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New York's register is run by the Division of Corporations at the Department of State, usually shortened to DOS. Its public tool is the Corporation and Business Entity Database, sometimes called the DOS public inquiry search. You search by entity name or by DOS ID number, and the DOS fee schedule lists no charge for using it. It covers business and not-for-profit corporations, limited partnerships, LLCs, limited liability partnerships and some other business types, plus assumed name filings for corporations, LLCs and limited partnerships. If you typed "New York secretary of state business search", this database is what you want, and the Department of State is the right office for it.
Running a New York LLC and corporation search on the DOS database
The DOS search page lays the form out in fields, and each one changes your results:
- Search By sets whether you are looking for a name or an ID.
- Search Functionality controls name matching. Begins with needs the first word right. Contains finds your words anywhere in the name, which helps when the company is known by a later word.
- Entity Type lets you filter by status, for example active only. Leave it open if you are checking an old or closed company.
- Entity List sets the kind of entity: corporation, LLC, limited partnership and so on.
The DOS ID is the most exact route, and you need it anyway to file a Biennial Statement online, so keep it with your company papers.
If you cannot find the company
Switch from begins with to contains, take off the status filter, and try other entity types in the Entity List. A trade name may only appear as an assumed name filing, so search that word too, and see our DBA search guide for other places trade names are filed. Corporations that went out of existence decades ago, before the start of the computerized records, sit in manual inactive files at the Department of State instead. The DOS also notes it relies on what filers give it, so details may be incomplete.
What the record tells you
A record shows the entity's status and filing history, along with the address where the Secretary of State forwards legal papers. New York has no long list of status words. An entity is shown as active or inactive, and a corporation or LLC that misses its Biennial Statement is shown as past due in that filing. That past due note also appears on any Certificate of Status the DOS issues.
For people behind a company, New York is thin. A corporation's Biennial Statement names its chief executive officer. An LLC's statement only gives a mailing address for service of process, so members and managers stay off the record. Our business owner lookup guide covers other routes.
Name rules, reservations and publication
Under Limited Liability Company Law section 204, an LLC name must contain "Limited Liability Company" written out in full, or "L.L.C." or "LLC". It must be distinguishable from every domestic LLC, every authorized foreign LLC and their fictitious names on the DOS index. Section 204 also lists restricted words, and some need approval from another state agency first.
DOS will run a formal name availability search for $5 per name, and its answer only holds for the moment the search was done. To hold a name, file a reservation for $20. It lasts 60 days, and DOS can extend it for up to two more periods of 60 days each. Our name availability guide covers the checks to run before you pay.
New York adds a step few states have. Under section 206, a new LLC must publish its articles or a notice once a week for six weeks in two newspapers named by the county clerk, within 120 days. You then file a Certificate of Publication for $50. Miss the deadline and the LLC's authority to do business is suspended. Its contracts stay valid, and the suspension is lifted once proof of publication is filed.
Staying current with the DOS
Corporations and LLCs file a Biennial Statement every two years, in the calendar month the company was first filed, for $9. You cannot file early, and DOS sends an email at the start of that month if it has an address. Corporations also file franchise tax reports with the state tax department every year, even if they did no business.
To prove standing, request a Certificate of Status, also called a Certificate of Good Standing or Certificate of Existence. It costs $25 and is ordered by written request, by mail, in person or by email. Expedited handling adds $25 for 24 hours, $75 for same day or $150 for 2 hours. See our certificate of good standing guide.
Bulk data
New York publishes entity data free on its open data portal. The Active Corporations dataset is updated monthly and covers active corporations, LLCs, LPs and LLPs, with separate weekly filing and status history sets.
Starting a company here? Read our guide on how to start an LLC in New York and the New York registered agent rules.
Also see our guides to the New York DBA and New York business license.