Corporate Names and Information

If your California corporation is not engaged in the banking or trust business but I want to use a corporate name that contains the words “bank” or “trust,” the Secretary of State requires that you first receive approval from the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) by obtaining a Certificate of Approval from the DFPI. An application for a Certificate of Approval should be in the form of an email addressed to [email protected] or a letter addressed to the Licensing Division in our San Francisco office at One Sansome Street, Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94104-4428.

Please note that a Certificate of Approval can only be issued to a California corporation.  It cannot be issued to other types of corporate entities such as a foreign corporation or an LLC.

The application must include:

• the name of the proposed corporation,
• a short description of the business the proposed corporation intends to conduct,
• an ACH payment* or check in the amount of $25.00 made payable to the Commissioner of the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, and
• a copy of the signed Articles of Incorporation of the proposed corporation. Please allow up to two weeks for processing.

*Note:  if paying by ACH, please contact [email protected] for account information.

If you are using a fictitious business name that contains the words “bank” or “trust,” the Department of Real Estate (DRE) requires approval from the DFPI before doing business. This approval is in the form of a “Letter of No-Objection.” An application for a Letter of No-Objection should be in the form of a letter addressed to the Licensing Division in our San Francisco office. The application must include:

• a request for a Letter of No-Objection,
• the fictitious business name you intend to use, and
• a short description of the business. Please allow up to two weeks for processing.

Other Corporate Information

Contact the California Secretary of State if you are looking for information regarding:

• Organization of corporations, limited liability companies, or limited partnerships
• Companies incorporated in California
• Articles of incorporation
• Certificates of good standing
• Current officers and directors
• Agents for service of process or
• Name availability

The Secretary of State can be reached at:

California Secretary of State
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 653-6814 or visit the California Secretary of State’s website

You may visit https://www.sos.ca.gov/business/business.htm for access to information available from the Business Programs Division of the Secretary of State. This division of the California Secretary of State files a variety of documents including UCC financing statements, trademarks, business entity documents, and other statutorily-required special filings and also is responsible for appointing and commissioning notaries public.