The California Secretary of State Business Connect project is a relatively new initiative that hopes to make dealing with business filings, information searches and other similar issues more transparent and simpler.
The California Secretary of State Business Connect project aims to help business owners to automate their paper-based filings, and will allow people to file 24 hour a day, 7 days a week and to request business information at any time, rather than having to visit the Sacramento or Los Angeles office during business hours. The project offers access to business records in a much simpler and more efficient manner and allows people to make payments and have them processed within one business day as well.
The business connect project may not completely do away with visiting the state office, especially if you need one to one assistance or to get your documents pre-approved, but it is invaluable for simple searches and filings. In the short term, the project is focusing on the highest volume filings and the most common types of business, such as Limited Partnerships, LLCs, and Corporations, as well as financing statements, Federal or State tax liens, and trademark or service mark related searches and filings.
The project has been ongoing for several years already, and the plan is to have online business filings up and running by the end of 2018, with other types of filing and search being deployed over the next two years, and a post-implementation evaluation being conducted in 2022. From there, the secretary will be able to make a decision about ongoing maintenance and development for the project, based on how it performs in terms of streamlining filings and inquiries and the workload in the bricks and mortar offices versus that of the online portal. The potential is there for massive expansion and development.
Sacramento Secretary of State Filing Service 1500 W. El Camino Ave # 601, Sacramento, CA 95833