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North Carolina's business register is kept by the Business Registration Division of the Department of the Secretary of State. You look companies up on its Business Registration search. It has four ways in: company name, SOSID number, company officials and registered agents. The same page links to a separate assumed name (DBA) search and a list of new companies and changes.
Three settings for a North Carolina LLC and corporation search
The form has three settings worth getting right:
- What you search for. Company By Name for a business, Company by Secretary of State Identification Number (SOSID) when you have the number, Company Officials for a person tied to a company, or Registered Agents for the agent.
- Search type. Organization takes a business name. Individual gives you last, first and middle name boxes.
- How the words match. Starting With, All, Any or Exact Match.
If Exact Match finds nothing, switch to All or Any and drop the ending such as LLC. Starting With helps when you know how the name begins but not how it ends. The Company Officials search is the state's closest thing to an owner search. Our business owner lookup guide explains what it can and cannot tell you.
Trading names are kept apart. Use the "Search for Assumed Names (Doing Business As/DBA)" link on the same page, and see our DBA search guide for more.
Reading a North Carolina record
The annual report is the main public filing an LLC makes each year. Under G.S. 57D-2-24, each LLC's report gives the registered office address and county, the registered agent's name, the principal office address and phone number, the names, titles and business addresses of the principal company officials, and a short description of the business. An LLC can certify that nothing has changed instead of restating it. For agent searches, our registered agent lookup guide helps you read that part.
The status to watch for is administrative dissolution. The Secretary of State may dissolve an LLC that is 60 days late with its annual report or with fees, or that has gone 60 days or more without a registered agent or office. The LLC first gets a notice and 60 days to fix the problem. A dissolved LLC can apply for reinstatement for $100, but it must take a new name if someone else now holds a name that is not distinguishable. Our business entity status guide covers what dissolution means in practice.
North Carolina name rules and reservations
The name rules sit in Chapter 55D, Article 3 of the General Statutes, which the statute text sets out. An LLC name must contain "limited liability company", "L.L.C." or "LLC", or one of the combinations "ltd. liability co.", "limited liability co." or "ltd. liability company". It cannot suggest a purpose the law does not allow.
Under G.S. 55D-21 the name must be distinguishable upon the records of the Secretary of State from existing companies, foreign companies authorized here, and reserved or registered names. You can still use a similar name if the holder consents in writing and agrees to change its own name, or if you have a final court judgment giving you the right to it. Names of dissolved companies are held for a time. After an administrative dissolution, another entity cannot take the name for five years. After an ordinary dissolution the hold is 120 days. Our guide on checking LLC name availability helps you test a name first.
A reservation gives you exclusive use of the name for a nonrenewable 120-day period. For an LLC it costs $10. See our name reservation guide for how this compares.
Annual reports and good standing in North Carolina
Every North Carolina LLC and foreign LLC files an annual report. The first one is due by April 15 of the year after the articles take effect, or after a foreign LLC gets its certificate of authority, and then by April 15 each year. The LLC fee page lists the report at $200. Business corporations pay $25. No late fee appears on the fee pages. The risk is dissolution once the report is 60 days overdue. The Secretary of State also warns about vendors pushing early or priority annual report filing for extra fees.
Proof of standing comes as a Certificate of Existence, or a Certificate of Authorization for a foreign company. It costs $15. Formation costs $125 for Articles of Organization and $250 for a foreign LLC's Certificate of Authority. Our certificate of good standing guide explains when you need one.
Bulk data from North Carolina
Bulk data is sold by subscription. The Business Registration Division Master Files Subscription costs $2,000 per state fiscal year plus a one-time $750 set-up fee. The files are CSV, updated weekly, with a data dictionary on the FTP server. They include company officials, status of registration, a list of filings, stock information and name reservations.
Starting a company here? Read our guide on how to start an LLC in North Carolina, the North Carolina registered agent rules and a North Carolina operating agreement guide.
Also see our guides to the North Carolina DBA and North Carolina business license.