The California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) can and will suspend a business entity for failing to file one or more years’ tax returns or for nonpayment of taxes. Similarly, the Secretary of State‘s (SOS) office can also suspend a corporation or an LLC for failing to file their requisite Statement of Information (SI). A business can be suspended by either, or both, agencies.

When this happens, a company cannot legally transact business, enter into or enforce contracts, or defend itself in court for the duration of the suspension. Companies that are FTB suspended are also prevented from buying or selling real property or filing for extensions or refunds, and non-profit companies lose any tax exempt status. They are also prevented from legally closing or dissolving the company itself, and may lose the rights to their corporate name at the Secretary of State.

In order to reinstate or revive the company, they must meet all of the Franchise Tax Board’s and Secretary of State‘s Revivor Requirements. Generally, these include full payment of all delinquent taxes in addition to any penalties and/or interest accrued since the company was first suspended. If tax forms for a given year (or many years) are also missing, they must be completed and signed by an authorized representative (usually an Officer of the corporation or Managing Member if the company in question is an LLC).

If the company is a California Non Profit Charity Organization, they will also need to be showing ‘Current’ with the Attorney General’s Registry of Charitable Trusts. We have recently begun working more closely with the Attorney General’s office, in order to assist our charitable Clients that have become delinquent with the Attorney General in getting current with the Registry of Charitable Trusts. Alongside getting the entity back into good standing and having the suspensions lifted with the Franchise Tax Board and the Secretary of State’s office.

Revivor requirements are not standardized – they will vary with each respective suspension and company. Getting a complete, accurate account of each revivor’s individual requirements is often frustrating for most people, as they are not familiar with the Franchise Tax Board’s system and policies, and the requirements themselves can change daily.

That’s where we come in. FTB Revivors is a division of SOS Filings Incorporated – a company that facilitates the revivor and filing process for our Clients by providing daily services at the Franchise Tax Board and Secretary of State. Lifting a Franchise Tax Board suspension is often more involved and more costly than resolving a Secretary of State suspension, but we accomplish both. Our staff goes to each agency in person on our Client’s behalf, sometimes spending hours at the counter with the State’s representative to ensure we get the full list of required forms and outstanding fees.

Once we obtain the requirements and our Clients provide us with the unfiled forms and/or unpaid fees, they can rest easy knowing the staff of FTB Revivors will administer the Application of Revivor process for them at the counter until their Franchise Tax Board suspension is lifted. With a qualifying Walk-Through Revivor service (available with our Gold or Platinum Packages), we’re even able to lift some suspensions in one business day!