ClientVetter

Business Entity Search in All 50 States and DC

A business entity search tells you whether the company on your contract legally exists, where it was formed, and whether the state still considers it active. Every state keeps its own registry, usually at the Secretary of State, and each one names fields and statuses a little differently. This guide lists the filing office for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, explains what to read in a record, and shows how ClientVetter reads these registries for you when you check a client.

Archive room with shelves of bound state filings and a clerk pulling a binder

Why the registry is the first stop

Anyone can buy a domain and put a logo on a website. Forming a corporation or LLC leaves a public record with a legal name, a formation date, a registered agent and a status. Matching your client to that record answers three questions at once: is the name on the proposal a real legal entity, has it existed longer than your project brief, and is it in good standing with the state today. If the answer to any of these is no, you want to know before the work starts, not when the invoice is late.

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What to read in a business entity record

  • Exact legal name, including the suffix (LLC, Inc., Corp., LP), and any assumed or trade names

  • Entity type, such as limited liability company, corporation or limited partnership

  • State of formation and, for companies working elsewhere, any foreign registration in your client's home state

  • Formation or registration date, which tells you how long the entity has existed

  • Status, for example active, good standing, inactive, dissolved, administratively dissolved, forfeited or revoked

  • Registered agent, the person or service that accepts legal papers for the company

  • Filing history, including annual reports, amendments, mergers and reinstatements

If a status word is unclear, our llc lookup page explains what each common status means for payment risk.

Where each state keeps its business registry

StateFiling office for business entities
AlabamaSecretary of State
AlaskaDivision of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing
ArizonaArizona Corporation Commission
ArkansasSecretary of State
CaliforniaSecretary of State
ColoradoSecretary of State
ConnecticutSecretary of the State
DelawareDivision of Corporations, Department of State
District of ColumbiaDepartment of Licensing and Consumer Protection, Corporations Division
FloridaDivision of Corporations, Department of State
GeorgiaSecretary of State, Corporations Division
HawaiiBusiness Registration Division, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
IdahoSecretary of State
IllinoisSecretary of State, Department of Business Services
IndianaSecretary of State, Business Services Division
IowaSecretary of State
KansasSecretary of State
KentuckySecretary of State
LouisianaSecretary of State
MaineSecretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions
MarylandState Department of Assessments and Taxation
MassachusettsSecretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division
MichiganDepartment of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Corporations Division
MinnesotaSecretary of State
MississippiSecretary of State
MissouriSecretary of State
MontanaSecretary of State
NebraskaSecretary of State
NevadaSecretary of State
New HampshireSecretary of State, Corporation Division
New JerseyDivision of Revenue and Enterprise Services, Department of the Treasury
New MexicoSecretary of State
New YorkDepartment of State, Division of Corporations
North CarolinaSecretary of State
North DakotaSecretary of State
OhioSecretary of State
OklahomaSecretary of State
OregonSecretary of State, Corporation Division
PennsylvaniaDepartment of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations
Rhode IslandSecretary of State
South CarolinaSecretary of State
South DakotaSecretary of State
TennesseeSecretary of State
TexasSecretary of State, with franchise tax status at the Comptroller of Public Accounts
UtahDivision of Corporations and Commercial Code, Department of Commerce
VermontSecretary of State
VirginiaState Corporation Commission
WashingtonSecretary of State, Corporations and Charities Division
West VirginiaSecretary of State
WisconsinDepartment of Financial Institutions
WyomingSecretary of State

Office names change from time to time, and most offices offer a free online search on their own website. For a walk through the search screens themselves, read our secretary of state business search guide.

How ClientVetter reads the registries for you

When you check a client, you enter the website domain and, if you know it, the state of registration. ClientVetter takes the name from the client's site and your input, searches the matching state registry and, when the state is not given, the states where the company most likely formed, such as Delaware, Wyoming or the state of its business address. It then compares the legal name, suffix and trade names to what the client uses on its site and in correspondence.

Because every state words its statuses differently, ClientVetter maps each one to a common scale and explains it in plain English. A Texas forfeiture, a Delaware void status and a Florida administrative dissolution all appear as a clear flag with the original wording and a link to the source. A formation date a few weeks old shows up as a Watch signal, and no matching entity anywhere shows up as a reason to ask the client for its registration details before you sign.

  • Registry match and exact legal name
  • Status in the state of formation and any foreign registration
  • Formation date and age of the entity
  • Registered agent and recent filings such as mergers or reinstatements

The registry result sits in the full report next to the domain, website, mail, reviews, disputes and sanctions checks, and feeds the risk score with a written reason. It is the first step of a company background check and of every client due diligence routine.

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Small business owner checking a printed state registry record against an invoice at a desk

What a registry search cannot tell you

A registry confirms existence and standing. It does not show whether a company pays its vendors. That comes from public dispute mentions and from documented reports about non paying clients filed by other members. Registry data also covers businesses only. ClientVetter reports are not consumer reports and may not be used for decisions about an individual's credit, insurance, employment or housing. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Is a business entity search free?

Most state offices let you search their registry online for free, and some charge for certified copies or certificates of good standing. ClientVetter includes the registry match in every full check on paid plans, starting at $24 per month billed yearly.

What if I cannot find the company in any state?

Try the exact legal name with its suffix, then the trade name, then the states of formation that are popular for small companies. If there is still no record, the client may be a sole proprietor or the name may be wrong. Ask for the registration details and consider a deposit.

Does the state of formation matter?

Yes. Many companies form in Delaware or Wyoming and register as foreign entities where they operate. A company can be active in one state and revoked in another, so check both.

Electrical contractor in work clothes at a counter in his workshop office at dusk, sliding a new client's printed proposal into a kraft folder next to a clipboard and a mug

Skip the fifty search screens

Type your client's domain and get the registry match, status and formation date in one report, with every other signal next to it.

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