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Vermont companies are registered with the Vermont Secretary of State. Its Business Services Division, based at 128 State Street in Montpelier, runs the register. The lookup tool sits in the office's online business filing system at bizfilings.vermont.gov. The same system takes new filings and reports.
Vermont LLC and corporation search on bizfilings
Go to the business search and type the company name. The Secretary of State announced bizfilings as its new online business filing system, so expect older guides to point to tools that have since moved.
Some habits help:
- Search the core words. Vermont LLC names can end in "limited liability company", "limited company", "L.L.C.", "LLC", "L.C." or "LC", and "Ltd." or "Co." can stand in for words inside that ending. Leaving the ending off catches all of these.
- If you are checking a social enterprise, try "L3C" as well. Vermont law gives the low-profit limited liability company its own required abbreviation.
- If a search on the full name finds nothing, cut it down to one or two distinctive words.
Our LLC lookup guide has more search tips that work across states. If you are trying to find the people behind a Vermont company, see our business owner lookup guide.
What to check in a Vermont record
When you open a record, start with the exact legal name and its ending. A contract signed by "Green Mountain Supply LLC" should match a record with that ending, not a similar name. Next, see whether the company was formed in Vermont or is a foreign company working under a certificate of authority, since the two pay different annual report fees. Then look at its status. If you need written proof, order a certificate of existence rather than relying on a screenshot. Our guide to business entity status explains what to do when a record does not look active.
Vermont name rules and reservations
Under 11 V.S.A. § 4005, a Vermont LLC name must be distinguishable in the records of the Secretary of State from the name of every entity formed or registered in the state, and from names reserved under the business statutes. There are two ways around a clash. The current holder can consent in a signed record and promise to change its own name. Or the applicant can file a certified copy of a final court judgment confirming its right to use the name. The same rules apply to a foreign LLC that holds or applies for a certificate of authority. A person planning a postsecondary school needs approval from the State Board of Education before registering the name.
You can hold a name before you file. Reservations now fall under 11 V.S.A. § 1652, added by Act No. 10 of 2025. It gives the applicant exclusive use for 120 days and lets the holder transfer the reservation by filing a notice. For an LLC, 11 V.S.A. § 4012 sets the fee at $25 for an application for reserved name and $20 for a notice of transfer. Our name reservation guide and LLC name availability guide walk through the checks to do first.
Fees for staying in good standing
Vermont's LLC fees are written into 11 V.S.A. § 4012. The figures that matter most once a company is running:
- Annual report: $45 for a domestic LLC, $170 for a foreign LLC
- Application for a certificate of existence or authorization: $35
- Certified copy of a filed LLC document: $25
- Reinstatement: $35
- Amendment of articles or certificate of authority: $35
- Change of designated agent or office: $35, capped at $1,000 per filer per calendar year
Vermont's name for a good standing certificate is a certificate of existence. A foreign LLC receives a certificate of authorization instead. Our certificate of good standing guide explains when lenders and other states ask for one, and our LLC fees by state page compares Vermont's $155 formation fee with the rest of the country.
Bulk data
If you need Vermont business records in bulk, ask the Business Services Division directly.
Registered agent in Vermont
Vermont calls its registered agent a designated agent, and an LLC also names a designated office. To change either, you file a statement of change of designated agent or designated office. The fee under 11 V.S.A. section 4012 is $35, capped at $1,000 per filer per calendar year. The cap helps a filer who manages many companies.
If an agent wants out, the agent files a statement of resignation. That filing has no fee. Name a new agent before the old one leaves so the company is never without one.
The same statute sets a $35 fee each time process is served on the Secretary of State under the LLC chapter. The party that causes the service can recover the fee as costs if it wins. Keeping the agent and office current is the way to avoid that route.
The pages we could read do not say who may serve as the agent or what address counts, so we do not state those rules here. Ask the Business Services Division or a Vermont lawyer. To compare how other states handle agents, see our registered agent overview and our guide to being your own agent. The Vermont formation steps are in our Vermont LLC guide.
Starting a company here? Read our guide on how to start an LLC in Vermont.
Business license in Vermont
The Vermont pages we could read name no general state business license. They describe tax registration and an online service center instead. The Department of Taxes says that most businesses operating in Vermont must first register with it. Its business tax registration page adds that Sales and Use, Meals and Rooms, and Withholding each need a separate business tax account.
For new businesses, the Department of Taxes, the Secretary of State and the Department of Labor have partnered on an online business service center. There you register the business and apply for the licensing and insurance you need to operate in Vermont. After you register the business with the Secretary of State, you are offered the option to register for a business tax account. We read an older saved copy of that page, so confirm the steps on the live site before you rely on them.
Your LLC's yearly cost sits with the Secretary of State and is separate from tax accounts. The annual report for a Vermont LLC is $45 under the statute. Licenses for a trade or profession come from other agencies, and we did not read those pages. We read no local licensing rules.
Next steps: form the entity (see our Vermont LLC guide), get your EIN, then register for the tax accounts that apply. To check a tax number later, see state tax ID lookup and the business license lookup guide.