Is this letter really from the state?

Private companies mail notices that look like state bills, offering to file your annual report or sell certificates for far more than the state charges. Here is a quick way to check, based on what state agencies themselves say.

Five checks before you pay

1. Look for a disclaimer such as “not a government agency” or “this is not a bill”, often in small print.
2. Compare the fee with the state fee on your state's page below. Lookalike mailers often charge several times more.
3. Check the sender and payee. Real notices come from the state office or your registered agent; payment goes to the state.
4. Ignore urgency language like “final notice” or threats that your entity “could be taken.”
5. Look up your entity yourself on the state's official business search and file there directly.

Warnings published by states

• California: California SOS alert: "California Corporations Annual Order Form" mailers (form number "501-C") charging a service fee nearly 10 times the real filing fee and warning "your entity could be taken." Paying a third party does not by itself satisfy your filing duty; you can file directly on bizfile Online, usually processed within minutes. (state source)
• Colorado: Colorado Secretary of State: letters asking for a fee to "comply" with state law, mentioning annual or periodic reports, corporate minutes, the Patriot Act or a national registration database, often with an official-looking seal or a "Corp Number" that doesn't match yours. (state source)
• Delaware: Delaware Division of Corporations: treat as suspicious any mail or email about your taxes or annual report that does not come directly from the State or your Delaware registered agent. (state source)
• Florida: Florida Division of Corporations: "Annual Minutes" or "Annual Corporate Record Forms" notices asking $125 are not from the state and are not required. (state source)
• Georgia: Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division: third-party mailers offering to file your registration often charge several times the state fee. Georgia law requires them to say at the top, in large type: "THIS IS A SOLICITATION. THIS IS NOT A BILL OR OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT DOCUMENT…" and to mark the envelope "SOLICITATION." (state source)
• Illinois: "Corporate Meeting Minutes" seeking $148.67 for an "Annual Statement" – Illinois says no such filing is required. "IL Certificate Service" seeking about $87 for a "Certificate of Status" – not required; a certificate of good standing is $25 from the state. "Illinois Council For Corporations" seeking $150 for an "Annual Records Solicitation Form." (state source)
• Nevada: We have not yet found a current Nevada state warning naming a specific mailer. The general checks on our scam-letter page apply.
• New York: New York Attorney General (2023) shut down websites that copied the Department of State's seal and look and charged far more than state fees, e.g. $135 for a certified copy that cost $10 from the state. Check for a .gov address before paying. (state source)
• Texas: Texas Attorney General alert: mailers from "Texas UCC Statement Services" asking $90 for a form most businesses don't need, designed to look like a government bill. Texas SOS notes that a "certificate of good standing" is really a Comptroller certificate of account status or an SOS certificate of fact – order them only from those offices. (state source)
• Wyoming: Wyoming Secretary of State: letters from "Annual Business Services" offering to prepare Annual Minutes for $125 are not from the state; Wyoming does not require annual minutes. (state source)

Received one? Report it to your state attorney general's consumer protection office and the agency it imitates.

Last verified: 2026-10-21