How to spot a fake LLC letter before you pay it

I filed my California LLC last month. Within a week, three letters showed up in my mailbox. Official seals, barcodes, deadlines, a combined $330 asked for between them. I almost paid one before I caught it.

Here’s what I learned checking it out, so you don’t have to find out the hard way.

Why this happens

The moment your LLC filing hits public record, your business address becomes visible. Companies buy that list and mail out look-alike notices timed to land right when you’re still setting things up and don’t know what’s normal yet. That’s the whole play: catch you before you know what a real state notice looks like.

This is a known, documented pattern. The California Secretary of State’s own customer alerts page confirms fraudulent Certificate of Status solicitations are actively circulating, sent by private companies with no affiliation to the state. Source: California Secretary of State, “Fraudulent Certificates of Status Circulating”

The one fact that ends the confusion

A real Certificate of Status can only be issued by the California Secretary of State, and it costs $5. If a letter is asking you for anywhere close to $50, $97, or more for the same document, it isn’t coming from the state.

The letters I got were $97.25, $98.50, and $135. None of them were from the Secretary of State.

The three-second check

Before you pay anything with your LLC’s name on it:

1. Read the fine print. If it says anything like “this is not a government agency, this is a solicitation,” that’s the whole answer right there. Real government mail doesn’t need to disclose that it isn’t a scam.
2. Check the state name. Mine asked me to confirm details for a “Florida Certificate of Status.” I’m registered in California. It’s a mass-mail template, and whoever sent it forgot to swap the state. That single mismatch is often the easiest tell.
3. Go straight to the source. Don’t call the number on the letter. Go to your Secretary of State’s actual website and look up the real fee and the real process yourself.

If you already got one

California businesses can report these directly. The Secretary of State’s guidance is to file a written complaint with the California Attorney General’s Public Inquiry Unit, either by mail (P.O. Box 944255, Sacramento, CA 94244-2550) or online at oag.ca.gov/consumers. [Same source as above.]

You don’t need to argue with the company that sent it. Report it and move on.

The checklist, saved for next time

• New LLC or corporation filed? Expect solicitation mail within days to weeks. It’s normal, it’s not a sign anything went wrong with your filing.
• Anything asking for money with your business’s name on it: check the state, check the fee, check the source before paying.
• A real Certificate of Status is $5, direct from your Secretary of State.
• If it doesn’t check out, report it. Don’t just toss it and hope it stops.

I didn’t pay any of them. I’m sharing the letters and the fine print so you can see exactly what to watch for, not just take my word for it.