If you want to confirm that a Delaware LLC or corporation is real, still registered, and reachable through its listed agent, the tool is the Division of Corporations’ own database at icis.corp.delaware.gov. A delaware business entity search there is free and usually returns a match within seconds. What the results page leaves out is the part most people actually came for.
Unlike most states we’ve covered, Delaware’s free search doesn’t tell you whether an entity is in good standing. The page says so directly, in plain text, right above the search box. Here’s how the tool works, what it actually returns, and where to go when a free lookup isn’t enough.
How to search Delaware’s entity database
Go to icis.corp.delaware.gov and use the General Information Name Search. You can search by entity name or by file number if you already have one from a notice or a filed document. The search isn’t case sensitive, and if you want an exact match rather than a broad list of similar names, wrap the name in quotation marks.
Results come back in a table with file numbers next to entity names. Click a name and you land on an information page showing the entity name, file number, incorporation or formation date, registered agent name and address, and residency (domestic or foreign). The page also carries a warning worth reading: the tool prohibits data mining, and running repeated automated searches can get your access suspended.
What the free search actually returns, and what it leaves out
Delaware’s own instructions for this tool spell out exactly what you get for free: entity name, file number, formation date, registered agent name, address, phone number, and residency. That’s the full list. Current status isn’t on it.
The search results even carry a disclaimer that the list includes both active and inactive entities mixed together, and that appearing in the results “is not an indication of the current status of an entity.” Compare that to Florida’s Sunbiz or Wyoming’s WyoBiz, both covered elsewhere on this site, where the free search shows an Active or Delinquent label right on the results page. Delaware doesn’t. You can confirm an entity was formed and find its registered agent for free. You cannot confirm, through this same tool, whether it’s still in good standing.
Void and forfeited: what they mean, and why they catch owners off guard
Two status words show up often enough in Delaware entity records to be worth knowing, even though the free search won’t display either one directly.
Void applies differently depending on entity type, which is where a lot of confusion starts. For a corporation, void follows a failure to file the annual report that corporations owe alongside their franchise tax. LLCs don’t file an annual report at all, a distinction covered in more depth in our Delaware franchise tax guide. For an LLC, void instead follows extended nonpayment of the flat yearly tax, currently $400 under the rate change that took effect this year. There’s no single trigger that applies to every entity type the same way.
Forfeited means something else again: the entity’s registered agent resigned and nothing replaced it. Registered agents typically resign over unpaid fees, so a forfeited status is often the first visible sign that a company has stopped paying its agent, well before any tax issue shows up.
Both statuses carry the same real-world consequence for an LLC: the liability shield that’s the whole point of forming one stops holding while the entity sits in that condition.
Getting real proof of status
When the free search isn’t enough, Delaware sells an actual status check at corp.delaware.gov/onlinestatus. Two tiers are available: $10 for status alone, or $20 for status plus the entity’s last five filings, franchise tax assessment, and authorized share count where it applies. Neither option produces an official certificate of good standing. That’s a separate request, submitted through Delaware’s document filing service and typically mailed back.
If an LLC does turn up void, reinstatement means paying whatever back tax is owed, a $200 penalty, 1.5 percent monthly interest on the combined balance, and a $200 reinstatement fee on top. None of that is visible from the free name search either. It only shows up once you’ve paid for the status check or gone through the reinstatement filing itself.
If you’re checking an entity before doing business with it, the paid status check is the more reliable step. If you’re still deciding whether to form a Delaware LLC in the first place, see our Delaware LLC formation guide for what it actually costs going in.
Common questions about the Delaware business entity search
Is the Delaware business entity search free?
Yes. Searching by entity name or file number at icis.corp.delaware.gov costs nothing. Getting an actual status confirmation costs $10 or $20, and an official certificate of good standing costs more and has to be requested separately.
Why doesn’t the free search show an entity’s current status?
Delaware built it that way on purpose. The results page states directly that appearing in the search doesn’t indicate current status, and the fields it returns for free stop at entity name, file number, formation date, registered agent, and residency. Status is a paid add-on, not part of the base search.
What’s the difference between void and forfeited for a Delaware LLC?
Void follows extended nonpayment of the LLC’s flat annual tax. Forfeited follows the loss of a registered agent with nothing filed to replace it. Either one strips the liability protection an LLC exists to provide until it’s resolved.
Does a Delaware LLC have to file an annual report?
No. That requirement applies to corporations. LLCs pay a flat annual tax instead, with no report attached, as covered in our Delaware franchise tax guide.
How much does it cost to reinstate a void Delaware LLC?
The back tax owed, plus a $200 penalty, 1.5 percent monthly interest on the combined amount, and a separate $200 reinstatement fee.
