirectly owns 25% or more of a legal entity opening an account, plus at least one person who controls it. You must provide your name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, and unexpired government-issued ID. The bank records this information regardless of how many LLCs sit between you and the account. No anonymous LLC structure changes this.
Courts Can Compel Disclosure
If someone sues the California LLC or obtains a related court order, subpoena power reaches your registered agent, your organizer, and anyone else who knows your identity. Anonymous LLC privacy is designed for public record searches, not for litigation. Once a dispute moves past its opening stage, your identity is likely to come out through standard legal process.
Tax Agencies Already Know
The IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board require the LLC to report its owners on tax returns. Every California LLC files Form 568 annually.10California Franchise Tax Board. Instructions for Form 568 Limited Liability Company Tax Booklet These filings are not public, but government agencies know exactly who owns the business.
Federal Beneficial Ownership Reporting
The Corporate Transparency Act originally required most LLCs to report their beneficial owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. In March 2025, FinCEN issued an interim final rule exempting all entities created in the United States from that reporting requirement.11FinCEN.gov. FinCEN Removes Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements for US Companies and US Persons As of 2026, domestic LLCs do not file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN. That could change if Congress passes new legislation, so it is worth monitoring.
Keeping the Structure Intact
An anonymous structure that is not properly maintained can lose both its privacy and its liability protection. California courts apply a two-factor test when deciding whether to pierce the veil and hold owners personally liable: whether the owner and the entity have no real separate existence, and whether treating them as separate would produce an unfair result.
Courts look at specific warning signs. Mixing personal and business funds is the most common trigger. Paying personal expenses from LLC accounts, failing to keep separate financial records, and operating without an operating agreement all point toward the blurred identity that invites veil piercing. The same risks apply between the holding company and the operating company. If the two share everything and observe no formalities between them, a court can treat them as one.
Practical maintenance:
- Separate bank accounts for the California LLC and the holding company, with no casual transfers between them.
- A written operating agreement for each entity, even if you are the sole owner. California does not require you to file it with the state, but having one on record demonstrates the entities are independently governed.
- Annual and biennial filings completed on time for both entities, including the California Statement of Information, the $800 franchise tax, and any annual report required by the holding company’s state.
- No personal expenses paid from either entity’s accounts. That is exactly the kind of commingling that erodes the separation courts look for.
The double-LLC approach adds administrative work to what a single California LLC already demands. Missing a filing deadline in either state triggers penalties, and in California a suspended LLC loses the authority to enforce contracts or defend lawsuits until it is revived. Owners who value the privacy usually find the extra cost manageable. The ones who run into trouble are the ones who set the structure up and then forget to maintain it.