Form BCO-10: Pennsylvania Charitable Registration Filing, Fees, and Deadlines

Any charity soliciting donations from Pennsylvania residents files Pennsylvania Form BCO-10, the Charitable Organization Registration Statement, with the Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations before any fundraising begins.¹ The same form covers first-time registration and every annual renewal. You submit it with your IRS Form 990, financial statements scaled to your contribution level, and (if you have never registered before) copies of your governing documents. Fees run from $15 to $250 based on gross annual contributions.²

Who Has to File

The Pennsylvania Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act (10 P.S. § 162.1 et seq.) applies to any organization asking Pennsylvania residents for donations by internet, direct mail, in person, or phone.¹ Registration is required once the organization takes in more than $25,000 in gross national contributions, or as soon as it pays anyone to solicit on its behalf from Pennsylvania residents. No soliciting is allowed until the Bureau approves the registration.³

Some organizations are exempt from the BCO-10 requirement, including IRS-recognized churches, educational institutions whose curricula are registered with or approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (and their affiliated foundations), and parent-teacher associations recognized by their school district in a notarized letter.⁴ If you think you qualify, you still have to say so on paper: file Form BCO-9, Request for Approval of Exemption/Exclusion, rather than simply skipping registration.

What to Gather Before You Start

Have everything on this list in front of you before you open the form. A single missing document sends the whole packet back.

Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN).
The organization’s exact legal name as incorporated, not a trade name or “doing business as” alias, and a physical street address for the principal office. A P.O. box will not do.
Full name and home address of every current officer, director, and trustee. Omitting even a newly appointed board member can trigger a rejection.
A completed and signed IRS Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, or 990-N for the most recently completed fiscal year, with all applicable schedules. If the return was signed electronically, include the electronic signature page filed with the IRS.²
Financial statements at the level required by your contribution tier (see below).
Your fiscal year-end date, which sets both the reporting period and the renewal deadline.

First-time filers also need the IRS tax-exemption determination letter, articles of incorporation or charter, and bylaws.² Renewal filers only resubmit governing documents if those documents have been amended since the last filing.

Filling Out the Form

You can download the form or complete it electronically through the Bureau’s registration forms page.⁵ Work through it in order and check every field against your federal filings before you sign.

Organizational Details and Officers

Put the legal name and EIN at the top. Use a physical street address for the principal office. List every current officer, director, and trustee with a home address. The Bureau cross-checks this roster, so an incomplete list delays processing.

Charitable Purpose and Solicitation Methods

Describe the charitable purpose in plain language. Vague answers like “general operations” invite follow-up. Be specific: food distribution to low-income families, after-school tutoring, medical research funding. Then indicate how the organization solicits Pennsylvania residents, whether by direct mail, online appeals, special events, telephone campaigns, or a combination.

Professional Fundraisers and Counsel

If you use, or plan to use, professional solicitors or fundraising counsel, list each one’s name, address, and phone number, the contract start and end dates, and the dates Pennsylvania residents were first solicited or will be solicited. Use a separate sheet for more than one. Professional solicitors and fundraising counsel are separately registered with the Bureau, so confirm their registrations are active before you list them.

Signature

The BCO-10 needs an original signature and date. On paper, that means wet ink; photocopied or stamped signatures are not accepted.² The instructions do not specify which titles are authorized, so the signer should be an officer with board-level authority to bind the organization, typically the president, executive director, or treasurer.

Financial Statements to Attach

The level of financial reporting is scaled to gross annual contributions received nationwide, not just from Pennsylvania donors.³

$750,000 or more: audit by an independent certified public accountant.
$250,000 to $749,999: review or audit by an independent CPA.
$100,000 to $249,999: compilation, review, or audit by an independent CPA.⁶
Under $100,000: internally prepared statements are acceptable.

The financial statements have to cover the same fiscal period as the attached 990. A mismatch is a common reason packets come back. If the organization has just crossed a threshold, start with the CPA early: audits for nonprofits can cost several thousand dollars and take weeks.

Fees and How to Submit

File electronically through the Bureau’s charities portal at charities.pa.gov, or mail the paper packet to the Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations at 401 North Street, Room 207, Harrisburg, PA 17120.⁷

Registration fees are tied to gross annual contributions:²

$25,000 or less: $15.
$25,001 to $99,999: $100.
$100,000 to $499,999: $150.
$500,000 or more: $250.

Paper filers make the check payable to “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” Online filers pay by credit card through the portal.

Deadline, Late Fees, and Cancellation

Annual renewals must be postmarked by the fifteenth day of the fifth month after the fiscal year closes.³ Calendar-year organizations file by May 15. A June 30 fiscal year end pushes the deadline to November 15.

Miss it and the Bureau adds a $25 late fee for each month, or part of a month, past due, on top of the standard registration fee. If the financial report never arrives, the registration cancels automatically. Once cancelled, the organization cannot file a new registration statement until the overdue financial report is submitted.³ Any Pennsylvania fundraising during that gap is unauthorized.

The Bureau has eliminated the separate extension request for charitable organizations, so there is no BCO-600 to buy extra time.⁵ Put the renewal date on the calendar early and get your CPA lined up well in advance if your contribution level requires a review or audit.

After You Submit

The Bureau reviews the packet for accuracy and completeness. If everything checks out, it issues a Certificate of Registration authorizing the organization to solicit contributions in Pennsylvania. The certificate carries a registration number used for all future renewals and correspondence.

If the reviewer finds deficiencies, such as a missing officer, mismatched fiscal periods, or an unsigned form, the Bureau sends a notice listing the corrections and a deadline. Respond by that deadline. An unapproved registration is not a valid one, and soliciting without approval violates state law.

Registration is an annual obligation. Each year, refile the BCO-10 with updated financial statements and the current year’s IRS 990 by the renewal date. If the organization stops soliciting in Pennsylvania, notify the Bureau formally rather than letting the registration lapse, which prevents late fees from piling up on unfiled renewals.

1
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Information for Charitable Organizations
2
Pennsylvania Department of State. BCO-10 Instructions
3
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 10 P.S. 162.5 – Registration of Charitable Organizations; Financial Reports; Fees; Failure to File
4
Pennsylvania Department of State. Request for Approval of Exemption/Exclusion
5
Department of State. Registration Forms and Documents
6
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Pennsylvania Code 10 P.S. 162.5 – Registration of Charitable Organizations; Financial Reports; Fees; Failure to File
7
Pennsylvania Department of State. Charitable Organization Registration Statement