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These guides explain how to use US business records: the state registers that hold every LLC and corporation, and the federal sources that fill some of the gaps. Each one covers a single task, from finding a company to reading its status or checking a name before you file. They link to the official record every time, because the state's own page is the only one that counts.
Find a company
Use these when you have a name, a person or a number and need the record behind it. Begin with the Secretary of State business search guide, which explains which office keeps the register in each state. Several states do not use the Secretary of State at all. The LLC lookup guide covers matching the right record when names look alike.
When the record is thin, the business owner lookup guide shows the other public files that can name the people behind a company, and the registered agent lookup guide explains who receives its legal papers. The EIN lookup guide covers where a federal tax ID can and cannot be found. If you do not know the state, the nationwide business search guide explains how to search across states.
Check a record
Once you have found a company, these guides help you read what the state says about it. The status guide explains words like delinquent, forfeited and revoked, with a table. The certificate of good standing guide covers how to prove a company is current. The dissolved business search guide covers closed companies and reinstatement. The annual report lookup guide helps you read the filing history, and the foreign vs domestic entity guide explains why one company can have records in several states.
Names
If you are forming a company, start with how to check if an LLC name is available. Then read the LLC name rules for the endings and words states restrict. A name reservation holds a name while you prepare. The DBA search guide covers trade names filed with counties and states, and the LLC name search guide covers searching a name across several states.
State guides
Each state works a little differently. Our state guides, such as Delaware, Florida, Texas and Washington, DC, give the local office, its search, the status words it uses and the official sources for its fees and rules. When you are ready to form a company, the Start your LLC page walks through the filing.