If your California corporation or LLC has been suspended or forfeited by the Franchise Tax Board, the FTB’s quick resolution path for suspended businesses can restore active status the same day at a field office. You file a revivor application (FTB 3557 BC for corporations, FTB 3557 LLC for LLCs) together with every past-due return and full payment of what you owe, then walk it into an FTB field office before the daily cutoff. Mail-in revivor works too, but it takes weeks rather than hours.1Franchise Tax Board. My Business Is Suspended
A suspended entity cannot sell or transfer real property, close escrow, prosecute or defend a lawsuit, or sign enforceable contracts. Anything it does sign during suspension is voidable at the other party’s option, which is why urgent transactions collapse the moment the other side runs a status check.2California Legislative Information. California Code Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 23304.1
Who Qualifies for Same-Day Walk-Through Revivor
The walk-through service at FTB field offices is reserved for entities facing an imminent deadline tied to one of four situations:
- Business litigation involving the entity
- A business escrow or sale that cannot close without active status
- A pending loan contingent on the entity being in good standing
- A pending federal grant requiring proof of active state registration
The transaction has to be in the entity’s name. If the litigation, escrow, or loan is in your personal name, the FTB will not process a walk-through revivor, and you’ll need to use the mail-in route instead.1Franchise Tax Board. My Business Is Suspended
What to Have Ready Before You File
Whether you’re walking in or mailing, the FTB needs three things: every past-due return filed and signed, every past-due balance paid in full, and a completed revivor application.1Franchise Tax Board. My Business Is Suspended
Your Entity Identifiers
You’ll need your entity’s exact legal name as registered with the Secretary of State, its entity identification number, and its nine-digit federal employer identification number. Since 2025, the California Secretary of State has issued 12-digit alphanumeric entity numbers to newly formed businesses, while older entities may carry a different format.3Franchise Tax Board. Secretary of State Business Entity Identification Numbers for Tax You can look up your number and current status at bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov.
Past-Due Returns
Every unfiled year has to be completed and signed by an authorized officer, member, or partner. Corporations file Form 100, S corporations file Form 100S, and LLCs file Form 568. If you aren’t sure which years are outstanding, call the FTB business suspension line at 888-635-0494. Unsigned returns will be rejected on the spot.
Outstanding Balances
Every corporation or LLC doing business in California owes at least $800 per year in minimum franchise tax, and interest and penalties accrue on top.4Franchise Tax Board. Corporations If the entity has been suspended for several years, the minimums alone stack up quickly. Pull your notices of proposed assessment and collection letters together to calculate the total. The FTB’s Web Pay system at ftb.ca.gov/pay handles electronic payments from a business bank account.
Power of Attorney If Someone Else Is Handling It
If a CPA or tax attorney is filing on the entity’s behalf, the FTB needs a valid Power of Attorney declaration on file first. Business entities use FTB 3520-BE.5Franchise Tax Board. Instructions for FTB 3520-BE Business Entity or Group Nonresident Power of Attorney Declaration Processing takes about three weeks, so submitting a POA the week of your escrow closing won’t work — the representative will not be authorized in time.6Franchise Tax Board. Submit a Power of Attorney
Filling Out the Revivor Application
Corporations use FTB 3557 BC (Application for Certificate of Revivor – Corporation); LLCs use FTB 3557 LLC. Both forms confirm entity information and certify that the returns, payments, and supporting documents have been submitted or enclosed.7Franchise Tax Board. Application for Certificate of Revivor – Corporation FTB 3557 BC
The signing rule is broader than most people expect. Any stockholder, creditor, member, general partner, or officer can sign, as can anyone with an interest in getting the entity out of suspension. For domestic entities, a majority of the surviving trustees or directors also qualifies. That means a creditor owed money by the suspended entity can push the revivor through if the officers have gone quiet.7Franchise Tax Board. Application for Certificate of Revivor – Corporation FTB 3557 BC
You can also submit the revivor application online through the FTB’s website, which can speed up a non-urgent filing compared to paper mail.1Franchise Tax Board. My Business Is Suspended
The Walk-Through Visit
If you qualify under one of the four urgent situations, take the completed revivor application, all past-due returns, full payment of the balance, and the Walk-Through Revivor Request Checklist (FTB 3557 W PC) to any FTB field office. Walk-through requests must be made by 2 p.m., except in Los Angeles, where the cutoff is 1 p.m.1Franchise Tax Board. My Business Is Suspended
One rule turns people away more than any other: every document proving the pending litigation, escrow, loan, or grant must be dated within 30 days of your request. An escrow instruction from six weeks ago won’t work. Get a fresh letter from the escrow officer, lender, opposing counsel, or grant administrator before you go.1Franchise Tax Board. My Business Is Suspended
Filing by Mail Instead
If nothing is on fire, mail the revivor application, past-due returns, and payments to:
Business Entity Correspondence
Franchise Tax Board
PO Box 942857
Sacramento, CA 94257-40401Franchise Tax Board. My Business Is Suspended
Mail-in requests go through the general correspondence queue. The FTB does not publish a turnaround guarantee, so for any deadline-sensitive transaction the field office is the safer choice.
Contracts You Signed While Suspended
Revivor restores the entity going forward. It does not automatically save contracts signed during the suspension period. Under Revenue and Taxation Code Section 23304.1, those contracts remain voidable at the other party’s request, giving the counterparty leverage to walk away from any deal they no longer want.2California Legislative Information. California Code Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 23304.1
To lock those contracts down, file a separate application for relief from contract voidability on FTB 2518 BC. Under Section 23305.1, you must file all returns for the voidability period, pay all taxes and penalties owed, and specify the exact date range for which you want relief. The application requires the entity number, entity name and address, the relief period, a signature from an authorized person, and a daytime phone number.8Franchise Tax Board. Application of Relief From Contract Voidability
The cost is steep. The FTB assesses a $100-per-day penalty for every day in the relief period. The total is capped at the tax owed for that period but cannot fall below the minimum franchise tax that would have applied. For an entity suspended two years, the daily penalty alone can run into five figures before back taxes and interest.9California Legislative Information. California Code Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 23305.1 File promptly. The daily meter keeps running until you do.
One boundary worth flagging: if you’re winding the entity down rather than reviving it, you need a Tax Clearance Certificate, not a revivor. A suspended entity cannot obtain one until it revives first.10Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations 18 CCR 23334 – Tax Clearance Certificate
After the FTB Approves the Revivor
Once approved, the FTB notifies the Secretary of State directly, and the public business database updates to show active status. Walk-through revivors can post the same day. Mail-in approvals lag by days or weeks before the status flips.
To keep it that way, file annual tax returns on time and pay at least the $800 minimum franchise tax every year.4Franchise Tax Board. Corporations Keep the Statement of Information current with the Secretary of State as well; failing to file it is a separate ground for suspension under Corporations Code Section 2205. For account-specific questions about balances or missing returns, the FTB business suspension line is 888-635-0494.