Texas Charitable Solicitation Registration Compliance Checklist

What Makes Texas Different

Most states require some form of charitable solicitation registration before a 501(c)(3) can ask Texas residents for money. Texas does not. There is no general registry, no annual financial filing with the Attorney General, no equivalent to California’s RRF-1.

That makes Texas one of the easiest states for charitable fundraising — and also one of the most commonly misunderstood. The absence of a general registration requirement does not mean the absence of compliance obligations. It means the obligations live in three other places: corporate filings with the Secretary of State, tax filings with the Comptroller, and special-category registrations for law enforcement, public safety, and veteran organizations.

This checklist covers all three buckets. If your organization fits the special-category triggers, jump to Step 3 first.

Step 1: Form and Maintain the Texas Nonprofit Corporation

• File Certificate of Formation (Form 202) with the Texas Secretary of State. The filing fee is $25.
• Include required IRS language in your Certificate of Formation: a 501(c)(3) purpose clause and a dissolution clause meeting Treasury Regulation 1.501(c)(3)-1(b)(4). Without this language, the IRS will reject your Form 1023 application.
• Appoint a Texas registered agent. The agent must have a physical Texas address (not a P.O. box) and be available during business hours.
• Adopt bylaws. Texas does not file bylaws with the state, but you must adopt them and produce them on request.
• Hold the organizational meeting of the initial board of directors. Document with signed minutes.
• Calendar Form 802 periodic reporting. Texas nonprofit corporations must file a Periodic Report when requested by the Secretary of State (typically every four years). Missing the report — even one cycle — leads to involuntary termination of the corporation.