How to Fill Out the California Nonprofit Raffle Report (CT-NRP-2)

The California nonprofit raffle report, Form CT-NRP-2, is the annual filing every registered nonprofit must send to the Attorney General’s Registry of Charitable Trusts after holding a raffle. It covers the calendar year (January 1 through December 31) and is due by February 1 of the following year.¹ The form has three parts, takes about 15 minutes if your books are in order, and has to be mailed to Sacramento.

Who Has to File and When

Any private, tax-exempt nonprofit that registered to conduct a raffle in California during the reporting year has to file a CT-NRP-2. That includes organizations that registered but never actually held the raffle. If no raffle occurred, submit the form with zeroes in the financial fields so the Registry has a clean record of no activity.

The reporting period is the calendar year, and if you held more than one raffle during that window, the figures from all of them are combined into a single CT-NRP-2.² The completed report is due on or before February 1 of the following year. Missing that date puts future raffle registration at risk; the Attorney General’s office has authority to suspend or revoke registration for non-compliance, and the Registry may flag your organization as delinquent in its public records.¹ There is no published extension process, so treat February 1 as hard.

What to Gather Before You Start

Pull these together before opening the form:

At least one identifying number. The form accepts your State Charity Registration Number (CT number), Raffle Registration Number, Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), Secretary of State corporation number, or Franchise Tax Board organization number. One is enough, but listing more helps the Registry match your filing.²
Gross receipts: the full dollar amount collected from ticket sales before any deductions.
Direct cost records: receipts and invoices for prizes, ticket printing, advertising, venue, and other costs tied to running the raffle.
A breakdown of how proceeds were spent on charitable purposes, including the name and address of any other eligible nonprofit that received a share of the funds.

Download the fillable PDF from the Attorney General’s website at oag.ca.gov/charities/raffles.

Walking Through the Form

Part A: Organization Information

Enter the nonprofit’s legal name exactly as it appears on your incorporation documents, along with the street address, city, state, ZIP, phone, email, and fax if you have one. Then provide at least one of the identifying numbers. Using the same name and number format you used on your CT-NRP-1 registration avoids processing delays.

Part B: Raffle Financial Information

Part B is six lines capturing every dollar in and out.

Line 1: the raffle year ending December 31 of the year being reported.
Line 2: aggregate gross receipts from all raffles that year, before deducting anything.
Line 3: aggregate direct costs of running the raffle (prizes, printing, marketing, venue, and similar expenses).
Line 4: whether direct costs exceeded 10% of gross receipts. If they did and you covered the excess with funds from sources other than ticket sales, Line 4(A) asks for the dollar amount of those outside funds and Line 4(B) asks you to identify where they came from, such as general operating budget or donations.
Line 5: a description of the charitable or beneficial purpose the proceeds funded. Be specific. “Youth literacy program providing free books to Title I schools” is much better than “charitable purposes.”
Line 6: if any proceeds went to another eligible nonprofit, that organization’s name, address, dollar amount received, and a contact person.

Part C: Certification

Part C has eight true-or-false statements about your raffle’s compliance with Penal Code 320.5, covering things like whether 90% of gross receipts went to charitable purposes, whether members of the organization conducted the raffle, and whether winners were present at the drawing. An authorized officer or director marks each statement, then signs and dates the form.

The signature is made under penalty of perjury, and knowingly providing false information is a felony under California Penal Code 126.³ Make sure the person signing has actually reviewed the financial records and the statements before signing.

The 90% Rule That Trips Up Most Filers

California law requires that at least 90% of your gross receipts go directly to beneficial or charitable purposes.¹ The 90% is calculated against gross receipts, meaning the total from ticket sales, not against the net amount left over after expenses. If you sold $10,000 in tickets, at least $9,000 has to reach charitable purposes regardless of what you spent on prizes or printing.²

That math caps your operational budget at 10% of gross receipts. If costs run higher, Line 4 is where you show the extra came from somewhere other than ticket revenue. The safest approach is to keep prizes modest and pay for anything splashy out of the general fund.

Where to Send It

There is no online filing option for the CT-NRP-2. Mail the completed, signed form to:

Office of the Attorney General
Registry of Charitable Trusts
P.O. Box 903447
Sacramento, CA 94203-4470⁴

There is no separate fee for the CT-NRP-2 itself. The annual raffle registration (CT-NRP-1) carries a $10 fee, which the Department of Justice can adjust by regulation to cover enforcement costs.⁵ Keep a complete copy of the filed report along with supporting receipts and bank records. These filings are public records, and you may need the backup if questions come up later.

After the Registry Receives It

The Registry reviews the report to confirm the 90% distribution requirement was met and that every section is complete. Once processed, the report becomes a public record available through the Registry’s online database.

If something is wrong or missing, the Registry issues a notice of non-compliance and gives you a window to submit corrected data or additional documentation. More serious problems, like consistently falling short of the 90% threshold or filing false certifications, can lead to real consequences. Penal Code 320.5 is a criminal statute, and violations may be referred to the local district attorney, city attorney, or county counsel for investigation and possible prosecution. The Attorney General can also bring a civil action for breach of fiduciary duty or waste of charitable assets, and your raffle registration can be suspended or revoked.¹

Federal Filings Raffles Also Trigger

Filing the CT-NRP-2 handles your California obligation, but raffles trigger federal reporting too, and that catches many nonprofits off guard.

Starting in 2026, you must file IRS Form W-2G for any raffle prize valued at $2,000 or more. The threshold was previously $600 and is now adjusted annually for inflation. If the prize value minus the cost of the ticket exceeds $5,000, you also have to withhold federal income tax at 24% from the winnings. For non-cash prizes such as a car or vacation package, the withholding is based on fair market value. Either the winner pays you the withholding amount or your organization covers it, but either way you are responsible for remitting it to the IRS.⁶

If your organization’s gross income from gaming activities (including raffles) exceeds $15,000 for the tax year, you must complete Part III of Schedule G when filing your Form 990 or 990-EZ.⁷ Schedule G asks for a detailed breakdown of gaming revenue, expenses, and net income, much of the same data you already compiled for the CT-NRP-2. Keeping the raffle accounting organized from the start makes both filings easier.

1
State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Nonprofit Raffles
2
California Department of Justice. California Penal Code Section 320.5 – Nonprofit Raffle Report
3
California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 126 – Perjury
4
State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Contacts
5
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 320.5 – Lotteries
6
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754 (01/2026)
7
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule G (Form 990) (12/2024)