LLC Name Search: How to Look Up Any US Company

Why is there no national LLC database?

LLCs are created under state law, not federal law, so each state maintains its own register. A company formed in Texas appears only in the Texas register; a Delaware company appears only in Delaware's. There is no US equivalent of the UK's single Companies House index.

The practical consequence is that you must know - or guess - which state formed the company before you can find it. If you are checking a supplier or counterparty, the state is usually printed on their invoice, contract or website footer, and the company name itself often ends with the state's required designator.

This also means a name can legally exist in several states at once. Two unrelated companies can both be called Acme Consulting LLC if one is registered in Florida and the other in Nevada. State registers prevent duplicates within a state, not across the country - which is a trademark question, not a formation one.

How do I search for an LLC in a specific state?

Go to the Secretary of State - or in some states, the Division of Corporations or Corporations Commission - for the state in question, and use its business entity search. The reliable way to find it is to search for the state name plus "Secretary of State business entity search" and use the official .gov result rather than an ad.

A few of the most-searched states run their lookups at recognisable official addresses: Florida uses Sunbiz, California uses bizfileOnline through the Secretary of State, and Delaware runs its entity search through the Division of Corporations. Texas splits the function between the Secretary of State's SOSDirect system and the Comptroller's taxable-entity search, which is why Texas searches often return two different-looking tools.

Every official state search is free to use for basic entity information. Sites charging for a company lookup are reselling public records you can obtain yourself in under a minute.

• Search "[state] Secretary of State business entity search" and use the .gov result.
• Search the exact registered name, or a distinctive word from it - not the trading name.
• Basic entity information is always free on the official register.

What does an LLC search actually tell you?

A typical entity record returns the company's exact legal name, its filing or entity number, formation date, home state, current status, and its registered agent with that agent's address. Most states also list the filing history, so you can see when annual reports were filed or missed.

Status is the field that matters most and the one people skim past. Active or good standing means filings are current. Terminated, forfeited, administratively dissolved or revoked means the state has taken action for non-compliance, usually unpaid fees or missed reports. Signing a contract with an administratively dissolved company is a genuine risk worth checking for.

What the search generally will not give you is ownership. Many states do not require members to be named on public filings at all, and Wyoming, New Mexico, Delaware and Nevada are chosen specifically because ownership stays off the record. The registered agent shown is a service address, not the owner.

How do I check whether my LLC name is available?

Use the same search before you file. If your intended name returns no active match in that state, it is likely available - though the final decision belongs to the state at the moment you file.

States reject names that are not distinguishable from an existing one, and small differences usually do not count. Adding punctuation, changing LLC to L.L.C., pluralising a word, or swapping and for an ampersand will typically still read as the same name. Words implying banking, insurance or a licensed profession are restricted in most states and require approval.

Name availability in one state tells you nothing about trademark rights. A state can approve your name while another business holds a federal trademark that stops you using it commercially. If the name matters to your brand, search the USPTO trademark database as a separate step - clearing the register is not the same as clearing the mark.

• Clearing the state register is not clearing a trademark.
• Minor punctuation or spelling changes rarely make a name distinguishable.
• Restricted words - bank, insurance, licensed professions - need approval.

What if you do not know which state formed the company?

Start with the evidence you already hold. Invoices, contracts, terms of service and website footers usually name the formation state, and a US company's own paperwork almost always states it somewhere.

If you have none of that, check the largest and most common formation states first - Delaware, because so many companies incorporate there regardless of where they operate, then the state where the business physically operates. Companies also register as foreign entities in states where they do business, so a company formed in Delaware may also appear in California's register with a note that its home state is Delaware.

For a foreign-owned company where you are the owner and have lost the details, your EIN confirmation letter from the IRS and your original formation documents will both name the state. If you used a formation service, the state is on your order.