Preclearance and Expedited Filing Services

The Secretary of State offers preclearance and expedited filing services (as described below) for all documents filed with the Secretary of State pursuant to the California Corporations Code, the California Financial Code or the California Insurance Code. These services are available only in the Secretary of State's Sacramento office.

• Preclearance services provide a customer with the option to submit a business entity document in person to the Secretary of State's Sacramento office prior to filing to determine if the document conforms to law and to receive a preclearance response within a guaranteed time frame. Please note, preclearance services are not available in the Los Angeles office.
• Expedited filing services provide a customer with the opportunity to submit for filing a business entity document in person to the Secretary of State's Sacramento office and to receive a filing confirmation or filing response within a guaranteed time frame. Please note, expedited filing services are not available in the Los Angeles office.

Preclearance Services

• 24–Hour Preclearance Service (Class I) - $500.00:
  Preclearance response guaranteed within 24 hours (e.g., submitted Monday at 9:00 a.m., preclearance response available Tuesday by 9:00 a.m.)
• 72–Hour Preclearance Service (Class II) - $400.00:
  Preclearance response guaranteed within 72 hours (e.g., submitted Tuesday at 11:00 a.m., preclearance response available Friday by 11:00 a.m.)
• 5–Day Preclearance Service (Class III) - $300.00:
  Preclearance response guaranteed within five business days (e.g., submitted Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.; preclearance response available the following Wednesday by 2:00 p.m.)
• 10–Day Preclearance Service (Class IV) - $250.00:
  Preclearance response guaranteed within 10 business days (e.g., submitted Friday at 8:00 a.m.; preclearance response available by 8:00 a.m. the second Friday following submittal.)

A customer may submit a business entity document for preclearance prior to an intended filing date, requesting completion of preclearance in one of four of the above-specified time frames.

Preclearance requests must be delivered in person at the public counter in Sacramento, 1500 11th Street, Room 390, during regular business hours. Regular business hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., excluding state holidays. Preclearance service is available only in the Sacramento office.

A document submitted to the Secretary of State for preclearance:

• must contain the name of the business entity;  NOTE: Preclearance approval does not guarantee name availability of a proposed corporation, limited liability company or limited partnership name at the time of filing. While not required, a request to reserve a proposed name for a period of 60 days, along with a $20.00 name reservation fee, can be included with the preclearance request and the applicable preclearance fee;
• may be submitted with designated blank spaces for information that does not affect the determination of the Secretary of State as to whether the eligible document will conform to law. Such information may include, but is not limited to, names of executing officers, required signatures, and dollar amounts; and
• will be reviewed and a preclearance response provided within the time frame requested, indicating whether the preclearance has been approved or denied. If the preclearance is denied, the preclearance response will state the reason(s) for the denial. A customer may request delivery of the preclearance response by one of the following means: customer pick up; email; fax; first class mail; or overnight courier (prepaid, pre-addressed overnight courier envelope must be included).

Preclearance requests must include:

• the document, in the form for which preclearance is sought (personally delivered to the Secretary of State's Sacramento office);
• the applicable preclearance fee (as described above);
• instructions as to the class of service requested and the preferred means of delivery of the preclearance response; and
• the name and telephone number of the customer to whom any questions regarding the document or service requested may be directed.

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Expedited Filing Services

• 4–Hour Filing Service (Class A) - $500.00:
  Filing response guaranteed within 4 hours (e.g., submitted Monday at 10:00 a.m., filing confirmation or filing response available Monday by 2:00 p.m.) Note: A document must be precleared and approved to be eligible for the 4-Hour Filing Service.
• Same Day Filing Service (Class B) - $750.00:
  Filing response guaranteed by 4:00 p.m. the same day. Note: The document must be received by the Secretary of State by 9:30 a.m., and a filing confirmation or filing response will be available the same day by 4:00 p.m.
• 24–Hour Filing Service (Class C) - $350.00:
  Filing response guaranteed within 24 hours (e.g., submitted Wednesday at 11:00 a.m., filing confirmation or filing response available Thursday by 11:00 a.m.)

A customer may submit a business entity document for expedited filing, requesting completion in one of three of the above-specified time frames.

Expedited filing requests must be delivered in person at the public counter in Sacramento, 1500 11th Street, Room 390, during regular business hours. Regular business hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., excluding state holidays. The expedited filing service is available only in the Sacramento office.

A document submitted to the Secretary of State for expedited filing will be reviewed and a filing response will be provided within the time frame requested, indicating whether the document has been filed or rejected. A document must be precleared and approved to be eligible for Class A Service. If the document is rejected, the filing response will state the reason(s) for the rejection. A customer may request delivery of the filing confirmation or filing response by one of the following means: customer pick up; email; fax; first class mail; or overnight courier (prepaid, pre-addressed overnight courier envelope must be included).

Expedited filing requests must include:

• the document, containing required signatures (personally delivered to the Secretary of State's Sacramento office);
• a copy of the approved preclearance response, if Class A Service is requested;
• the applicable filing fee;
• the applicable expedite fee (as described above). The expedite fee must be remitted by separate check and will be retained whether the document is filed or rejected;
• instructions as to the class of service requested and the preferred means of delivery of the filing confirmation or filing response; and
• the name and telephone number of the customer to whom any questions regarding the document or service requested may be directed.

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Download Preclearance and Expedited Filing Information (PDF)