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Delaware's register is kept by the Division of Corporations inside the Department of State, and its search runs on a system called ICIS. The General Information Name Search is free. It has two boxes only, Entity Name and File Number, and it returns the entity name, file number, incorporation or formation date, registered agent name, address and phone, and residency. Status is the one thing it leaves out. Lots of people look for a "Delaware secretary of state business search". The Division of Corporations sits inside the Department of State, so this is the right place for it.
Getting more from a Delaware LLC and corporation search
The tool is plain, so a few habits help:
- Case does not matter. The page says the field is not case sensitive.
- Use quotation marks for an exact name. Without them you get a wider list.
- Leave the ending off when you are unsure. A shorter name casts a wider net than one with the wrong suffix.
- Search by file number if you have it. It is the unique ID Delaware gives every entity it forms, qualifies or registers.
- Expect active and inactive results together. The search page warns that a result "is not an indication of the current status of an entity".
There is no search by officer, member, manager or registered agent. Delaware also forbids data mining and automated tools on the search, and repeated heavy searching can get your access suspended. If you need to know who stands behind a company, our business owner lookup guide covers the routes that exist outside the state register.
If the company is missing
Check the spelling and drop the ending. Try the file number. If the company was formed in another state, it only appears if it registered in Delaware as a foreign entity. A trading name will not show at all: the Division of Revenue now runs the statewide DBA registry through Delaware One Stop, and older DBAs filed with county Prothonotary offices sit on the Superior Court's historic DBA list.
Status words on a Delaware record
The free page does not show status, so you need the paid status check: $10 per entity for status, or $20 for status plus current franchise tax assessment and filing history. The ICIS glossary defines the words you will see:
- Good Standing: existence has not ended, voluntarily or administratively.
- Ceased Good Standing: annual taxes were not paid on time.
- Cancelled, Failure to Pay Tax: an LLC, LP or partnership left its annual tax unpaid for 3 years.
- Void, AR's or Tax Delinquent: a corporation unpaid on franchise tax for 1 year, or a foreign corporation without annual reports for 2 years.
- AR delinquent, Tax due and AR filed, Tax delinquent: corporations behind on the report, the tax, or both.
- Forfeited or Cancelled, Failure to appoint a R/A: the registered agent resigned and no new one was named within 30 days.
- Voluntarily Cancelled, Dissolved, Merged, Converted: the entity ended by its own filing.
The business entity status guide covers how to read a status and what to do next.
Delaware name rules and holding a name
Under 6 Del. C. section 18-102, an LLC name must contain "Limited Liability Company", "L.L.C." or "LLC". It must be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records from every corporation, partnership, LP, statutory trust, LLC and registered series formed, reserved or registered in Delaware. It may include words such as Company, Club, Foundation or Fund, and it may not contain "bank" unless it is a supervised bank or a qualifying subsidiary.
To check a name, use the separate Name Availability Search. You accept a disclaimer, pick the entity kind, then type the name without the ending. A reservation costs $75 and holds the name for 120 days. Under section 18-103, the same applicant can reserve it again for further 120-day periods or transfer it. See our name reservation guide for when a hold is worth paying for.
Taxes, reports and certificates
Delaware LLCs do not file an annual report. They pay a flat annual tax of $400 under section 18-1107(b), due on or before June 1. Late payment adds a $200 penalty, and interest runs at 1.5 percent a month on the tax and penalty. If the tax stays unpaid for 3 years, the certificate of formation is cancelled.
Corporations work differently. Every Delaware corporation files an Annual Report and pays franchise tax by March 1. The filing fee is $50 for a non-exempt domestic corporation and $25 for an exempt one, and a missed report costs $200. Notices go to each company's registered agent in December. Foreign corporations file by June 30 for $250. The Annual Report and Tax page has the methods used to calculate franchise tax.
For proof of standing, order a Certificate of Good Standing. A short form certificate of status costs $50 and a long form, which lists every filed document, costs $175. Same day and 24-hour service cost extra on the fee schedule. Our certificate of good standing guide covers who asks for which form.
Bulk data
Delaware offers no bulk download, data feed or subscription of entity records. The state open data portal carries only the Division's annual statistics.
Starting a company here? Read our guide on how to start an LLC in Delaware, the Delaware registered agent rules, a Delaware operating agreement guide and the Delaware LLC cost breakdown.
Also see our guides to the Delaware DBA and Delaware business license.