Delinquency

The Online Filing Service allows charitable organizations and fundraisers to submit filings to the Registry of Charities and Fundraisers. Use the Online Filing Service to complete and submit annual renewal filings, upload required supporting documents and pay the renewal fee online. Registrants can also respond to requests for additional information and manage their registration through the Online Filing Service.

To create an account, visit the Online Filing Service and select “Sign up now.” Enter an email address to receive a verification code, then verify your email. After that, enter your name and create a password.

To file forms, such as annual renewal filings, you must link your Online Filing Service account to the organization’s registration record.

If you have the organization’s registration code, log in to the Online Filing Service, navigate to the My Registrations section, and select “Don't see your registration? Click here to find it.” You will be prompted to enter the organization’s registration code and an identifying number associated with the organization, such as the FEIN, to link the registration to your account. Once linked (which may take hours), the organization will appear under My Registrations.

If you do not have the organization’s registration code, log in to the Online Filing Service, navigate to the My Registrations section, and select “Click here if you need help accessing your registration.” From there, submit a support request and provide information about the organization, including any identifying information you have available (such as the FEIN), along with your role with the organization. The Registry will review your request and assist you with gaining access to the organization’s registration record, if appropriate.

Note: For security purposes, registration codes are only provided to individuals who are authorized to access and manage the organization’s record.

An organization’s unique registration code can be found in the Confirmation of Registration correspondence sent to the organization after it initially registered with the Registry. Also, an Online Filing Service registration code letter was mailed to an organization’s address on record in August 2026 with the code.

If you cannot locate your registration code, you may request assistance through the Online Filing Service.

To request assistance, log in to the Online Filing Service and navigate to the My Registrations section. Select “Click here if you need help accessing your registration” and submit a support request. Be sure to provide the organization's name, any identifying information available (such as the FEIN), and your relationship to the organization.

The Registry will review your request and, if appropriate, assist you with accessing the organization's registration record or obtaining a new registration code.

Note: For security purposes, registration codes are only provided to individuals who are authorized to access and manage the organization’s record.

A charitable organization that has failed to file one or more of the required annual reports with the Registry of Charities and Fundraisers may be sent a delinquency notice. Unless specifically exempt from registration and reporting under the Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act (Government Code section 12580 et seq.), all charitable organizations, including trustees, doing business in or holding property in California must register and file annual registration renewal reports with the Registry.

To renew registration, charitable organizations must file the Registration Renewal Fee Report (Form RRF-1) annually with the Registry. Along with Form RRF-1, a copy of the IRS Form 990, 990-PF, or 990-EZ filed with the IRS (but not Schedule B) must also be filed with the Registry. If the organization is eligible to file, and does file, IRS Form 990-N with the IRS, the Annual Treasurer’s Report (Form CT-TR-1), must also be filed with the Registry along with Form RRF-1.

A charitable organization that is not in good standing because it is delinquent may not operate or solicit donations in California. This includes not being able to be listed in solicitations or receive donations through charitable fundraising platforms. If the delinquency is not fixed, the organization’s registration status will be further changed to suspended, and/or revoked and may result in late fees and penalties. The California Franchise Tax Board will also be notified about the delinquent registration status, which may result in the organization losing its tax exemption.

Charitable organizations operating in California are required by law to renew registration each year and file a report regarding their activities of the prior year. An organization should not assume that its registration is current because it did not receive a delinquency notice, which are mailed to the organization’s address of record on file with the Registry of Charities and Fundraisers. Organizations are required to keep their address of record current with the Registry. Delinquency notices may also be sent the organization’s email of record, if any.

Further, the organization’s public file, including its registration status, is available in the Registry Search Tool, which organizations should regularly check.

The Attorney General is charged with the general supervision of all organizations and individuals who obtain, hold or control charitable assets in California. The Attorney General has the primary responsibility for supervising charitable trusts in California, for ensuring compliance with trusts and articles of incorporation, and for protecting assets held by charitable trusts and public benefit corporations. (Gov. Code, § 12598, subd. (a).) The Registry of Charities and Fundraisers assists the Attorney General by administering the statutory registration and reporting program for all organizations and individuals that control and/or solicit charitable funds or assets in California.

The State Charity Registration Number is the Registration Number assigned to a charitable organization by the Registry of Charities and Fundraisers at the time of initial registration. If the organization has received a letter from the Registry, the Registration Number is located at the top of the letter, along with an Entity ID also assigned by the Registry.

The Registration Number is different from an organization’s Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) issued by the IRS, or the organization’s Secretary of State Entity Number or Franchise Tax Board Entity Number, assigned by California Secretary of State and California Franchise Tax Board.

You can file past due annual renewal filings, pay the applicable renewal fees, and upload supplemental documents on the Online Filing Service. Once logged in, go to the Charities/Trustees section, and then select the “File a Form RRF-1” button. The missing years are listed.

If you don’t see any filings, ensure your Online Filing Service user account is linked to your organization’s registration record.

You may contact the Delinquency Program for further assistance.

You can file the missing annual renewal filings, pay the applicable renewal fees, and upload supplemental documents on the Online Filing Service. Once logged in to the Online Filing Service, go to the Charities/Trustees section, and then select the “File a Form RRF-1” button. The missing years are listed.

If you don’t see any filings, ensure your Online Filing Service user account is linked to your organization’s registration record.

If you filed annual renewal filings that are incomplete, and must be corrected, once logged in to the Online Filing Service, go to the My Submissions section, and select the Renewals and Action Required tabs. 

You may contact the Delinquency Program for further assistance.

Use the Registry Search Tool to view your organization’s public file, including any delinquency, suspension, and/or revocation notices, as applicable. To locate notices previously sent, look up your organization’s record, and in the Registrations section, select your organization’s registration number to view registration-specific filings, and then select the Correspondence and Document tabs.

In the Online Filing Service, once logged in, go to the My Submissions section and select the Renewals and Submitted tabs. If you don’t see any filings, ensure your Online Filing Service user account is linked to your organization’s registration record. If the filing was submitted in the mail, the filing may be awaiting processing by the Registry, so it would not be listed yet.

You may contact the Delinquency Program for further assistance.

To view an accepted annual renewal filing in the Registry Search Tool, look up your organization’s record, and in the Registrations section, select your organization’s registration number to view registration-specific filings. For renewal filings, select the Renewals tab. Then select any listed filing for an online version, the Documents tab for submitted documents such as IRS Form 990, or the Correspondence tab for official PDF copies of filings and other notifications.

The Registry of Charities and Fundraisers is a separate agency from the IRS. Filing any version of IRS Form 990 with the IRS does not mean that filing requirements have been met with the Registry. The Registry requires a copy of the IRS Form 990, 990-PF, or 990-EZ as filed with the IRS except for Schedule B is not required.  Exclude Schedule B from your filing with the Registry. Third party websites that scan informational returns (IRS Form 990) filed directly with the IRS also do not fulfill a charitable organization’s independent obligation to file directly with the Registry. The Registry cannot utilize filings from a third party online source to fulfill the organization's independent filing requirements. See California Code of Regulations, title 11, section 301.

An annual audit is required for organizations that report $2 million or more in total revenue. For more information pertaining to the annual audit, please review Audit Requirements under the Nonprofit Integrity Act and our Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Nonprofit Integrity Act of 2004.

The Registry assesses late fees when charitable organizations fail to timely comply with their registration renewal requirements. See Government Code section 12586.1.

Late fees are assessed at $25 per month or partial month, after the filing due date is missed. All annual renewal submissions are due 4 months and 15 days after the end of the fiscal year.  Extensions for filing Form RRF-1 are allowed if an organization has received an extension from the IRS to file their IRS Form 990, 990-PF, or 990-EZ. When this is case, the filing due date is extended accordingly, typically 6 more months. 

When an extension is obtained, an organization must file both Form RRF-1 and IRS Form 990, 990-PF, or 990-EZ with the Registry at the same time, along with copies of all requests to the IRS for an extension and, where approval of the extension is not automatic, a copy of each approved extension.

When submitting Form RRF-1 in the Online Filing Service, answer “Yes” to the question “Did the organization request an IRS extension?” The Online Filing Service then allows you to upload a copy of the request(s) to the IRS for an extension of time, and where approval of the extension is not automatic, a copy of each approved extension request.

Late fees can be paid at the time the renewal filing fee is paid in the Online Filing Service. Otherwise, in the Online Filing Service, after logging in, go to the Make A Payment section, which lists submissions with unpaid fees. Select the submission(s) with any unpaid fees, to pay them, including late fees.

NOTE: Use of charitable assets is restricted to charitable purposes. Charitable assets cannot be used to pay late fees. Using charitable assets to pay penalties generally constitutes a waste of charitable assets and damage to the charity. A director that has committed a breach of fiduciary duty or breach of trust by allowing avoidable penalties to be assessed may be held liable for any damages to the charity. See, for example, Business and Professions Code section 17510.8 and Corporations Code, sections 5210, 5231, and 5239.

Filed forms and documents, such as Form RRF-1 and IRS Form 990, are processed by the Registry, and once accepted, become public filings and are reflected in the Registry Search Tool. See Government Code section 12590.

However, the Registry does not make publicly available documents that should remain confidential, such as documents containing donor information exempt from public inspection pursuant to Internal Revenue Code section 6104 (d)(3)(A). If you are filing a document that you believe should be maintained as confidential, you may request that the document be treated confidentially. For example, for Form RRF-1 applicable document uploads in the Online Filing Service, answer “Yes” to the question that asks “Does the organization request that the attached document be treated confidentially?,” and provide an explanation of why you believe the document is confidential.

Contact your organization's tax preparer and/or attorney. Tax and legal professionals often retain copies of prior filings and/or historical documents prepared on behalf of an organization. You can request a complete IRS Form 990 directly from the IRS with IRS Form 4506.

If your organization filed IRS Form 990-N and cannot locate their accounting records or banking documents, you may need to request past statements from the bank(s). If the banking records are not available for the requested years, ask the bank to provide a statement on their letterhead indicating why the records are not available. The organization will also need to write a letter (on the organization's letterhead) explaining in detail why they could not locate their accounting records for the fiscal year in question. Both letters need to be submitted to the Registry for further review.

The registration and reporting requirements under the Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act apply to persons and entities that solicit, conduct business, or hold charitable assets in or from California. In addition to entities that are tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3), the registration and reporting requirements apply to entities tax-exempt under other subsections of Internal Revenue Code section 501(c) that solicit or hold charitable assets in or from California, entities that are not tax-exempt or for-profit entities that solicit or hold assets for charitable purposes in or from California, and organizations established outside of California that are doing business or holding property for charitable purposes in California. If an entity is exempt from registering with the Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, it need not register or file Form RRF-1. For more information, please see the Attorney General’s Guide for Charities, including Chapter 6 on Reporting Requirements. See also Government Code sections 12581, 12582, 12582.1, 12583, 12585 and 12586. For registration information, visit the Initial Registration page.

Note: For-profits that meet the definition of a commercial fundraiser for charitable purposes, fundraising counsel for charitable purposes, commercial coventurer, or charitable fundraising platform should register and report as such instead.  Visit the Professional Fundraisers and Charitable Fundraising Platforms pages for more information.

Regardless of an organization's exempt status, all charities are required to file Form RRF-1 every year until they are dissolved or withdrawn.

Please contact the IRS and/or the Franchise Tax Board, if applicable, for instructions on how to reinstate and/or revive your tax exempt status. The IRS and Franchise Tax Board are separate entities from the Registry of Charities and Fundraisers.

Regardless of an organization's activity level, all organizations are required to file Form RRF-1 every year. If the organization has been dormant and has not received charitable contributions of any kind during a specific year, that information should be reported on Form RRF-1 by indicating zero ($0) revenue for that year. Organizations must still provide the value of the total assets for each fiscal year.

If your organization no longer intends to operate, you may wish to withdraw or dissolve the organization. Please visit our Dissolution page for additional information.

Please visit our Dissolution page for additional information. An organization cannot dissolve until it has resolved all issues that lead to delinquency.

Use our Contact the Delinquency Program form. Be sure to include your name, the organization’s name, State Charity Registration Number and/or Federal Employer Identification Number.

The most secure and easiest way to submit completed filings is through the Online Filing Service. However, completed forms with check payment can be mailed to this address:

Registry of Charities and Fundraisers
P.O. Box 903447
Sacramento, CA 94203-4470

For overnight or in person delivery use this address:

Registry of Charities and Fundraisers
1300 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

If an organization has already submitted a filing through the Online Filing Service, do not send a duplicate filing through other means. This may result in processing delays and rejected filings, and renewal fees are not refundable.

The Registry of Charities and Fundraisers revokes the registration of an organization if it continually fails to respond to Registry’s delinquency and suspension notices. If an organization's registration has been revoked, conditional reinstatement is possible, but it must be reviewed and approved by the Registrar of the Registry of Charities and Fundraisers.

An organization that has had its registration revoked may file a petition to have it reinstated pursuant to California Code of Regulations, title 11, section 346.

A petition for reinstatement will not be reviewed until all of the following are submitted:

1. All deficient filings and renewal fees,
2. Proof of compliance with the requirements/good standing with the IRS, California Franchise Tax Board and California Secretary of State,
3. An explanation of why the organization failed to comply with the registration and reporting requirements and failed to respond to notices from the Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, and
4. An explanation that will provide sufficient assurance to the Registrar of the Registry of Charities and Fundraisers that the violations will not recur in the future if the petition for reinstatement is granted.

Please send reinstatement requests to this address:
Registry of Charities and Fundraisers
P.O. Box 903447
Sacramento, CA 94203-4470