Business entity search
Secretary of State Business Search
Every state keeps its own public registry of LLCs, corporations and other legal entities. Pick a state to reach its official business search and our state-specific guide.
At a glance
- All 50 state registries, one directory
- Free to use — no account
- Independent — not a government site
Find your state’s business search
Flagship state registries
- Illinois
- Florida sunbiz
- New York
- Texas taxable entity search / SOSDirect
- California california business search
High-demand states
More state registries
Remaining states
Records on file
- SEC-registered companies
- 99
- Matched to their state of incorporation from SEC EDGAR filings.
- States with company records
- 10
- State pages list each state’s most recently filing companies.
Data: SEC EDGAR, as of . State registry records live on each state’s page.
The basics
What is a Secretary of State business search?
When an LLC, corporation, limited partnership or nonprofit is formed in a US state — or registers to do business there from out of state — it files with that state’s business filing office. In most states that office sits under the Secretary of State; a few states assign it to a different agency. Every one of those offices maintains a public registry of the entities on its books, and nearly all of them offer a free online search. That search is what people mean by a Secretary of State business search — whether they call it an SOS business search, a business entity search, an LLC lookup, or a business name search, it is the same task: pulling a company’s official record from the state where it is registered.
There is no single federal registry of US companies — each state keeps its own, under its own name, on its own website, with its own search quirks. That is why this hub is organized state by state: pick the state where the company was formed or does business, and our state guide takes you to the official search along with that state’s filing-office specifics.
What you’ll find
What a state business record holds
The exact fields vary by state, but a registry record typically shows the entity’s exact legal name, its type (LLC, corporation, LP, nonprofit and so on), a state-assigned filing or entity number, the date it was formed or registered, its current status, and the name and address of its registered agent — the person or company designated to receive legal documents on its behalf. Many states also list a principal office address, the names of officers or managers where the state collects them, and a filing history; some publish scanned images of the underlying documents. Because the registry is the state’s official record, it is the standard first stop for verifying that a company legally exists, checking who its registered agent is, or confirming a name is distinguishable before forming a new entity.
Reading the record
Entity status and good standing
Every record carries a status, and the vocabulary differs from state to state. An active (or “good standing”) entity is current on its state obligations — most commonly the periodic report and fee the state requires. An entity that falls behind can be marked delinquent and eventually administratively dissolved, revoked or forfeited by the state; one that closes down voluntarily shows as dissolved, withdrawn or terminated. Banks, lenders and counterparties often ask for a certificate of good standing (some states call it a certificate of existence or of status) — a document the filing office issues to confirm the entity’s standing as of a given date. The search result tells you the status; the certificate proves it. Each of our state guides covers how that state labels these statuses and where to order the certificate.
Read how RegistryAtlas works — where the data on each state page comes from and how pages are reviewed before they publish — or see data sources & reuse for the official sources behind every figure on the site.