CHAPTER 22. Crimes and Penalties [2200. - 2260.]

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP 22.

in effect

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2200. Section 2200.

Every corporation that neglects, fails, or refuses: (a) to keep or cause to be kept or maintained the record of shareholders or books of account required by this division to be kept or maintained, (b) to prepare or cause to be prepared or submitted the financial statements required by this division to be prepared or submitted, or (c) to give any shareholder of record the advice required by subdivision (f) of Section 2115, is subject to penalty as provided in this section. The penalty shall be twenty-five dollars ($25) for each day that the failure or refusal continues, up to a maximum of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500), beginning 30 days after receipt of the written request that the duty be performed from one entitled to make the request, except that, in the case of a failure to give advice required by subdivision (f) of Section 2115, the 30-day period shall run from the date of receipt of the request made pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 2115, and no additional request is required by this section. The penalty shall be paid to the shareholder or shareholders jointly making the request for performance of the duty, and damaged by the neglect, failure, or refusal, if suit therefor is commenced within 90 days after the written request is made, including any request made pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 2115; but the maximum daily penalty because of failure to comply with any number of separate requests made on any one day or for the same act shall be two hundred fifty dollars ($250).

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2201. Section 2201.

Any officer of a corporation charged with the duty of entering a transfer of shares upon the books of the corporation and issuing a share certificate or, with respect to uncertificated securities, an initial transaction statement or written statements, who unreasonably neglects, fails or refuses to perform such duty after written request by any person entitled thereto is subject to a penalty of one hundred dollars ($100) and the further penalty of ten dollars ($10) for each day that such default continues, beginning five days after receipt of the request, up to a maximum of five hundred dollars ($500). The penalty shall be paid to each person aggrieved. It may be enforced by action and shall be in addition to all other remedies. Every director or other officer unreasonably causing such neglect, failure or refusal to make such entries upon the books of the corporation or to issue a certificate or, with respect to uncertificated securities, an initial transaction statement or written statements, for shares to a person entitled thereto is subject to a like penalty.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2202. Section 2202.

Any penalty prescribed by Section 2200 or Section 2201 shall be in addition to any remedy by injunction or action for damages or by writ of mandate for the nonperformance of acts and duties enjoined by law upon the corporation or its directors or officers. The court in which an action for any such penalty is brought may reduce, remit or suspend the penalty on such terms and conditions as it may deem reasonable when it is made to appear that the neglect, failure or refusal was inadvertent or excusable.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2203. Section 2203.

(a) Any foreign corporation which transacts intrastate business and which does not hold a valid certificate from the Secretary of State may be subject to a penalty of twenty dollars ($20) for each day that unauthorized intrastate business is transacted; and the foreign corporation, by transacting unauthorized intrastate business, shall be deemed to consent to the jurisdiction of the courts of California in any civil action arising in this state in which the corporation is named a party defendant. (b) The penalty established by subdivision (a) of this section shall be assessed according to the number of days it is found that the corporation has been willfully doing unauthorized intrastate business. Prosecution under this section may be brought, and the money penalty recovered thereby shall be paid, in the manner provided by Section 2258 for a prosecution brought under that section. The amount of the penalty assessed shall be determined by the court based upon the circumstances, including the size of the corporation and the willfulness of the violation. (c) A foreign corporation subject to the provisions of Chapter 21 (commencing with Section 2100) which transacts intrastate business without complying with Section 2105 shall not maintain any action or proceeding upon any intrastate business so transacted in any court of this state, commenced prior to compliance with Section 2105, until it has complied with the provisions thereof and has paid to the Secretary of State a penalty of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in addition to the fees due for filing the statement and designation required by Section 2105 and has filed with the clerk of the court in which the action is pending receipts showing the payment of the fees and penalty and all franchise taxes and any other taxes on business or property in this state that should have been paid for the period during which it transacted intrastate business.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2204. Section 2204.

(a) Upon the failure of a corporation to file the statement required by Section 1502, the Secretary of State shall provide a notice of that delinquency to the corporation. The notice shall also contain information concerning the application of this section, advise the corporation of the penalty imposed by Section 19141 of the Revenue and Taxation Code for failure to timely file the required statement after notice of the delinquency has been provided by the Secretary of State, and shall advise the corporation of its right to request relief from the Secretary of State because of reasonable cause or unusual circumstances that justify the failure to file. If, within 60 days of providing notice of the delinquency, a statement pursuant to Section 1502 has not been filed by the corporation, the Secretary of State shall certify the name of the corporation to the Franchise Tax Board. (b) Upon certification pursuant to subdivision (a), the Franchise Tax Board shall assess against the corporation the penalty provided in Section 19141 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. (c) The penalty herein provided shall not apply to a corporation that on or prior to the date of certification pursuant to subdivision (a) has dissolved, has converted to another type of business entity, or has been merged into another corporation or other business entity. (d) The penalty herein provided shall not apply and the Secretary of State need not provide a notice of the delinquency to a corporation if the corporate powers, rights, and privileges have been suspended by the Franchise Tax Board pursuant to Section 23301, 23301.5, or 23775 of the Revenue and Taxation Code on or prior to, and remain suspended on, the last day of the filing period pursuant to Section 1502. The Secretary of State need not provide notice of the filing requirement pursuant to Section 1502 to a corporation if the corporate powers, rights, and privileges have been so suspended by the Franchise Tax Board on or prior to, and remain suspended on, the day the Secretary of State prepares the notice for sending. (e) If, after certification pursuant to subdivision (a), the Secretary of State finds (1) the required statement was filed before the expiration of the 60-day period after providing notice of the delinquency, or (2) the failure to provide notice of delinquency was due to an error of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State shall promptly decertify the name of the corporation to the Franchise Tax Board. The Franchise Tax Board shall then promptly abate any penalty assessed against the corporation pursuant to Section 19141 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. (f) If the Secretary of State determines that the failure of a corporation to file the statement required by Section 1502 is excusable because of reasonable cause or unusual circumstances that justify the failure, the Secretary of State may waive the penalty imposed by this section and by Section 19141 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, in which case the Secretary of State shall not certify the name of the corporation to the Franchise Tax Board, or if already certified, the Secretary of State shall promptly decertify the name of the corporation.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2205. Section 2205.

(a) A corporation that (1) fails to file a statement pursuant to Section 1502 for an applicable filing period, (2) has not filed a statement pursuant to Section 1502 during the preceding 24 months, and (3) was certified for penalty pursuant to Section 2204 for the same filing period, is subject to suspension pursuant to this section rather than to penalty pursuant to Section 2204. (b) When subdivision (a) is applicable, the Secretary of State shall provide a notice to the corporation informing the corporation that its corporate powers, rights, and privileges will be suspended after 60 days if it fails to file a statement pursuant to Section 1502. (c) After the expiration of the 60-day period without any statement filed pursuant to Section 1502, the Secretary of State shall notify the Franchise Tax Board of the suspension and provide a notice of the suspension to the corporation, and thereupon, the corporate powers, rights, and privileges of the corporation are suspended, except for the purpose of filing an application for exempt status or amending the articles of incorporation as necessary either to perfect that application or to set forth a new name. (d) A statement pursuant to Section 1502 may be filed notwithstanding suspension of the corporate powers, rights, and privileges pursuant to this section or Section 23301, 23301.5, or 23775 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. Upon the filing of a statement pursuant to Section 1502 by a corporation that has suffered suspension pursuant to this section, the Secretary of State shall certify that fact to the Franchise Tax Board and the corporation may thereupon be relieved from suspension unless the corporation is held in suspension by the Franchise Tax Board by reason of Section 23301, 23301.5, or 23775 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2205.5. Section 2205.5.

(a) A domestic corporation, as defined in Section 167, may be subject to administrative dissolution pursuant to this section if, as of January 1, 2019, or at any time thereafter, the corporation’s corporate powers, rights, and privileges are, and have been, suspended by the Franchise Tax Board pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 23301) of Chapter 2 of Part 11 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code for a period of not less than 60 continuous months. (b) Prior to administrative dissolution of the corporation, the corporation shall be notified of the pending administrative dissolution as follows: (1) The Franchise Tax Board shall mail written notice to the last known address of the corporation. (2) If the corporation does not have a valid address in the records of the Franchise Tax Board, the notice provided in subdivision (d) shall be deemed sufficient notice prior to administrative dissolution. (c) The Franchise Tax Board shall transmit to the Secretary of State the names and Secretary of State file numbers of the corporations subject to administrative dissolution pursuant to this section. (d) The Secretary of State shall provide 60 days’ notice of the pending administrative dissolution on its Internet Web site by listing the corporation’s name and the Secretary of State’s file number. The Secretary of State shall also, in conjunction with the information above, provide instructions for a corporation to submit a written objection of the pending administrative dissolution to the Franchise Tax Board, before the expiration of the 60 day’s notice. (e) (1) A corporation may provide the Franchise Tax Board with a written objection to the administrative dissolution. (2) The Franchise Tax Board shall notify the Secretary of State if a written objection has been received. (f) If a written objection to the administrative dissolution is not received by the Franchise Tax Board during the 60-day period described in subdivision (d), the corporation shall be administratively dissolved pursuant to this section. The certificate of dissolution of the Secretary of State shall be prima facie evidence of the administrative dissolution. (g) (1) If the written objection of a corporation to the administrative dissolution has been received by the Franchise Tax Board before the expiration of the 60-day period described in subdivision (d), that corporation shall have an additional 90 days from the date the written objection is received by the Franchise Tax Board to file returns, pay or otherwise satisfy all accrued taxes, penalties, and interest, file a current Statement of Information with the Secretary of State, fulfill any other requirements to be eligible, and apply for revivor. (2) (A) If the conditions in paragraph (1) are satisfied, the administrative dissolution shall be canceled. (B) If the conditions in paragraph (1) are not satisfied, the corporation shall be administratively dissolved pursuant to this section as of the later of the date that is 90 days after the receipt of the written objection or after the period in paragraph (3), if so extended. (3) The Franchise Tax Board may extend the 90-day period in paragraph (1), but for no more than one period of 90 days. (h) Upon administrative dissolution pursuant to this section, the corporation’s liabilities for qualified taxes, interest, and penalties, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 23310 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, if any, shall be abated. Any actions taken by the Franchise Tax Board to collect the abated liability shall be released, withdrawn, or otherwise terminated by the Franchise Tax Board and no subsequent administrative or civil action shall be taken or brought to collect all or part of that amount. (i) If the corporation is administratively dissolved pursuant to this section, the liability to creditors, if any, is not discharged. The liability of the directors, shareholders, transferees, or other persons related to the administratively dissolved corporation is not discharged. (j) The administrative dissolution of a corporation pursuant to this section shall not diminish or adversely affect the ability of the Attorney General to enforce liabilities as otherwise provided by law. (k) No administrative appeal, writ, or other judicial action may be taken based on the Franchise Tax Board’s or the Secretary of State’s actions pursuant to this section, except pursuant to subdivision (h) if related to repayment of amounts erroneously received after administrative dissolution has occurred. (l) Upon administrative dissolution, the corporate rights, powers, and privileges of the corporation shall cease.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2206. Section 2206.

(a) Sections 2204 and 2205 apply to foreign corporations with respect to the statements required to be filed by Section 2117. For this purpose, the suspension of the corporate powers, rights, and privileges of a domestic corporation shall mean the forfeiture of the exercise of the corporate powers, rights, and privileges of a foreign corporation in this state. (b) A foreign nonprofit corporation which has suffered the forfeiture of the exercise of the corporate powers, rights, and privileges in this state may nevertheless file an application for exempt status as specified in Section 23301 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. (c) The forfeiture of the exercise of the corporate powers, rights, and privileges of a foreign corporation in this state as used in subdivision (a) does not prohibit the transaction of business in this state by a foreign corporation if the business transacted subsequent to the forfeiture would not, considered as an entirety, require the foreign corporation to obtain a certificate of qualification pursuant to Sections 191 and 2105.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2207. Section 2207.

(a) A corporation is liable for a civil penalty in an amount not exceeding one million dollars ($1,000,000) if the corporation does both of the following: (1) Has actual knowledge that an officer, director, manager, or agent of the corporation does any of the following: (A) Makes, publishes, or posts, or has made, published, or posted, either generally or privately to the shareholders or other persons, either of the following: (i) An oral, written, or electronically transmitted report, exhibit, notice, or statement of its affairs or pecuniary condition that includes a material statement or omission that is false and intended to give the shares of stock in the corporation a materially greater or a materially less apparent market value than they really possess. (ii) An oral, written, or electronically transmitted report, prospectus, account, or statement of operations, values, business, profits, or expenditures, that includes a material false statement or omission intended to give the shares of stock in the corporation a materially greater or a materially less apparent market value than they really possess. (B) Refuses, or has refused to make, any book entry or post any notice required by law in the manner required by law. (C) Misstates or conceals, or has misstated or concealed, from a regulatory body a material fact in order to deceive a regulatory body to avoid a statutory or regulatory duty, or to avoid a statutory or regulatory limit or prohibition. (2) Within 30 days after actual knowledge is acquired of the actions described in paragraph (1), the corporation knowingly fails to do both of the following: (A) Notify the Attorney General or appropriate government agency in writing, unless the corporation has actual knowledge that the Attorney General or appropriate government agency has been notified. (B) Notify its shareholders in writing, unless the corporation has actual knowledge that the shareholders have been notified. (b) The requirement for notification under this section does not apply if the action taken or about to be taken by the corporation, or by an officer, director, manager, or agent of the corporation under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), is abated within the time prescribed for reporting, unless the appropriate government agency requires disclosure by regulation. (c) If the action reported to the Attorney General pursuant to this section implicates the government authority of an agency other than the Attorney General, the Attorney General shall promptly forward the written notice to that agency. (d) If the Attorney General was not notified pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), but the corporation reasonably and in good faith believed that it had complied with the notification requirements of this section by notifying a government agency listed in paragraph (5) of subdivision (e), no penalties shall apply. (e) For purposes of this section: (1) “Manager” means a person having both of the following: (A) Management authority over a business entity. (B) Significant responsibility for an aspect of a business that includes actual authority for the financial operations or financial transactions of the business. (2) “Agent” means a person or entity authorized by the corporation to make representations to the public about the corporation’s financial condition and who is acting within the scope of the agency when the representations are made. (3) “Shareholder” means a person or entity that is a shareholder of the corporation at the time the disclosure is required pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a). (4) “Notify its shareholders” means to give sufficient description of an action taken or about to be taken that would constitute acts or omissions as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). A notice or report filed by a corporation with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission that relates to the facts and circumstances giving rise to an obligation under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall satisfy all notice requirements arising under paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), but is not the exclusive means of satisfying the notice requirements, if the Attorney General or appropriate agency is informed in writing that the filing has been made together with a copy of the filing or an electronic link where it is available online without charge. (5) “Appropriate government agency” means an agency on the following list that has regulatory authority with respect to the financial operations of a corporation: (A) Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. (B) Department of Insurance. (C) Department of Managed Health Care. (D) United States Securities and Exchange Commission. (6) “Actual knowledge of the corporation” means the knowledge an officer or director of a corporation actually possesses or does not consciously avoid possessing, based on an evaluation of information provided pursuant to the corporation’s disclosure controls and procedures. (7) “Refuse to make a book entry” means the intentional decision not to record an accounting transaction when all of the following conditions are satisfied: (A) The independent auditors required recordation of an accounting transaction during the course of an audit. (B) The corporation’s audit committee has not approved the independent auditor’s recommendation. (C) The decision is made for the primary purpose of rendering the financial statements materially false or misleading. (8) “Refuse to post any notice required by law” means an intentional decision not to post a notice required by law when all of the following conditions exist: (A) The decision not to post the notice has not been approved by the corporation’s audit committee. (B) The decision is intended to give the shares of stock in the corporation a materially greater or a materially less apparent market value than they really possess. (9) “Misstate or conceal material facts from a regulatory body” means an intentional decision not to disclose material facts when all of the following conditions exist: (A) The decision not to disclose material facts has not been approved by the corporation’s audit committee. (B) The decision is intended to give the shares of stock in the corporation a materially greater or a materially less apparent market value than they really possess. (10) “Material false statement or omission” means an untrue statement of material fact or an omission to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made under the circumstances under which they were made not misleading. (11) “Officer” means any person as set forth in Rule 16a-1 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or any successor regulation thereto, except an officer of a subsidiary corporation who is not also an officer of the parent corporation. (f) This section only applies to corporations that are issuers, as defined in Section 2 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 7201 et seq.). (g) An action to enforce this section may only be brought by the Attorney General or a district attorney or city attorney in the name of the people of the state.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2251. Section 2251.

Any promoter, director or officer of a corporation who knowingly and willfully issues or consents to the issuance of certificates for certificated securities, or initial transaction statements or written statements for uncertificated securities, in violation of this division with intent to defraud present or future shareholders, subscribers, purchasers of shares or creditors is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or imprisonment for not more than one year or both.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2252. Section 2252.

Every person (a) who signs the name of a fictitious person to any subscription for or agreement to take stock in any domestic or foreign corporation, existing or proposed, or (b) who signs to any subscription or agreement the name of any person, knowing that the person has no means or does not intend in good faith to comply with all the terms thereof or that there is any understanding or agreement that the terms of the subscription or agreement are not to be complied with or enforced, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2253. Section 2253.

Any director of a stock corporation, domestic or foreign, who concurs in any vote or act of the directors of the corporation or any of them, knowingly and with dishonest or fraudulent purpose, to make any dividend or distribution of assets except in the cases and in the manner allowed by law, either with the design of defrauding creditors or shareholders or of giving a false appearance to the value of the stock and thereby defrauding subscribers or purchasers, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or imprisonment for not more than one year or both.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2254. Section 2254.

Every director, officer or agent of any corporation, domestic or foreign, is guilty of a felony (a) who knowingly concurs in making, publishing or posting either generally or privately to the shareholders or other persons (1) any written report, exhibit, statement of its affairs or pecuniary condition or notice containing any material statement which is false, or (2) any untrue or willfully or fraudulently exaggerated report, prospectus, account, statement of operations, values, business, profits, expenditures or prospects, or (3) any other paper or document intended to produce or give, or having a tendency to produce or give, the shares of stock in such corporation a greater value or a less apparent or market value than they really possess, or (b) who refuses to make any book entry or post any notice required by law in the manner required by law.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2255. Section 2255.

(a) Every director, officer or agent of any corporation, domestic or foreign, who knowingly receives or acquires possession of any property of the corporation, otherwise than in payment of a just demand, and, with intent to defraud, omits to make, or to cause or direct to be made, a full and true entry thereof in the books or accounts of the corporation is guilty of a public offense. (b) Every director, officer, agent or shareholder of any corporation, domestic or foreign, who, with intent to defraud, destroys, alters, mutilates or falsifies any of the books, papers, writings or securities belonging to the corporation or makes or concurs in omitting to make any material entry in any book of accounts or other record or document kept by the corporation is guilty of a public offense. (c) Each public offense specified in this section is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code, or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2256. Section 2256.

Every officer, agent or clerk of any corporation, domestic or foreign, or any person proposing to organize such a corporation or to increase the capital stock of any such corporation, who knowingly exhibits any false, forged or altered book, paper, voucher, security or other instrument of evidence to any public officer or board authorized by law to examine the organization of such corporation or to investigate its affairs or to allow an increase of its capital, with intent to deceive such officer or board in respect thereto, is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code, or by imprisonment in a county jail for not exceeding one year.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2257. Section 2257.

Every person who, without being authorized so to do, subscribes the name of another to or inserts the name of another in any prospectus, circular or other advertisement or announcement of any corporation, domestic or foreign, whether existing or intended to be formed, with intent to permit the document to be published and thereby to lead persons to believe that the person whose name is so subscribed is an officer, agent, shareholder or promoter of such corporation, when in fact no such relationship exists to the knowledge of such person, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2258. Section 2258.

Any foreign corporation subject to the provisions of Chapter 21 which transacts intrastate business without complying therewith is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), to be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Prosecution under this section may be brought by the Attorney General or by any district attorney. If brought by the latter, one-half of the fine collected shall be paid to the treasurer of the county in which the conviction was had and one-half to the State Treasurer. If brought by the Attorney General the entire amount of fine collected shall be paid to the State Treasurer to the credit of the General Fund of the state.

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2259. Section 2259.

Any person who transacts intrastate business on behalf of a foreign corporation which is not authorized to transact such business in this state, knowing that it is not so authorized, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than six hundred dollars ($600).

Cal. Corporations Code - CORP § 2260. Section 2260.

In a prosecution for a violation of Section 2252, 2253, 2254, 2255, 2256 or 2257, the fact that the corporation was a foreign corporation is not a defense, if it was carrying on business or keeping an office therefor within this state.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026