Connecticut charity registration recovery

Start with Connecticut eLicense, the last certificate, renewal notices, the organization’s fiscal-year history, DCP correspondence, fundraising calendars, filed federal returns, and CPA reports. Record the CHR number, legal name, expiration date, displayed status, last accepted period, and every Connecticut solicitation period after expiration. A generic “not current” flag does not establish whether the correct route is late renewal, reinstatement, initial registration, exemption review, or correction of another credential.

DCP’s registration page says an organization expired more than six months must complete reinstatement. Preserve the exact expiration date and calculate the elapsed period before beginning. If the record is six months or less past expiration, use the current renewal route or obtain DCP direction rather than forcing the more-than-six-month form.

Create one row for every fiscal and registration period since the last accepted filing. Record whether Connecticut solicitation occurred, the campaign dates and channels, Form 990 series and filing date, gross revenue, CPA review or audit requirement, report completion, fees, agency notices, and evidence retained. This matrix determines which branch of the reinstatement form is supportable.

Do not define solicitation only as money already received. Connecticut’s Act and DCP guidance cover requests for money or things of value. Review donation pages, targeted digital appeals, mail, telephone, events, grants, paid solicitors, peer-to-peer activity, recurring donors, and follow-up communications. Preserve evidence for a no-solicitation attestation rather than relying on memory.

The current paper form says an organization that did not solicit in Connecticut pays the nonrefundable $50 registration fee and does not add late fees. An organization that did solicit pays the $50 fee plus $25 for each full month after the last expiration date, with a maximum late fee of $300. Confirm the state’s current amount and calculation before payment.

For the soliciting branch, the form requires the applicable Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-N, or 990-PF for all years since expiration in which solicitation occurred, excluding returns already provided during active years. It also calls for audit reports for supplied years when the reported gross revenue exceeded $500,000. Label each attachment by period and reconcile it to the matrix.

DCP says all required federal returns or business tax returns must be completed and filed for reinstatement. The current June 2026 guidance uses gross revenue, not net fundraising proceeds, for the CPA threshold. Gross revenue includes income from all sources before costs and includes all amounts received through a paid solicitor.

DCP’s current guidance says registered charities with gross revenue between $500,000 and $1 million must have an independent CPA review or audit, while gross revenue above $1 million requires an independent audit. Resolve missing reports before attesting. If an exact-boundary amount or unusual return creates uncertainty, obtain DCP’s written direction rather than choosing the cheaper assurance level.

Answer every business question, explain government actions or tax-status changes where required, and obtain the authorized signature under the form’s false-statement certification. Save the signed form, attachments, fee calculation, payment, delivery, correspondence, deficiency responses, approval, and a dated eLicense result. A mailed packet or payment receipt is not an active registration.

The form warns that an approved reinstatement activates the registration only to the next renewal cycle. Immediately record the organization’s fiscal year end, next expiration, renewal notice contact, federal-return schedule, CPA-report lead time, and internal due date. Keep corporation, IRS, paid-solicitor, and other-state recovery tasks separate.