Business entity search by state
8 places publish a list of business names as open data: Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Iowa, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Look up a company name
Type a name with or without its ending. LLC, Inc., Corp., Co. and Ltd. are set aside before matching, along with punctuation and capital letters.
Example: a search for "Hudson Valley Bakery" in New York, run on November 12, 2026.
No exact match and no close match
Nothing on New York's published list of active corporations and LLCs matched "Hudson Valley Bakery" as of November 12, 2026.
That is a reading of the published list. The state makes the decision, and names reserved or filed in the last few days may be missing.
Get the matching domain name
Type a business name to check its .com, .net, .org and .us.
"Not registered" is the registry's answer at this moment. It is not a promise that the name can be bought at the standard price, since some unregistered names are reserved or sold at a premium. The buttons open Spaceship, a domain registrar, where the price is shown.
Source: Active Corporations: Beginning 1800, New York Department of State, data dated November 12, 2026.
- The list holds active entities only. A dissolved or inactive company will not show, and neither will a reserved name.
Confirm with the state before you file: New York's Corporation and Business Entity Database. A state business name is not a trademark. This is not a government site.
A private website, not a government site. Every state entry links to that state's official search.
Type the name you want for an LLC or corporation to get the exact and close matches on that state's list, with entity type, status and filing date.
Search one state's register
The 8 places with a live search, in alphabetical order.
- Colorado business entity searchBusiness Entities in Colorado
- Connecticut business entity searchConnecticut Business Registry: Business Master
- District of Columbia business entity searchCorporate Registration
- Iowa business entity searchActive Iowa Business Entities
- New York business entity searchActive Corporations: Beginning 1800
- Oregon business entity searchActive Businesses: ALL
- Pennsylvania business entity searchRegistered Businesses in PA Current by County
- Texas business entity searchComptroller franchise tax list
Official search links, name rules and fees in more states
These states do not publish a free file of business names, so each entry leads to the state's own search with its naming rules, accepted endings and filing fees. The list is alphabetical.
- Alabama business entity searchAlabama Secretary of State
- Alaska business entity searchAlaska Department of Commerce
- Arizona business entity searchArizona Corporation Commission
- Arkansas business entity searchArkansas Secretary of State
- California business entity searchCalifornia Secretary of State
- Delaware business entity searchDelaware Department of State
- Florida business entity searchFlorida Department of State
- Georgia business entity searchGeorgia Secretary of State
- Hawaii business entity searchHawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
- Idaho business entity searchIdaho Secretary of State
- Illinois business entity searchIllinois Office of the Secretary of State
- Indiana business entity searchIndiana Secretary of State
- Kansas business entity searchKansas Secretary of State
- Kentucky business entity searchKentucky Secretary of State
- Louisiana business entity searchLouisiana Department of State
- Maine business entity searchMaine Secretary of State
- Maryland business entity searchMaryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation
- Massachusetts business entity searchSecretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- Michigan business entity searchMichigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
- Minnesota business entity searchMinnesota Secretary of State
- Mississippi business entity searchMississippi Secretary of State
- Missouri business entity searchMissouri Secretary of State
- Montana business entity searchMontana Secretary of State
- Nebraska business entity searchNebraska Secretary of State
- Nevada business entity searchNevada Secretary of State
- New Hampshire business entity searchNew Hampshire Secretary of State
- New Jersey business entity searchNew Jersey Department of the Treasury
- New Mexico business entity searchNew Mexico Secretary of State
- North Carolina business entity searchNorth Carolina Secretary of State
- North Dakota business entity searchNorth Dakota Office of the Secretary of State
- Ohio business entity searchOhio Secretary of State
- Oklahoma business entity searchOklahoma Secretary of State
- Rhode Island business entity searchRhode Island Department of State
- South Carolina business entity searchSouth Carolina Secretary of State
- South Dakota business entity searchSouth Dakota Secretary of State
- Tennessee business entity searchTennessee Secretary of State
- Utah business entity searchUtah Department of Commerce
- Vermont business entity searchVermont Secretary of State
- Virginia business entity searchVirginia State Corporation Commission
- Washington business entity searchWashington Secretary of State
- West Virginia business entity searchWest Virginia Secretary of State
- Wisconsin business entity searchWisconsin Department of Financial Institutions
- Wyoming business entity searchWyoming Secretary of State
How a typed name is matched against a register
The search first strips what filing offices ignore. Endings such as LLC, L.L.C., Inc., Corp., Co., Ltd., LP, LLP and PLLC come off, along with a leading "The", punctuation and capital letters. What is left is the core of the name.
Each record that comes back from the state's data is then sorted into one of four groups:
- Exact match: the cores are the same. "Acme Roofing" matches "ACME ROOFING, INC." and "Acme Roofing L.L.C."
- Nearly the same: the only difference is a plural, "and" against "&", or spacing. "Smith and Son" sits beside "SMITH & SONS".
- One word apart: the record adds one word or drops one. "Acme Roofing" sits beside "ACME ROOFING SUPPLY".
- Holds your words: the record carries every word you typed plus two or more others.
These groups are a reading aid. Every state applies its own test of whether two names are distinguishable, and the tests differ. Iowa's rule, for one, treats a singular and a plural as different names while ignoring punctuation and capital letters. The business name rules by state list the endings each state accepts.
What a result can and cannot tell you
A result shows what a state had published on the data date printed under it. Some lists hold active companies only, some include dissolved ones with their status, and the Texas list is a tax roll from the Comptroller. Each state's limits are written under its results.
A name with no match is not reserved for you and may still be refused. A name with a match may still be usable if the older company has ended, depending on the state. The official search, linked from every result, is the record a filing office works from.
Initials written with periods can hide a match. If you want "ABC Plumbing", also try "A.B.C. Plumbing", because the lists store names exactly as they were filed.
Count the cost before you file
State fees for a new LLC differ widely, and some states charge again every year. The LLC cost calculator adds the formation fee, an optional name reservation and the reports due over the years you choose, using each state's published amounts.
Questions about business names, answered from official pages
17 guides, in alphabetical order.
- Business name change with the IRSWhich IRS form box or letter covers a new business name, who signs it and when an EIN stays the same.
- Can two businesses have the same name?Entity names, DBAs and trademarks each answer this differently, with wording from five state statutes.
- Company domain nameWhat a domain is, who registers it, how renewal works and what the official pages say about email.
- Company name for a sole proprietorshipYour own name needs no filing. A trade name does, with county examples from Texas and California.
- Fictitious business name in San Diego CountyThe 40-day filing deadline, the $54 fee, four office locations and how to search San Diego County records.
- Fictitious business name, assumed name and trade nameWhich word each state uses for a DBA, who takes the filing and how long it lasts.
- Harris County DBA search and assumed name filingWhere a Harris County assumed name is filed and searched, what each office charges and how long the record lasts.
- How much to trademark a business nameUSPTO application, extra and upkeep fees per class, plus what Texas and Florida charge for a state mark.
- How to change an LLC nameAmendment forms, filing fees and what the IRS says, for California, Texas and Florida.
- How to find a business owner's nameWhere registered agents, registrants and owners appear in state and county records, and what FinCEN says.
- How to protect a business nameWhat an entity name, a trademark, a DBA and a domain each protect, and what each leaves open.
- How to register a company nameSteps from choosing a structure to filing, with Washington's and Delaware's own formation steps.
- Is an LLC a business licenseForming an LLC creates a legal entity. Licenses and permits come from other agencies.
- Is my business name taken?Where to search for a name and what each result does and does not tell you.
- LLC name examplesInvented names that meet, and miss, the ending rules in Delaware, Florida, Texas and California.
- Los Angeles County fictitious business nameLos Angeles County filing and renewal fees, how to file, where to search records and when publication is due.
- What does Ltd mean in a company name"Limited" and "ltd." in state name statutes, and why LLC statutes ask for different endings.
Before you rely on a result
Is this the official state business search?
No. State Business Entity Search is a private website and is not connected to any Secretary of State. It reads the business name lists that 8 places publish and links to each state's own search, which is the record that counts.
Does "no match" mean I can use the name?
No. It means nothing on the published list matched what you typed on the data date shown. The state decides when you file, and names reserved or filed in the last few days may not be on the list yet.
Why does the search set aside LLC, Inc. and Corp.?
State naming laws compare names with the entity ending left out. Acme Roofing LLC and Acme Roofing, Inc. are the same name to a filing office, so the search treats them as one.
Is a registered business name the same as a trademark?
No. A state register only stops another company from filing a name that is not distinguishable in that state. Trademark rights are separate, and the USPTO runs its own search.
What does a domain marked "not registered" mean?
The registry for that ending had no record of the name at the moment of the check. It can still be reserved or priced as a premium name, and the registrar sets the real price.