Legal Question in Business Law in California

If you wish to commence operations immediately, then you can submit an expedite fee to the Secretary of State that will result in your LLC filing being conducted in as little as 24 hours. Should you require assistance with this process, feel free to contact our office. Our contact information is on our website at www.higagipsonllp.com

Don't bother with paying surcharges unless in addition to being "formed" right away you also need proof of being formed right away. If you file papers on 2/12 (and they are not rejected for some reason), your LLC will be formed as of 2/12 even though you don't get the papers back for two or three weeks, and when you get the papers back, they will all be dated as of 2/12. I have repeatedly started operations on the filing date without fretting about when the papers are mailed back to me after S/S processing, and have experienced no problems. Problems may arise if the filied papers are rejected because of an error is preparing them, unavailability of the name, wrong filing fee paid, etc., but if there is nothing wrong with your LLC application, your LLC's existence will be as of the day your complete and accurate filing was received by the Sec. of State.

I also suggest that you do an expedited filing. We have a service that will do it in 10-12 business days. You can do the 24 hour filing as well but it costs more and if you are a start up, money is usually an issue.

Your LLC filing will be backdated by the Secretary of State based on the date the documents were received by the Secretary of State, assuming the papers are not returned due to some error or unavailability of the name.

If you submit your papers by mail, it will take longer, and you will have no way of knowing when, or if, your documents were properly received. It is well worth it to have the documents hand delivered to the Secretary of State so you know the formation date.

To avoid having the documents rejected based on the name, you should always reserve the name ahead of time, for a small fee.

Your concerns are valid concerns -- you are right -- if you start doing business before the LLC is formed, you expose yourself to the liability of a sole proprietor. Thus, if your papers are rejected, or you submitted them by mail and they are never delivered, you are exposed.

Although a corporate formation is a seemingly "simple" task, it is fraught with traps for the unwary, and with potential significant exposure and risk.

Good luck with the new business venture.