Decennial Report: What Nonprofits Need to Know About Filing

In January 2021, the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations (BCCO) sent out postcards to organizations notifying them they were required to file a Decennial Report of Continued Existence.

The Decennial Report must be filed by December 31, 2021 if an organization has not made or amended any filings with the Bureau during the period of January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2021.

A decennial report must be filed once every 10 years, by both for-profits and nonprofits, to show the organization is still active. If a report is not filed, the organization will continue to exist; however, its name becomes available for use by any other business registering in Pennsylvania. Entities required to file the decennial report must submit it to the state by December 31, 2021, along with a filing fee of $70.

There are certain reports that can be filed with the state to exempt an organization from the decennial filing requirement. One of these reports is the Annual Statement, which must be filed anytime a PA nonprofit organization changes officers. There is no fee to file this form and no penalty for not filing. We suggest filing this statement to report your board officers for the preceding calendar year. The Annual Statement must be filed by April 30, 2021 to exempt your organization from filing the decennial report. This report should also be filed each year when there is an election of new board officers.

Click here to access the Decennial Report.

Click here to access the Annual Statement.

Click here to access the Decennial Report FAQs, which include an alphabetical listing of all the organizations that are required to file the report.

For additional information contact us at info@herbein.com.

Article compiled by Justine Bauer.