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To look up an Indiana company, use INBiz Business Search, run by the Indiana Secretary of State's Business Services Division. Searching is free. The form takes a business name, business ID, filing number, registered agent name or incorporator or governing person name. INBiz is also where Indiana businesses file their formation papers, reports and changes.
Running an Indiana business search on INBiz
Pick a match type first: Contains, Starts With or Exact Match. Contains is the most forgiving if you only know part of the name. Exact Match is quicker when you have the full legal name. The Advanced Search narrows results by entity type, status, name type (legal, assumed, reserved or former name) and address.
The Secretary of State gives a few tips for name searches:
- Use the partial word search to see more variations of a name.
- Search the singular form only. Partial word searches then pick up plurals too.
- If the name has "and" or "&", run it both ways.
To find the people behind a company, search by registered agent or by incorporator or governing person. Our registered agent lookup guide and business owner lookup guide show how far that gets you in other states too.
What an Indiana business record tells you
Click the Business ID in the results to open the Business Details page. Besides the name, type, agent and address, it shows the date the next Business Entity Report is due. That makes it the quickest way to check whether a company is current.
The status filter lists many terms. Among them are Active, Admin Dissolved, Inactive, Cancelled, Voluntarily Dissolved, Revoked, Withdrawn and Merged. Active means the entity is current on its business entity reports and has a valid registered agent. Admin Dissolved applies to Indiana companies that stopped filing or lost their agent. Revoked is the matching status for a foreign company. Our business entity status guide covers what each kind of status means for a deal.
Indiana name rules and reservations
An LLC name must contain "limited liability company", "L.L.C." or "LLC". A corporation needs a word such as corporation, incorporated, company or limited, or one of their abbreviations. Under IC 23-0.5-3-1, a new name must be distinguishable on the records of the Secretary of State from names already in use.
INBiz explains what does not count as a difference:
- business identifiers such as Inc., LLC or LLP
- the articles the, an or a
- punctuation, capitals, plurals and possessives
- hyphens or joined words
"And" and "&" are treated as the same word. So are Arabic, Roman and spelled-out numbers. The name availability check is preliminary only. A name is not confirmed until the filing is processed. See our guide on checking LLC name availability.
To hold a name, file a reservation on INBiz. The statutory fee is $10 and the name is held for renewable 120 day periods. Names of dissolved or revoked companies stay protected for 120 days.
Keeping an Indiana company in good standing
Indiana's report is the Business Entity Report and it is due every other year. The first one is due two years after the business is formed or registered. After that it falls in the anniversary month, and you have until the end of that month. The INBiz report page lists the fee as $32 on INBiz or $50 by paper for a for-profit business. Nonprofits pay $22 online or $20 on paper. Reminder emails go out 90 and 30 days before the due date.
INBiz says there are no late fees. Instead, a company that ignores its notices is administratively dissolved, or revoked if it is foreign. Reinstatement starts with a tax clearance from the Department of Revenue, which can take 4 to 6 weeks. The statutory reinstatement fee is $20 online.
Proof of status is a Certificate of Existence. The statute sets $15 for an electronic request. The Secretary of State's fee analysis lists an extra $11 INBiz enhanced access fee. Certificates are emailed within minutes. Our certificate of good standing guide compares other states.
Formation fees in the Indiana Code, Title 23 are $75 online or $100 on paper for an LLC or a corporation. A nonprofit pays $20 online. Registering a foreign for-profit entity costs $75 online or $125 on paper. Online LLC articles also carry a $20 INBiz enhanced access fee.
Bulk data from the Indiana Secretary of State
Indiana sells its data. A monthly list of new businesses costs $35. A one-time download of the full file is $8,000. The full file with a subscription costs $9,500, and each monthly update is then $500. The fee analysis notes that anyone can search the same data free online.
Starting a company here? Read our guide on how to start an LLC in Indiana and the Indiana registered agent rules.
DBA and assumed names in Indiana
Indiana calls a DBA an assumed business name, and the office depends on who is filing. Under IC 23-0.5-3-4, an individual or a general partnership files a certificate with the recorder of each county where it has a place of business or an office. The recorder keeps an alphabetical index of these certificates and sets its fee under state law. A corporation, LLC, limited partnership or other filing entity files with the Secretary of State instead.
The fee chapter sets the state price per name. A for-profit entity pays $20 for each assumed name on an electronic application and $30 on paper. A nonprofit corporation pays $10 online or $26 on paper. Cancelling an assumed business name has no fee. An entity cannot use an indicator such as Inc., Corp., LLC, LP or LLP in an assumed name if it does not fit the entity type.
Because the two groups file in different places, the INBiz search above shows entity filings, and a sole owner's certificate sits in county records. The Advanced Search lets you filter by name type, including assumed names. Our DBA search guide explains the difference, and how to file a DBA gives the steps. If you want liability protection rather than a trade name, compare DBA vs LLC and read the Indiana LLC guide. Check a name first with the LLC name search guide.
Also see our guides to the Indiana business license.