How to move my company out of California

---

Start Your Redomestication Now

The Redomestication Process in a Nutshell

1. Enter your biz name HERE.

Then click "get exact price" and follow the steps.

Takes less than five minutes.

Submit payment securely online then sit back and relax.

24-48 hours

2. We prepare the legal docs.

Our dually-licensed attorney+CPA prepares the legal documents and sends them to you via DocuSign.

You sign. We take it from there.

Same Day

3. We submit the legal filings to the states.

We monitor the status closely, respond to inquiries from their offices, and send you weekly updates.

No extra charge. 100% success rate.

1-3 months

4. Approved! ✅

We send you a checklist of go-forward obligations and simple steps for your tax pro to follow.

120% money-back guarantee if we do not succeed.

Did you know? The average business that moves to a state without state-level income tax saves over $12,500 in taxes per year.

Still have questions? Schedule a free meeting with our attorney and CPA.

Redomestication, also known as redomiciling, refers to the lesser-known legal process of transferring or moving the "home state" of an existing Corporation, partnership, or LLC, from California to a new state. It means keeping your existing company name, credit, and federal employer identification number (FEIN) without wasting time and money creating a new business entity, applying for foreign registration, or moving assets between companies.
— Prof. Chad D. Cummings, Esq., CPA

Start Your Redomestication Now

How to move a company out of California without disrupting operations

When business owners ask, in substance, how to move their company out of California, they are rarely seeking a theoretical overview. They are seeking a legally defensible method to exit California’s tax environment and regulatory burden while preserving day-to-day continuity: the same entity, the same banking and contracting posture, and the same federal identification profile. In practice, that objective is best achieved through redomestication (also known as statutory conversion), which changes the company’s home state while preserving the company itself.

For a founder evaluating how to move a company out of California properly, the critical distinction is between moving the entity and merely registering elsewhere. Foreign registration often keeps California in the picture—fees, filings, and potential tax exposure can remain if the former state continues to treat the company as doing business there. Redomestication, by contrast, is designed to establish a new domicile and, when implemented correctly, to reduce the need for continued dual-state maintenance.

Business owners who wish to proceed immediately should review how to move a company out of California via redomestication and confirm that they are selecting a mechanism that preserves contracts, the FEIN, and operational continuity.

Why business owners prioritize exiting California’s tax and compliance environment

Clients typically start with the same question—how to move their company out of California—after a period of escalating compliance obligations and uncertainty about the state’s business climate. Even well-run companies can find that California’s combination of entity-level fees, administrative requirements, and enforcement posture produces a measurable drag on cash flow and executive time. Over time, that friction can compound, particularly for companies that are scaling, hiring, or raising capital.

From a planning standpoint, the goal is not simply to relocate a mailing address. The goal is to reduce exposure to California-centric obligations that can continue even after a move if the entity remains domiciled in California or maintains unnecessary registrations. Properly executed, a move away from California can create a more predictable compliance footprint and allow management to allocate resources to growth instead of recurring state-level maintenance.

Accordingly, a well-structured answer to how to move a company out of California begins with a careful analysis of where the company will be domiciled, where it will operate, and how to minimize dual-state entanglement without compromising legal continuity.

Redomestication as the preferred legal mechanism for moving the home state

As an attorney and CPA, I evaluate how to move a company out of California through the lens of risk management and continuity. Redomestication is the most direct way to change a company’s domicile because it is intended to transfer the “home state” of the entity while keeping the entity intact. This matters because the entity is the legal “container” holding contracts, licenses, credit history, and other relationships that can be costly—or impossible—to replicate if the business forms a new entity or uses the wrong transaction.

In plain terms, redomestication allows the company to preserve its existing identity. That includes the federal employer identification number (FEIN), existing contracts, and, in most cases, the same company name. For clients focused on how to move a company out of California while avoiding operational disruption, those features are not ancillary; they are the central value proposition.

For an actionable framework, see how to move your company out of California using the redomestication process, which is structured to be efficient, trackable, and aligned with continuity-based outcomes.

Maintaining contracts, the FEIN, and brand identity: the practical advantages

Many owners underestimate how many relationships are tethered to the existing entity. Customer agreements, vendor terms, leases, financing arrangements, merchant processing, and insurance policies frequently reference the company’s precise legal name and formation details. When the wrong strategy is used—such as dissolving and recreating the entity—those agreements may require consent, amendment, or re-execution, which can invite renegotiation pressure and business interruption.

For those determining how to move their company out of California without “breaking” the business, redomestication’s continuity is a decisive benefit. Maintaining the FEIN reduces the downstream complexity that can arise when payroll providers, banks, and counterparties must onboard a new entity. Similarly, preserving the company’s name (in most cases) protects the brand equity that has been built through reputation and marketing.

This is precisely why business owners looking for how to move a company out of California efficiently should avoid simplistic advice that treats formation as a mere administrative step. In sophisticated operations, entity continuity is a strategic asset, and redomestication is designed to protect it.

Common misconceptions that create expensive, avoidable problems

A recurring misconception is that the simplest way to move is to “just open a new company” in the target state and close the California entity. While that may appear straightforward, it can convert an otherwise clean relocation into a months-long project involving contract novations, banking changes, and potential tax complications. Dissolution is not a neutral event; it can trigger a cascade of legal and administrative consequences that the business did not anticipate.

Another misconception is that foreign registration answers how to move a company out of California. Foreign registration can be appropriate in narrow circumstances, but it is often misapplied as a default. Registering a California entity as “foreign” in another state does not, by itself, change the company’s home state. It may also leave the company paying for compliance in multiple jurisdictions even after it has permanently relocated operations.

Finally, owners are sometimes advised to use a merger where redomestication would have achieved the same goal with less complexity. Mergers can be valid tools, but they can also introduce unnecessary moving parts, higher fees, and greater opportunities for error. For a disciplined approach, consult how to move a company out of California by redomesticating rather than merging.

Procedural and governance considerations that must be handled correctly

When assessing how to move a company out of California, the most consequential work is often invisible to non-lawyers: aligning internal approvals, ownership documentation, and governing instruments with the conversion requirements of the jurisdictions involved. For example, corporations must ensure that director and shareholder actions are properly documented. LLCs must confirm that operating agreement provisions, member voting thresholds, and manager authority are satisfied before filings are submitted.

Additionally, owners should anticipate a need to coordinate “downstream” operational items—bank resolutions, vendor notifications, and internal compliance calendars—so that the company’s transition is coherent and defensible. The objective is to avoid mismatches in the company’s records that could later complicate financing, diligence, or a sale. A move that is not properly papered may “work” in the short term but can fail under scrutiny when the stakes are highest.

Accordingly, the most reliable answer to how to move a company out of California is one that treats governance as a first-class issue. Redomestication is a legal change of domicile, and it should be executed with the same formality applied to any high-impact corporate transaction.

Reducing ongoing administrative burden while strengthening long-term flexibility

Beyond immediate tax and compliance concerns, owners often pursue how to move their company out of California to gain strategic flexibility. A favorable domicile can streamline annual filings, reduce recurring state-level friction, and make it easier to scale operations across multiple jurisdictions. This is particularly important for businesses with remote teams, subscription models, or interstate sales, where compliance complexity can otherwise grow faster than revenue.

Moreover, continuity through redomestication can protect the company’s posture for future events such as fundraising, a bank facility, or an exit. Investors and lenders tend to prefer clean entity histories, consistent documentation, and clarity as to the company’s domicile and governance. A properly executed redomestication is typically easier to explain and diligence than a patchwork of foreign registrations, newly formed entities, and merged structures created to “fix” earlier mistakes.

Owners seeking a durable solution should consider how to move your company out of California while preserving continuity and reducing ongoing compliance as the guiding framework for decision-making.

Conclusion: a legally sound answer to moving the company out of California

When the real question is how to move a company out of California without sacrificing the company’s identity, contracts, FEIN, or operational momentum, redomestication is the superior mechanism. It is a focused statutory tool designed to change the home state of an existing entity while preserving continuity—precisely what most owners intend when they decide to relocate.

However, the benefits are realized only when the process is executed correctly and with a clear plan for governance, filings, and operational follow-through. Improvised solutions—foreign registrations used as substitutes for domicile changes, unnecessary mergers, or dissolutions based on incomplete guidance—frequently increase cost and risk rather than reducing it.

To proceed with confidence, review how to move a company out of California through redomestication and ensure that the strategy selected preserves what matters most: the company you have built.

Start Your Redomestication Now

Domestication vs. Foreign Registration vs. Merger vs. Dissolution: A Comparison

Domestication is, in many circumstances, far preferable to registering an LLC or corporation as a foreign entity, especially where the LLC or corporation has permanently moved its operations and will not be returning to the prior state in the near future.

Some attorneys, unfortunately, confuse their clients by recommending a foreign entity registration in the new state, or worse, a merger, where a redomestication™ would have accomplished the goals of moving their business to a new state efficiently and effectively.

The top seven benefits of moving your company (LLC, corporation, or partnership) to a new state via redomestication™ to transfer your business include:

1. Maintaining your existing federal employer identification number, eliminating the tax headaches of forming a new company or transferring assets between companies (and inadvertently triggering a hefty tax bill from the IRS) when you move your business to a new state;
2. Keeping your existing business credit history and track record, safeguarding your reputation with clients, vendors, and creditors when moving your LLC or corporation to a new state;
3. Continuing your existing business name (in almost every case), protecting your most important assets when moving your company to a new state: your brand, reputation, and time you have already invested in search engine optimization;
4. Maintaining your existing contracts with customers and vendors because moving your business to a new state via redomestication™ does not create a new company: it maintains your existing company, saving you dozens (or even hundreds) of hours re-writing (and re-negotiating) contracts and changing banks;
5. Eliminating the need to continue paying registration fees and taxes in your prior state (assuming you have discontinued your operations there and have permanently relocated to a new state), potentially saving you tens of thousands of dollars (or more) in state taxes every quarter when you move your business to a new state;
6. Avoiding unnecessary IRS scrutiny because moving your LLC or corporation to a new state via redomestication™ is a tax-free transaction under the Internal Revenue Code; and
7. Reducing the amount of time you spend on administrative filings, saving you untold hours annually, by moving your company to a new state.

Before taking the "penny wise and pound foolish" approach of foreign entity registration or spending countless hours and exorbitant legal fees (and possibly taxes) on a merger or merger-gone-wrong to move your company to a new state, ensure you understand your options.

In most circumstances, redomestication™ (and not a foreign entity registration or costly and complicated merger) is the best route to achieve a change in company domicile to a new state.

Start Your Redomestication Now