Every state keeps a public registry of the LLCs and corporations formed or registered there, and every one of them can be searched online. The hard part is finding the official tool. Type “secretary of state business search” into Google and a good share of the results are third-party lookup sites that repackage the same public data, sometimes behind a paywall. The table below skips them and links straight to each state’s own search page. We checked every link in September 2026.
One thing to know before you start: not every state runs its registry through a Secretary of State. Arizona uses its Corporation Commission, Virginia its State Corporation Commission, Maryland its Department of Assessments and Taxation, Michigan its Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Wisconsin its Department of Financial Institutions, and New York its Department of State. Texas splits the job between the Secretary of State and the Comptroller. The “Run by” column tells you who you are actually dealing with.
Official business entity search, state by state
Where we have written a full guide to a state’s search, it’s linked in the last column. Those guides cover the quirks the search page itself won’t explain.
| State | Official search | Run by | Our guides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Business entity search | Secretary of State | |
| Alaska | Corporations database | Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing | |
| Arizona | eCorp entity search | Arizona Corporation Commission | |
| Arkansas | Corporation search | Secretary of State | |
| California | bizfile Online | Secretary of State | Search guide · LLC guide |
| Colorado | Business database search | Secretary of State | |
| Connecticut | Business search | Secretary of the State | |
| Delaware | General Information Name Search | Division of Corporations | Search guide · LLC guide |
| Florida | Sunbiz | Division of Corporations | Search guide · LLC guide |
| Georgia | eCorp business search | Secretary of State, Corporations Division | Search guide · LLC guide |
| Hawaii | Hawaii Business Express | DCCA Business Registration Division | |
| Idaho | SOSbiz business search | Secretary of State | |
| Illinois | Business entity search | Secretary of State | |
| Indiana | INBiz business search | Secretary of State | |
| Iowa | Business entity search | Secretary of State | |
| Kansas | Business entity search | Secretary of State | |
| Kentucky | Business entity search | Secretary of State | |
| Louisiana | Commercial search | Secretary of State | |
| Maine | Corporate name search | Secretary of State | |
| Maryland | Business Express entity search | Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) | |
| Massachusetts | Corporations search | Secretary of the Commonwealth | |
| Michigan | Business entity search | Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) | |
| Minnesota | Business filings search | Secretary of State | |
| Mississippi | Business search | Secretary of State | |
| Missouri | Business entity search | Secretary of State | |
| Montana | Business search | Secretary of State | |
| Nebraska | Corporate and business search | Secretary of State | |
| Nevada | Business entity search | Secretary of State | Search guide · LLC guide |
| New Hampshire | QuickStart business inquiry | Secretary of State | |
| New Jersey | Business name search | Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services | |
| New Mexico | Business search | Secretary of State | Search guide · LLC guide |
| New York | Corporation and Business Entity Database | Department of State | Search guide |
| North Carolina | Business registration search | Secretary of State | |
| North Dakota | FirstStop business search | Secretary of State | |
| Ohio | Business search | Secretary of State | |
| Oklahoma | Corporation search | Secretary of State | |
| Oregon | Business registry search | Secretary of State, Corporation Division | |
| Pennsylvania | Business search | Department of State | |
| Rhode Island | Corporations database | Secretary of State | |
| South Carolina | Business entity search | Secretary of State | |
| South Dakota | Business filing search | Secretary of State | |
| Tennessee | TNBEAR business search | Secretary of State | |
| Texas | Franchise Tax Account Status Search (free) | Comptroller; the Secretary of State’s SOSDirect charges $1 per search | Search guide · LLC guide |
| Utah | Business entity search | Division of Corporations and Commercial Code | |
| Vermont | Business search | Secretary of State | |
| Virginia | Clerk’s Information System | State Corporation Commission | |
| Washington | Corporations and Charities Filing System | Secretary of State | |
| West Virginia | Business organization search | Secretary of State | |
| Wisconsin | Corporate records search | Department of Financial Institutions | |
| Wyoming | WyoBiz filing search | Secretary of State | Search guide · LLC guide |
What an LLC lookup won’t tell you
The status field is the part people misread. “Active” usually means the entity exists and hasn’t been dissolved. It doesn’t always mean the company is in good standing, and some states make that gap easy to miss.
- In California, an LLC can show Active with the Secretary of State while the Franchise Tax Board has suspended it. Our California business search guide explains how to check both sides.
- In New York, an LLC that never completed the newspaper publication requirement loses its authority to do business, and the free database won’t flag it. The New York guide covers how to confirm real standing.
- Delaware’s free search doesn’t show status at all. You pay $10 or $20 for that, as covered in our Delaware business entity search guide.
Two more things catch people out. Trade names usually sit in a separate registry, so a business you can see on a storefront may not show up in the entity search at all (here’s how a DBA works). And a name that doesn’t appear, or appears as inactive, isn’t automatically free for your own LLC. New York’s Department of State says outright that its search shouldn’t be used to decide whether a name is available.
When you need proof rather than a screenshot, say for a bank, a lender, or registering in a second state, order a status certificate from the same agency. Each state calls it something different; our certificate of good standing guide explains what it is and when you need one.
FAQ
Is a Secretary of State business search free?
In most states, yes. Texas is the main exception on the Secretary of State side: SOSDirect charges $1 per search, which is why the table links the Comptroller’s free lookup instead. Paid extras such as certified copies and status certificates exist everywhere.
Can I look up an LLC by the owner’s name?
Usually not. Most states only search by entity name or file number, and many LLC filings don’t list the members at all. Florida is one of the exceptions: Sunbiz lets you search by officer or registered agent, which finds the managers named on the filings. Our Sunbiz guide shows how.
Why can’t I find a company I know exists?
Try fewer words and drop the suffix (LLC, Inc.). If it still doesn’t appear, the company may have been formed in another state and never registered where it operates, or it may be trading under a DBA filed in a separate database.
Which agency do I file with to form an LLC?
The same one that runs the search in the table above. If you’re still choosing a state, our LLC cost by state breakdown compares what it costs to form and keep one.