← All posts

New CAL-ACCESS for lobbyists: what changes on February 16, 2027

Guides Updated

The new CAL-ACCESS replaces California’s lobbying and campaign filing system on February 16, 2027. Until then, lobbyists, lobbying firms and lobbyist employers file the way they do now: the 2027-28 renewals and the January quarterly report go in on paper or by email. The current system goes offline on February 10. After the switch, everyone signs in with a new personal account, files online only, and stops using paper form numbers.

Updated November 4, 2026: this guide was first published October 29 with the earlier target of November 2026. That afternoon the Secretary of State announced a 90-day delay, to February 16, 2027 (October/November 2026 bulletin). The dates and the renewal section below are updated. Check the go-live page for changes.

The dates

From the Secretary of State’s go-live timeline and renewal letter:

  • November 1 to December 31, 2026: registration and renewal for the 2027-28 session, on paper or by email.
  • Mid-December 2026: the first training dates are announced.
  • Mid-January 2027: directions for filing online in the new system.
  • January 31, 2027: the October to December quarterly report is due, on the Secretary of State’s timeline. January 31 is a Sunday; the FPPC’s 2027 schedules give Monday, February 1 for reports on the period ending December 31 (FPPC 2027 filing schedule).
  • February 3, 2027: the last day to submit paper and emailed filings. Late 2027-28 registrations are accepted until this date.
  • February 10, 2027: the current CAL-ACCESS goes offline.
  • February 16, 2027: the new CAL-ACCESS opens. From then on, all filings are online.

The timeline lists the current system offline from February 10 and the new one opening February 16. If a filing falls due in those days, ask the Political Reform Division how to handle it.

Renew for 2027-28 now, the current way

Lobbying firms and lobbyist employers that will keep lobbying in the 2027-28 session must renew between November 1 and December 31, 2026, and each of their lobbyists renews at the same time (Government Code 86106). All current registrations expire at the end of the year; if your lobbying ends by December 31, nothing needs to be filed. Because the new system is not ready, the Secretary of State says to use the current process (renewal letter):

  • By email: a PDF with digital signatures, sent to [email protected].
  • By mail: original ink signatures, sent to the Political Reform Division, Secretary of State, 1500 11th Street, Room 495, Sacramento, CA 95814. For a stamped copy back, include a written request, one extra copy and a self-addressed stamped envelope.

The packet: Forms 601 and 602 for a lobbying firm, or Form 603 for a lobbyist employer or coalition; Form 604 for each in-house lobbyist; a recent head-and-shoulders photo of each lobbyist (the Secretary of State’s lobbyist photo submission form speeds this up); and the $100 fee for each in-house lobbyist (email [email protected] for a payment link, or mail a check). Renewing lobbyists who have not taken the ethics course in the past 12 months must take it by June 30, 2027 (Government Code 86103).

These filings are entered into the current system and carried into the new one with the rest of the data. The Secretary of State asks filers to send them early, so staff have time to enter them before the final conversion.

The January report stays in the current system

Quarterly lobbying reports are filed during the month after each quarter (Government Code 86117). The October to December report is due before the switch, so it is filed the current way. The first quarterly report in the new system will be the January to March 2027 report, due at the end of April.

What changes on February 16

  1. A personal account replaces the Filer ID and password. Today the Political Reform Division assigns each filer an ID and password. In the new system you create an account with your email address, then link it to each filing entity you manage. (August 2026 bulletin)
  2. Two-step sign-in. After your password, the system asks you to confirm by text message, email or an authenticator app. (August 2026 bulletin)
  3. One login covers every client. A lobbying firm or a lobbyist who files for several clients links each one to the same personal account. They all appear under a “My Filers” tab, so there’s no signing out and back in. You link each person to each filing entity once, and the system blocks links that aren’t allowed. A lobbyist can’t be linked to a recipient committee, for example. (August 2026 bulletin)
  4. No more paper, no more form numbers. All lobbying registrations and reports must be filed electronically, through the filer portal or through software from a certified vendor. The paper versions of the lobbying forms (601 through 690, including the 615 lobbyist report, the 625 firm report and the 635 employer report) go away. The new system describes activity in plain language instead of form numbers. (FPPC staff memo, Sept. 4, 2026; May 2026 bulletin). The go-live resources page has a crosswalk from the old form numbers to the new terms.
  5. Registrations move online. After the switch, registering or amending a registration is an online process, and the Secretary of State says it will be processed right away instead of sitting in a paper backlog for weeks. (July 2026 bulletin)
  6. Reports look different. Public copies of lobbying registrations and reports switch to a new, simplified output format, so the PDF a client or reporter pulls will not look like the one they’re used to. (Go-live resources)
  7. Your history comes along, but you have to link it. Past filings are moved to the new system. You reach your own records by linking your new account to your existing filing entities, using your email and your current CAL-ACCESS password. (Go-live updates)
  8. Still free. The state charges nothing to file. Vendors set their own fees. (Go-live updates FAQ)
  9. A new public portal. The public will search, view and export filings by plain-language description, and there is a new lobbying directory. (September 2026 bulletin)

What to do now

  • Renew for 2027-28 by December 31, by email or mail as above. Send it early.
  • File the October to December report the current way, before the end of January. Paper and emailed filings stop on February 3.
  • Check for any filing due between February 10 and 15, and ask PRD how to handle it.
  • Confirm the email address the Political Reform Division has on file for you, and for each firm and employer you file for. The new account is tied to that email. PRD: (916) 653-6814, [email protected].
  • Find your current CAL-ACCESS password. You need it once, to link your history.
  • Keep a phone or authenticator app at hand for the two-step sign-in.
  • If you file through software, ask your vendor when it will be certified for the new system. The Secretary of State says the fourteen third-party vendors that will certify their systems support the delay. (October/November 2026 bulletin)
  • List every filing entity you’ll need to link: your own registration, your firm, and each employer or client you file for.

Where to get help