State-level Charity Check

The California endpoint of the Charity Check API provides data about a nonprofit's status with the California Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts and the California Franchise Tax Board.

This data can be used to check the standing of a nonprofit organization in California and confirm that they are eligible to receive donations.

Example request and response

This endpoint uses EIN as a path parameter to return data for an organization.

https://api.candid.org/charitycheck/v1/CA/31-1670408

{
    "code": 200,
    "message": "Request was processed successfully!",
    "took": 8,
    "errors": [],
    "data": {
        "ein": "31-1670408",
        "california_entity_id": "2044031",
        "organization_name": "PUBLIC LINKS GOLF ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION INC.",
        "city": "BUENA PARK",
        "state": "CA",
        "attorney_general": {
            "ag_may_operate_or_solicit_in_ca": "Not Operating/Dissolved",
            "ag_registry_status": "Never Registered - Dissolved",
            "ag_state_charity_reg_num": "CT0182319",
            "ag_issue_date": "5/8/2012 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_last_renewal_date": "",
            "ag_status_set_date": "8/21/2012 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_as_of_date": "11/6/2024 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_source_data_conflict": false,
            "ag_source_data_conflict_date": "",
            "most_recent_ag": "11/8/2024 12:00:00 AM"
        },
        "franchise_tax_board": {
            "ftb_revocation_status": false,
            "ftb_revocation_status_date": "",
            "most_recent_ftb": "",
            "ftb_source_data_conflict": false,
            "ftb_source_data_conflict_date": ""
        }
    }
}

Interpreting data fields

Attorney General (AG)

The attorney_general object contains information regarding an organization's standing with the California Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts. The ag_may_operate_or_solicit_in_ca field provides information about whether the organization may or may not operate or solicit in California. The ag_registry_status field provides additional data about the organization's Charity Registration status.

Below is a table of potential values for these fields. More information on the definition of these registry statuses can be found here.

May_Operate_or_Solicit_in_CA	Registry_Status
No	Delinquent - Late Fees Due
No	Delinquent
No	Mutual Benefit
No	Not Registered - Cease and Desist Order
No	Revoked
No	Subject to Cease and Desist Order
No	Suspended
Not Operating/Dissolved	Closed - Registration Not Required
Not Operating/Dissolved	Dissolution Pending
Not Operating/Dissolved	Dissolution Waiver Issued
Not Operating/Dissolved	Dissolved
Not Operating/Dissolved	Exempt - Dissolution Pending
Not Operating/Dissolved	Exempt - Dissolution Waiver Issued
Not Operating/Dissolved	Exempt - Dissolved
Not Operating/Dissolved	Exempt - Withdrawn
Not Operating/Dissolved	Never Registered - Diss. Waiver Issued
Not Operating/Dissolved	Never Registered - Dissolution Pending
Not Operating/Dissolved	Never Registered - Dissolved
Not Operating/Dissolved	Never Registered - Withdrawn
Not Operating/Dissolved	Trust Closed
Not Operating/Dissolved	Withdrawn
Undetermined	Enforcement Action Pending
Undetermined	Not Registered
Yes	Current - Awaiting Reporting
Yes	Current - In Process
Yes	Current - Probationary Registration
Yes	Current - Reporting Incomplete
Yes	Current
Yes	Exempt - Facility Financing
Yes	Exempt - Form 990-PF Required
Yes	Exempt - Religious
Yes	Exempt
Yes	Registered - Corporate Trustee

Franchise Tax Board (FTB)

The franchise_tax_board object contains information regarding an organization's standing with the California Franchise Tax Board. The ftb_revocation_status field is a Boolean value indicting whether an organization's tax-exempt status has been revoked by Franchise Tax Board. If "ftb_revocation_status": true, the ftb_revocation_status_date field will list the date the organization's tax-exempt status was revoked.

Example response scenarios

Below are sample responses that provide example of organizations with various different statuses in California. Key fields to validate each scenario are marked "/see here/".

Example organization not in good standing in California

{
    "code": 200,
    "message": "Request was processed successfully!",
    "took": 355,
    "errors": [],
    "data": {
        "ein": "20-0307526",
        "california_entity_id": "2560233",
        "organization_name": "ROCK THE CLASSROOM",
        "city": "SANTA MONICA",
        "state": "CA",
        "attorney_general": {
          /*see here*/"ag_may_operate_or_solicit_in_ca": "No",
            "ag_registry_status": "Revoked",
            "ag_state_charity_reg_num": "123602",
            "ag_issue_date": "12/31/2005 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_last_renewal_date": "5/6/2009 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_status_set_date": "2/3/2022 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_as_of_date": "6/21/2023 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_source_data_conflict": false,
            "ag_source_data_conflict_date": "",
            "most_recent_ag": "6/21/2023 12:00:00 AM"
        },
        "franchise_tax_board": {
          /*see here*/"ftb_revocation_status": true,
            "ftb_revocation_status_date": "6/1/2011 12:00:00 AM",
            "most_recent_ftb": "6/13/2023 12:00:00 AM",
            "ftb_source_data_conflict": false,
            "ftb_source_data_conflict_date": ""
        }
    }
}

Example organization in good standing in California

{
    "code": 200,
    "message": "Request was processed successfully!",
    "took": 717,
    "errors": [],
    "data": {
        "ein": "33-0841281",
        "california_entity_id": "2133191",
        "organization_name": "PANCREATIC CANCER ACTION NETWORK INC.",
        "city": "MANHATTAN BEACH",
        "state": "CA",
        "attorney_general": {
          /*see here*/"ag_may_operate_or_solicit_in_ca": "Yes",
            "ag_registry_status": "Current",
            "ag_state_charity_reg_num": "114088",
            "ag_issue_date": "6/30/2006 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_last_renewal_date": "1/3/2023 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_status_set_date": "1/3/2023 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_as_of_date": "6/21/2023 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_source_data_conflict": false,
            "ag_source_data_conflict_date": "",
            "most_recent_ag": "6/21/2023 12:00:00 AM"
        },
        "franchise_tax_board": {
          /*see here*/"ftb_revocation_status": false,
            "ftb_revocation_status_date": "",
            "most_recent_ftb": "",
            "ftb_source_data_conflict": false,
            "ftb_source_data_conflict_date": ""
        }
    }
}

Example organization not registered in California

Organizations that are not operating or fundraising in California are not required to register in California. If the organization has no status in California, a 404 error will be returned, indicating that no California data is present.

{
    "code": 404,
    "message": "Request was processed successfully but we could not find the resource, 85-2814738",
    "took": 13,
    "errors": []
}

Example organization not located in California, but prohibited from operating/soliciting in California

Organizations that are not located in California can be prohibited from operating and soliciting in California.

{
    "code": 200,
    "message": "Request was processed successfully!",
    "took": 191,
    "errors": [],
    "data": {
        "ein": "91-1303277",
        "california_entity_id": "1968784",
        "organization_name": "THE JOHN GABRIEL RYAN ASSOCIATION",
        "city": "RENTON",
        "state": "WA",
        "attorney_general": {
          /*see here*/"ag_may_operate_or_solicit_in_ca": "No",
            "ag_registry_status": "Revoked",
            "ag_state_charity_reg_num": "132205",
            "ag_issue_date": "12/31/2005 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_last_renewal_date": "6/22/2010 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_status_set_date": "2/3/2022 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_as_of_date": "6/21/2023 12:00:00 AM",
            "ag_source_data_conflict": false,
            "ag_source_data_conflict_date": "",
            "most_recent_ag": "6/21/2023 12:00:00 AM"
        },
        "franchise_tax_board": {
            "ftb_revocation_status": false,
            "ftb_revocation_status_date": "",
            "most_recent_ftb": "",
            "ftb_source_data_conflict": false,
            "ftb_source_data_conflict_date": ""
        }
    }
}

Source data conflicts

Occasionally a nonprofit notifies Candid that their status with the AG or FTB has been updated since the last file posting. If the organization is able to provide documentation of their updated status, that will be noted in the ag_source_data_conflict or ftb_source_data_conflict field, respectively. The date the conflict was identified is recorded in the ag_source_data_conflict_date or ftb_source_data_conflict_date field, and the applicable status fields will be updated to the correct values.