California Charitable Registration Renewal Requirements

California charitable registration renewal is an annual filing every registered charity owes the Attorney General’s Registry of Charities and Fundraisers. The core of it is Form RRF-1, submitted with the organization’s federal information return (or a state substitute) and a fee that runs from $25 to $1,200 based on total revenue. The package is due four months and fifteen days after the close of your fiscal year. Miss it, and the charity is publicly listed as delinquent, cannot solicit donations in the state, and starts accruing non-waivable late fees.

When the Renewal Is Due

The standard deadline is four months and fifteen days after the end of your fiscal year. A calendar-year charity files by May 15.¹

If you obtain an extension for your federal return from the IRS, the Registry honors it automatically. You don’t have to send the Registry a copy of the extension request or notify it separately. File with the IRS first, then send the complete renewal package to the Registry once ready.¹

The 2025–2026 Blanket Extension

The Registry has extended every annual renewal that was originally due between January 7, 2025, and April 30, 2026, to a single new deadline of April 30, 2026. The extension coincides with the rollout of the Registry’s new Online Filing Service, which becomes available to existing registrants during 2026.²

Who Has to File

Every charitable corporation, unincorporated association, and trustee registered under the Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act must renew each year. The obligation applies even in years when you did not file a federal Form 990, or when your IRS filing is on extension.³ Size and activity level don’t excuse the filing.¹

What Goes In the Package

Two components make up the renewal: the state RRF-1 and a federal information return (or its state substitute). Which federal form you attach depends on your organization’s revenue and structure.¹

Form 990 if gross receipts are $200,000 or more, or total assets are $500,000 or more.⁴
Form 990-EZ if gross receipts are under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000.⁵
Form 990-PF for private foundations, regardless of revenue.
Form CT-TR-1 (the state Annual Treasurer’s Report) if your gross receipts are below the IRS filing threshold. The Registry does not accept or want Form 990-N.¹

Leave Schedule B out entirely. The Registry will not accept redacted, blank, or “public view” versions either.¹

The Renewal Fee

The RRF-1 fee is non-refundable and tied to total revenue. Nine tiers:³

Less than $50,000: $25
$50,000 to $100,000: $50
$100,001 to $250,000: $75
$250,001 to $1 million: $100
$1,000,001 to $5 million: $200
$5,000,001 to $20 million: $400
$20,000,001 to $100 million: $800
$100,000,001 to $500 million: $1,000
Greater than $500 million: $1,200

Other Requirements Tied to the Renewal

Independent Audit at $2 Million

Once your organization receives or accrues $2 million or more in gross revenue in a fiscal year, its financial statements must be audited by an independent CPA under generally accepted auditing standards. Government grants and contracts with their own accounting rules are excluded from that revenue threshold. Corporations meeting the threshold must also appoint a board audit committee separate from any finance committee, and no staff member may sit on it.⁶

Governance Information

The RRF-1 asks for the names, addresses, and compensation of all current directors, trustees, and officers. It also asks about insider transactions and any theft or diversion of charitable assets during the year. The financial figures on the RRF-1 should match your federal return.

Fundraiser and Coventurer Disclosures

If your organization used a commercial fundraiser, fundraising counsel, or commercial coventurer during the reporting period, disclose it on the RRF-1 and attach a page with the details of each arrangement.³ Any written contract with a commercial fundraiser has to meet Government Code section 12599.⁷

How to Submit

The Registry is moving to an Online Filing Service, but as of early 2026 charities registered before October 2025 cannot yet use it. Those organizations will get access as the rollout continues through the year.² Until then, mail the complete package to the Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, P.O. Box 903447, Sacramento, CA 94203-4470.

Once you’re in the online system, an agent authorized to sign for the organization runs the session and applies an electronic signature. That signature covers everything uploaded, so the signature field on attachments like the CT-TR-1 can stay blank.⁸ Upload the RRF-1 and your 990-series return or CT-TR-1 as PDFs, without Schedule B.

A submission missing forms, documentation, or the fee sits in “Reporting Incomplete” status until you finish it.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

Delinquent Status

Once the deadline (including any extension) passes without a filing, the Registry lists the organization as Delinquent in its public records. A delinquent charity cannot legally operate or solicit donations in California, and it cannot be listed on charitable fundraising platforms.⁹

Late Fees and Escalation

If the delinquency continues, the Registry sends a Notice of Intent to Suspend or Revoke Registration. Late fees start on the 31st day after the first delinquency letter is mailed and run at $25 per month or partial month. These late fees cannot be waived. Ongoing non-compliance leads to suspension or revocation.⁹

The Attorney General can also assess administrative penalties of up to $1,000 per violation, plus $100 per day for ongoing uncorrected violations.¹⁰

Reinstatement After Revocation

A revoked registration is not fixed by simply catching up on paperwork. The organization must petition the Registry under California Code of Regulations, title 11, section 346. The petition will not be reviewed until all of the following are submitted:⁹

All deficient filings and renewal fees for every missed year.
Proof of good standing with the IRS, FTB, and California Secretary of State.
A written explanation of why the organization failed to comply and failed to respond to Registry notices.
Assurance of future compliance sufficient to satisfy the Registrar.

Reinstatement is discretionary. The Registry can deny the petition, and every month of delay adds fees.

The Separate FTB Filing

The Attorney General renewal doesn’t cover your state tax exemption. The Franchise Tax Board requires its own annual return:¹¹

FTB 199N, filed electronically, for organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less.
Form 199 for organizations with gross receipts above $50,000, all private foundations, and nonexempt charitable trusts regardless of revenue.

Churches, religious orders, and certain government-controlled entities are exempt from this FTB filing. The FTB grants an automatic six-month extension to file, but not to pay. An organization already suspended on the original due date does not qualify for that automatic extension.¹¹

If you lose your state exemption through the FTB, the organization is taxed like a for-profit corporation, including the $800 annual minimum franchise tax, until it formally reinstates its exemption by filing FTB Form 3500.¹²

1
California Office of the Attorney General. Annual Registration Renewal
2
State of California – Department of Justice. Charities
3
California Department of Justice. Annual Registration Renewal Fee Report (Form RRF-1)
4
Internal Revenue Service. Form 990 Series Which Forms Do Exempt Organizations File
5
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 990-EZ
6
California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 12580 – Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act
7
California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 12599
8
State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Online Renewal System Checklist
9
California Department of Justice. Delinquency
10
Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 11 Section 338 – Imposition of Penalty
11
California Franchise Tax Board. Annual and Filing Requirements
12
Franchise Tax Board. FTB 927 Publication – Introduction to Tax-Exempt Status