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Kentucky's business register is run by the Secretary of State's Business Filings and Records office in Frankfort. The Online Services page holds the searches. You can look up an organization by its name or identification number, or search by current officer, founding officer or initial director, or registered agent. The office says online records are live: there is no delay between a record being added and it showing up.
Four ways into a Kentucky LLC and corporation search
Most people start with the organization name. If you already have the ID number, use it instead, since it lands on one exact record.
The people searches are where Kentucky stands out. You can search by the name of a current officer, by a founding officer or initial director, or by registered agent. That makes it possible to find every company a person helps run, or every company an agent serves. For tracing the people behind a company, our business owner lookup and registered agent lookup guides go further.
Once you find the organization, you can open filings attached to it. Newer documents are available as scanned images, and older ones are added as they get scanned. A list of microfilm records is also online. Photocopies of papers that are not online cost $5.00 for up to five pages plus $0.50 per extra page, and the business records FAQ says requests are processed within three business days.
Active, inactive and standing
A Kentucky record pairs a status with a standing, which tells you more than the status alone:
- Inactive, good standing: the company filed articles of dissolution, changed its name or merged into another entity.
- Inactive, bad standing: the company did not file its annual report for the year, or its registered agent resigned and no new one was named. These entities will be administratively dissolved.
The record lists current officers as shown on the most recent annual report, plus the founding officers and initial board. It is not an ownership register. The office lists only current officers, directors of nonprofits, and managers or members of LLCs. See business entity status for what standing means in a deal.
Name checks and reservations
You can check whether a name is free through the online search, in writing, or by phone. A phone check does not hold the name. For that you file an application for reservation of name: $15 for 120 days, and the same fee renews it. Transferring a reservation costs $15 and cancelling one costs $10. If your name is not distinguishable from one already on record, an application to use an indistinguishable name costs $20.
LLC names must meet KRS 14A.3-010, which KRS 275.100 points to. An LLC name uses an ending such as "limited liability company", "limited company", LLC or LC. Read more in our how to check LLC name availability guide.
Doing business under another name? File a Certificate of Assumed Name with the Secretary of State for $20. Amending, withdrawing or renewing it costs $20 too.
Fees, the annual report and standing
The fee page sets Articles of Organization for an LLC at $40. Profit corporations pay $40 plus an organization tax based on authorized shares, at $0.01 per share for the first 20,000, with a $10 minimum for 1,000 shares or fewer. Nonprofit articles cost $8, and a foreign corporation or LLC pays $90 for a Certificate of Authority. Most filings other than annual reports are processed the same day, though it can take up to three business days.
Every entity doing business in Kentucky files an annual report by June 30 of each year after the year it was formed. The fee is $15. The report updates the address, members, managers, partners and officers, and it asks for no financial information. Missing June 30 puts the entity in bad standing. That can lead to administrative dissolution or, for a foreign entity, revocation of its authority. Reinstatement needs a packet with a reinstatement annual report, a $100 penalty and a letter of good standing from the Kentucky Revenue Cabinet, which the office can request for you.
Proof of status is a Certificate of Existence or Authorization. You can validate a certificate bought and printed online from the Online Services page.
Bulk data
Kentucky sells a Bulk Data Service through Kentucky.gov. Commercial users pay $2,000 a month for business records. Non-commercial users, such as researchers, pay no monthly fee but still sign the subscriber agreement. Files are tab delimited: full company and officer lists monthly, new filings daily and weekly, and changes daily.
Starting a company here? Read our guide on how to start an LLC in Kentucky and the Kentucky registered agent rules.
Also see our guides to the Kentucky DBA and Kentucky business license.