Charities

The Attorney General regulates charities and the professional fundraisers who solicit on their behalf. The purpose of this oversight is to protect charitable assets for their intended use and ensure that the charitable donations contributed by Californians are not misapplied and squandered through fraud or other means. The main elements of the Attorney General's regulatory program are:

• The attorneys and auditors of the Charitable Trusts Section investigate and bring legal actions against charities and fundraising professionals that misuse charitable assets or engage in fraudulent fundraising practices. If you have a complaint about a charity or fundraising professional, please visit our File a Complaint page.
• The Registry of Charitable Trusts administers the statutory registration program. All charitable trustees and fundraising professionals are required to register and file annual financial disclosure reports with the Registry. In addition, nonprofit organizations that conduct raffles for charitable purposes are required to register and file an annual financial report.

Guide for Charities & Webinars

• The Attorney General's Guide for Charities has been revised and there is a live webinar discussing the Guide. The video and additional resources are available on the Guide for Charities page. The video is also available on the California Department of Justice's YouTube Channel. Please also review other Registry Publications and Resources.
• The Attorney General’s Office has hosted the following educational webinars:
  • The Initial Registration Webinar for charities provides information on when an organization must register and covers the required steps to register.
  • The Annual Registration Renewal Webinar - Paper Submissions for charity registrants who mail in their annual filings.
  • The Annual Registration Renewal Webinar – Electronic Submissions for charity registrants who use the Online Renewal System.
  • The Delinquency Webinar provides instructions for charity registrants to remedy a delinquent status and how to check status on our website.
  • The Dissolution and Withdrawal Webinar for domestic and foreign charity registrants ceasing to operate in California.
  • The Professional Fundraiser Webinar covers registration and reporting requirements for commercial fundraisers, fundraising counsels, and commercial coventurers.

Charity Research Resources

The Registry Verification Search tool allows a registrant's public filings to be viewed and downloaded from the Registry database. These public filings include a copy of the federal annual informational return (IRS Forms 990, 990-PF, and 990-EZ) initial and renewal registration forms and data (e.g. Forms CT-1, RRF-1), other documents that organizations are required to file with this office, and incoming and outgoing Registry correspondence. For help using our search tool and interpreting the results, please review Registry Verification Search Tips & Filing Status Definitions.

This tool, along with the resources posted on the Resources page and guidance provided on our Donation Tips page, allows donors to become informed about a charity before making a decision to give.

Notice to Attorney General in Probate Matters

The Attorney General's Office must be given notice of any matter involving a gift to charity, assets held in charitable trust, disposition or gifts of assets to an unnamed charitable beneficiary or property that may escheat to the State of California. For a summary of statutes that require notice to the Attorney General, please refer to the Notice Requirements. You may provide notice in these matters using the Probate & Ex Parte Notices contact form.