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What is California's FIPVCC, and do I need to report certain information?

What is the FIPVCC law?

The California Fair Investment Practices by Venture Capital Companies Act (FIPVCC) updated and replaced an older law, SB 54. The purpose of FIPVCC is to increase transparency about who is getting venture capital funding.

If a venture capital firm has a connection to California, the law may treat it as a “covered entity.” Covered entities collect demographic information from the founders they fund, report that information to the state, and the state publishes it. This process is administered by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI).

NOTE: Survey responses by founders are voluntary. Covered entities must still register, send surveys, and report on them, even if no founders respond.

Is my fund a “Covered Entity”?

Note: this section is for informational purposes only. Sydecar does not identify qualifying entities/vehicles.

Under FIPVCC, a venture capital company* is a “covered entity” if it meets any of these conditions:

  • It is headquartered in California.
  • It has a significant business presence in California.
  • It invests in businesses based in California or businesses with significant operations in California.
  • It asks for or accepts investments from California investors (a single LP from California counts).

*A “venture capital company” includes most VC funds, SPVs, and co-investment vehicles that qualify as a "venture capital fund" under the Investment Advisers Act or hold at least 50% of assets in VC investments with management rights.

What Do I Need To File, and How?

Note: this section is for informational purposes only. Sydecar does not file on your behalf.

If you've determined that your fund is a “covered entity” under FIPVCC, you need to take action on these key dates:

Key date Required action How
Starting March 1, 2026

Register with the DFPI and name a point of contact

 

The registration portal and all forms can be found on DFPI's VCC Reporting Program Page
Before April 1, 2026

File your first annual report (covering 2025 activity)
Ongoing April 1 deadline (2027 and beyond)

File subsequent annual reports covering the previous year's activity

How Do I Compile a Report?

  1. Send survey(s): Send a survey to the founding team members of the company your fund invested in during the prior calendar year. An example can be found here.
    1. More often than not, a “founding team member” is the founder, CEO, or president of the company.
  2. Anonymize and aggregate data: Provide anonymized and aggregated demographic data from survey responses. An example template can be found here. 

Enforcement And Risk

DFPI can take action and seek penalties if a covered entity does not file, files late after the grace period, or files a report with major inaccuracies. 

If you think FIPVCC might apply to your fund, consider speaking with your legal counsel to understand what, if any, obligations you may have under FIPVCC.

In some cases, your counsel may ask Sydecar to delegate signature responsibilities to you, the Deal Lead. Please contact operations@sydecar.io if that is the case.