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Montana's register of corporations, LLCs, partnerships and assumed business names is run by the Secretary of State's Business Services Division. The search is part of the biz.sosmt.gov filing portal. You can search by business name, and a separate Principal Search finds businesses through an individual or organization tied to them. Both are free to use.
Montana LLC and corporation search on biz.sosmt.gov
The same portal handles new registrations, annual reports and changes. The division's Business Services page lists the search tools side by side:
- Business Name Search for the register itself.
- Principal Search for a person or organization named on a business record. This helps when you know who runs a company but not what it is called.
- Commercial Agents and Non-Commercial Agents searches, plus a downloadable commercial agent list, for registered agent questions.
Search on the core words of the name first, such as "Big Sky Outfitters" rather than the full name with its ending. If you run a company and want to file, sign in, find your record, click its name and open the Filing Actions button to pick the form. More general tips are in our LLC lookup guide, and the registered agent lookup guide explains what the agent field means.
What the Montana record shows
The division's own data layout shows what it keeps for each company: the business entity number, the name, the type and sub type, the date it was formed or registered in Montana, any term or expiration date, and the status. The status description uses wording such as Active Good Standing, Active Pending or Inactive Withdrawn. For an inactive company it also keeps the inactive reason, for example a voluntary dissolution, and any reviver or reinstatement date.
A company that ignores its annual report can lose its standing. The division sends an involuntary dissolution notice, and if the report is still not filed, Montana law requires the Secretary of State to dissolve the business. See business entity status for how to read these words across states.
LLC names and reservations in Montana
Under MCA 35-8-103, an LLC name must contain "limited liability company", "limited company" or one of the abbreviations "L.L.C.", "L.C.", "LLC" or "LC". "Limited" may be shortened to "Ltd." and "company" to "Co.". The name may not suggest the company is some other kind of business.
The same section says the name must be distinguishable on the records of the secretary of state from:
- corporations, nonprofits, limited partnerships and LLCs formed or reserved in Montana
- foreign entities registered or qualified to do business in the state
- assumed business names, trademarks, service marks and other registered or reserved names
- the name of a dissolved Montana corporation, for 120 days after its dissolution
To hold a name, file a name reservation. It costs $10, and under MCA 35-8-104 it lasts 120 days from filing and cannot be renewed. You can transfer a reserved name to someone else at no fee, but the transfer does not add time. Our name reservation guide compares this with other states.
Fees, reports and staying in good standing
Montana's fee sheet sets these formation fees:
- Articles of Organization for an LLC: $35, plus $50 for each series member in a series LLC
- Articles of Incorporation for a profit corporation: $35
- Nonprofit corporation: $20
- Foreign LLC certificate of authority: $70, plus $50 per series member
Every LLC and corporation files an annual report, due April 15. The fee sheet shows the report as waived when filed before April 15. Filed after that date, it costs $35. If a company has been dissolved, LLC reinstatement costs $35 plus $35 for each year of missed reports. Most businesses also need a Title 15 Certificate from the Montana Department of Revenue before they can be reinstated.
For proof of standing, a domestic company orders a Certificate of Existence for $5. A Certificate of Fact is $15 and certified copy requests are $10. For a faster turnaround, the division offers 24 hour processing for $20 and 1 hour processing for $100. Compare with other states on LLC fees by state.
Montana bulk records
Montana sells its corporate records as a bulk download at $0.02 per record. The file comes from the Secretary of State's SIMS Corporations System as comma delimited records, zipped, and the technical layout lists every field. New Business Entity Reports cost $80, or $80 a month as a subscription, and a Business Alert watchlist is $50 a year.
Starting a company here? Read our guide on how to start an LLC in Montana and the Montana registered agent rules.
Also see our guides to the Montana DBA and Montana business license.