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The Louisiana Secretary of State's Commercial Division holds the records for corporations, LLCs, partnerships, trade names and trademarks. The public lookup is the Commercial Database, reached from the business filings search page. You search by business name. If you need the data inside your own software, the office offers a paid Commercial API.
Louisiana LLC and corporation search in the Commercial Database
Type the name you are looking for without its corporate ending. The Commercial Division FAQ gives this exact advice: leave out L.L.C. or Inc., then click Search. You get a list of matching names along with similar ones, which helps when you only know part of a name or are unsure of the spelling.
Click "details" beside a business to open its full record. A few points are specific to Louisiana:
- A search is only preliminary. The office applies many name rules and runs a more thorough check when documents are filed.
- You can also phone the Commercial Division and ask staff for a preliminary name check.
- Trade names count. The FAQ says trade names do conflict with LLC and corporation names, so a registered trade name can block your company name.
For a general walk through of name checks, see how to check LLC name availability.
What the business record shows
The details page shows all of the information the office holds on the business. That includes the registered agent: Louisiana requires every registered business to have an agent with a physical address in the state, and the agent's name and address are public on the Secretary of State's website. Our registered agent lookup guide explains how to use that.
The record also helps with the annual report. Once the report is due, or up to 4 weeks before, a bar at the top of the page reads "Print Annual Report Form for Filing". If a company has been revoked, its name cannot be used by anyone else until 3 years after the revocation date. To check what a status means for a deal, see business entity status.
Names, reservations and trade names
Under R.S. 12:1306, an LLC name must contain "limited liability company" or the abbreviation L.L.C. or L.C. A low-profit LLC uses "low-profit limited liability company", L3C or l3c instead. The name may not contain the phrase "doing business as", and it must be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records from other corporations, partnerships, LLCs, reserved names and registered trade names.
To hold a name before you file, send a name reservation form by fax or by mail with a check or money order. It costs $25 and holds the name for 120 days. A transfer or cancellation of a reservation is also $25 each. The FAQ is frank that you only need one if you expect a long wait before filing or worry that someone may file the same name first. Once your articles or trade name are filed, the name is no longer open to others. Our name reservation guide compares holds in other states.
Louisiana splits DBAs from trade names. A DBA is filed with the parish Clerk of Court. A trade name, trademark or service mark is registered with the Secretary of State for $95. For a wider search across states, try our DBA search guide.
Fees and keeping the charter in good standing
New fees took effect on October 1 under Act 921 of the 2026 Regular Legislative Session. The fee schedule now lists:
- Articles of Organization for an LLC or low profit LLC: $125
- Articles of Incorporation, business or nonprofit: $95
- Foreign LLC application: $185, and foreign corporation: $155
- Annual report: $35, or $10 for a nonprofit
- Expedite within 24 hours: $35, or $60 for documents processed while you wait
The annual report has to be filed every year, even when nothing has changed. You can file online or send the signed form by fax or mail. There is no late fee on the schedule. Instead, the office sends a Notice of Intent to Revoke. From the date of that notice you have 30 days to file, or 60 days for a foreign corporation or LLC. After that the charter is revoked, and reinstatement filing fees are much higher than the report itself.
A Certificate of Good Standing can be ordered online, or by fax or mail with a check or money order. An online certificate carries a code that lets you print more copies with the same date for 120 days.
Bulk data and the Commercial API
Louisiana has no free bulk file of business records. For machine access it sells a subscription to the Commercial API, which lets your own systems search business information directly. The office publishes an implementation guide for developers on the same page.
Starting a company here? Read our guide on how to start an LLC in Louisiana and the Louisiana registered agent rules.
DBA and assumed names in Louisiana
A Louisiana DBA is not filed with the Secretary of State. The office says DBAs are filed at the parish level with the local Clerk of Court, so the Clerk of Court in your parish is the office to ask about the form, the fee and any search. We did not read a parish clerk page, so we link none, and we know of no statewide DBA index on the Secretary of State's site.
Do not mix this up with a trade name. A trade name is a word, symbol or name used to identify a business, and it is registered with the Secretary of State. The fee schedule lists the registration at $95, with a name reservation for a trade name at $25. The applicant can be a person, corporation, LLC or partnership. The office also warns that trade names do conflict with LLC and corporation names, so check the Commercial Database before you file.
If you have formed an LLC and want to operate under another name, ask your parish clerk first. For the general steps, read how to file a DBA, the DBA versus LLC guide and our DBA search guide. The Louisiana business license guide covers geauxBIZ and local permits.
Also see our guides to the Louisiana business license.