Charitable solicitation registration: do you have to register to fundraise?

What is charitable solicitation registration?

It is a state-level registration that lets you legally ask people in that state for donations. States use it so donors can trust the groups asking them for money.

It is separate from your IRS 501(c)(3) status. Being tax-exempt with the IRS does not register you to fundraise in any state.

Which states require it?

Most states and the District of Columbia require some form of charitable registration before you solicit donations. Thirteen states have no general charitable registration, as of September 2026; the 50-state table gives each state's rule and fee.

The exact rules, forms, and fees differ in every state. Where you have to register depends on where you are asking for money, not only where your office is.

The states we have written up so far

This page explains how registration works. For what your own state actually charges, which form it wants and when the renewal falls, use the state guide. Each one names the agency, the fee and the exemption threshold, read from that state's own pages.

Alabama · Arizona · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Florida · Georgia · Illinois · Indiana · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Missouri · New Jersey · New York · North Carolina · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · South Carolina · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Virginia · Washington · Wisconsin

More states are being added. If yours is not here yet, go to your Secretary of State or Attorney General site and search for charitable solicitation registration; those two offices hold it in almost every state.

How does registration work in Washington?

In Washington, you register with the Secretary of State's Charities Program before you ask the public for donations. Here's how it works there, so you know what to look for in your own state.

• Cost: $60 to register and $40 to renew each year, plus a $50 late fee if a renewal comes in late (WAC 434‑120‑042).
• When to renew: by the end of the 11th month after your fiscal year ends, so a year ending December 31 renews by November 30 (Secretary of State renewal instructions).
• Who's exempt: a group that raises under $50,000 a year, where everyone doing the work, fundraising included, is unpaid. None of its money can go to its officers, directors, members or trustees, unless they're among the people it serves. One paid staff member is enough to lose it. An appeal for one named person is exempt too, as long as every dollar goes to that person (RCW 19.09.081).
• Churches and political groups: the law doesn't count them as charitable organizations, so they don't register (RCW 19.09.020).
• Exempt but want to be on record? File an optional registration. It's free (WAC 434‑120‑042), and it lets the office answer people who ask about you (Charities Program FAQ).
• Where to file: online, in the state's Corporations and Charities Filing System (CCFS). There's no extra fee for filing that way (Secretary of State renewal instructions).
• Not the same as: your nonprofit corporation's annual report. It goes to the same office, but it's a separate filing with its own rules (Charities Program FAQ).

Our Washington guide covers the rest, from forming the corporation to the annual report and the state's business and occupation tax. We read these Washington figures on the state's own pages on 15 October 2026.

What counts as "soliciting"?

Soliciting is broader than a fundraising gala. It includes mail, email, phone calls, grant requests to some funders, and a "Donate" button on your website.

Because a website reaches every state, online donations can raise the question of where you need to register. The usual reference point is the Charleston Principles, a set of guidelines published by the National Association of State Charity Officials in 2001. They are guidance, not law, and only some states have formally adopted them, so treat them as a way to think about the question rather than an answer. In practice: look at where your donors actually are, and check the rules of any state you are actively soliciting in.

Is there one form for all states?

There is a shared paper form called the Unified Registration Statement, made to save time if you register in several places. But the project behind it, the Multi-State Filer Project, now says the form is of limited use. That is because most states make you file online.

Most of those states use their own online form, and fees differ from state to state. So the shared form is not a single national filing, though it can still help in some places.

Renewals and staying in good standing

Registration is not one and done. Most states make you renew every year, often alongside a financial report.

Put the renewal dates on a calendar the day you register. Missing a renewal is the usual way a good standing quietly lapses.

What if we have not registered yet?

If you have been fundraising without registering, you are not alone, and it is fixable. Register where you need to, and catch up on any past-due filings.

Skipping it can lead to fines or losing the right to fundraise in a state, so it is worth handling calmly and soon rather than ignoring.