How to notify California Secretary of State of a change in your charity’s articles of incorporation

Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com
Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

If your charity makes a change to the articles of incorporation, you need to notify the Secretary of State. I had opportunity to look at the process in California for filing such a notice.

There are comparable filing requirements in your state. Explore your Secretary of State’s website to find instructions. To help others here’s what I found for California.

The instructions on how to file a Certificate of Amendment (along with a bunch of other forms) can be found at this page on the California Secretary of State’s website. The ninth item addresses amending the articles and item 11 addresses a restatement of the articles.

Click on the pertinent link and you get a PDF file of the instructions. Even though the instructions are public documents I will not include them here because they can change at any time. Here is a link to the instructions for change of nonprofit articles.

A few things to note:

  • The change in the bylaws needs to be approved using a specific format with specific wording.  The last page of the PDF gives a sample document which can be tailored as necessary. The official board motion needs to be signed by the board chair or president along with the corporate secretary.
  • The PDF gives the name of the office and address to file the document.
  • Filing fee is $30 plus an additional $5 if you want a certified copy of the change. You really want a certified copy.

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