Ohio Business Name Search
Lookup an existing business entity or use as a name availability checker.
Name Availability Check
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Company Details
- Entity Name
- Entity Type
- Filing Status
- Jurisdiction
- Filing Date
Previous Business Filings
Try a different name or variation.
State Business Registry Directory
Reach all fifty states' official entity-search tools from one place. Every link drops you on the state's own system.
| State | Office | Officeholder | Official Site | Entity Search | Est. Entities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama AL | Secretary of State | Wes Allen | www.sos.alabama.gov | Search ↗ | ~320,000 |
| Alaska AK | Lt. Governor (no SoS office) | Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom | ltgov.alaska.gov | Search ↗ | ~100,000 |
| Arizona AZ | Secretary of State | Adrian Fontes | azsos.gov | Search ↗ | ~700,000 |
| Arkansas AR | Secretary of State | Cole Jester | www.sos.arkansas.gov | Search ↗ | ~230,000 |
| California CA | Secretary of State | Shirley Weber | www.sos.ca.gov | Search ↗ | ~5,500,000 |
| Colorado CO | Secretary of State | Jena Griswold | www.coloradosos.gov | Search ↗ | ~800,000 |
| Connecticut CT | Secretary of State | Stephanie Thomas | portal.ct.gov/sots | Search ↗ | ~380,000 |
| Delaware DE | Secretary of State | Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez | sos.delaware.gov | Search ↗ | ~2,100,000 |
| Florida FL | Secretary of State | Cord Byrd | dos.fl.gov | Search ↗ | ~2,500,000 |
| Georgia GA | Secretary of State | Brad Raffensperger | sos.ga.gov | Search ↗ | ~1,100,000 |
| Hawaii HI | Dept. of Commerce & Consumer Affairs | DCCA (no SoS office) | cca.hawaii.gov | Search ↗ | ~130,000 |
| Idaho ID | Secretary of State | Phil McGrane | sos.idaho.gov | Search ↗ | ~240,000 |
| Illinois IL | Secretary of State | Alexi Giannoulias | www.ilsos.gov | Search ↗ | ~900,000 |
| Indiana IN | Secretary of State | Diego Morales | www.in.gov/sos | Search ↗ | ~600,000 |
| Iowa IA | Secretary of State | Paul Pate | sos.iowa.gov | Search ↗ | ~320,000 |
| Kansas KS | Secretary of State | Scott Schwab | www.sos.ks.gov | Search ↗ | ~270,000 |
| Kentucky KY | Secretary of State | Michael Adams | www.sos.ky.gov | Search ↗ | ~420,000 |
| Louisiana LA | Secretary of State | Nancy Landry | www.sos.la.gov | Search ↗ | ~380,000 |
| Maine ME | Secretary of State | Shenna Bellows | www.maine.gov/sos | Search ↗ | ~175,000 |
| Maryland MD | Secretary of State | Susan Lee | sos.maryland.gov | Search ↗ | ~600,000 |
| Massachusetts MA | Secretary of the Commonwealth | William Galvin | www.sec.state.ma.us | Search ↗ | ~800,000 |
| Michigan MI | Secretary of State | Jocelyn Benson | www.michigan.gov/sos | Search ↗ | ~900,000 |
| Minnesota MN | Secretary of State | Steve Simon | www.sos.state.mn.us | Search ↗ | ~560,000 |
| Mississippi MS | Secretary of State | Michael Watson Jr. | www.sos.ms.gov | Search ↗ | ~180,000 |
| Missouri MO | Secretary of State | Denny Hoskins | www.sos.mo.gov | Search ↗ | ~530,000 |
| Montana MT | Secretary of State | Christi Jacobsen | sosmt.gov | Search ↗ | ~135,000 |
| Nebraska NE | Secretary of State | Bob Evnen | sos.nebraska.gov | Search ↗ | ~220,000 |
| Nevada NV | Secretary of State | Cisco Aguilar | nvsos.gov | Search ↗ | ~620,000 |
| New Hampshire NH | Secretary of State | David Scanlan | www.sos.nh.gov | Search ↗ | ~180,000 |
| New Jersey NJ | Secretary of State | Dale Caldwell | www.nj.gov/state | Search ↗ | ~700,000 |
| New Mexico NM | Secretary of State | Maggie Toulouse Oliver | www.sos.nm.gov | Search ↗ | ~200,000 |
| New York NY | Secretary of State | Walter Mosley | dos.ny.gov | Search ↗ | ~2,400,000 |
| North Carolina NC | Secretary of State | Elaine Marshall | www.sosnc.gov | Search ↗ | ~1,050,000 |
| North Dakota ND | Secretary of State | Michael Howe | sos.nd.gov | Search ↗ | ~85,000 |
| Ohio OH | Secretary of State | Frank LaRose | www.ohiosos.gov | Search ↗ | ~900,000 |
| Oklahoma OK | Secretary of State | Benjamin Lepak | www.sos.ok.gov | Search ↗ | ~350,000 |
| Oregon OR | Secretary of State | Tobias Read | sos.oregon.gov | Search ↗ | ~450,000 |
| Pennsylvania PA | Secretary of the Commonwealth | Al Schmidt | www.dos.pa.gov | Search ↗ | ~1,200,000 |
| Rhode Island RI | Secretary of State | Gregg Amore | www.sos.ri.gov | Search ↗ | ~130,000 |
| South Carolina SC | Secretary of State | Mark Hammond | sos.sc.gov | Search ↗ | ~430,000 |
| South Dakota SD | Secretary of State | Monae Johnson | sdsos.gov | Search ↗ | ~100,000 |
| Tennessee TN | Secretary of State | Tre Hargett | sos.tn.gov | Search ↗ | ~750,000 |
| Texas TX | Secretary of State | Jane Nelson | www.sos.state.tx.us | Search ↗ | ~2,930,000 |
| Utah UT | Lt. Governor (no SoS office) | Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson | ltgov.utah.gov | Search ↗ | ~400,000 |
| Vermont VT | Secretary of State | Sarah Copeland Hanzas | sos.vermont.gov | Search ↗ | ~90,000 |
| Virginia VA | Secretary of the Commonwealth | Candi King | www.commonwealth.virginia.gov | Search ↗ | ~900,000 |
| Washington WA | Secretary of State | Steve Hobbs | www.sos.wa.gov | Search ↗ | ~650,000 |
| Washington D.C. DC | Dept. of Licensing & Consumer Protection | Lindsey Parker (DLCP) | dlcp.dc.gov | Search ↗ | ~105,000 |
| West Virginia WV | Secretary of State | Kris Warner | sos.wv.gov | Search ↗ | ~155,000 |
| Wisconsin WI | Secretary of State | Sarah Godlewski | www.sos.wi.gov | Search ↗ | ~480,000 |
| Wyoming WY | Secretary of State | Chuck Gray | sos.wyo.gov | Search ↗ | ~600,000 |
Entity counts are estimates from official state reports, US Census Bureau data, and published annual reports. Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah have no Secretary of State; filings are handled by alternative offices.
Key Facts
Business Formation Across the US, in Numbers
A snapshot of how much company formation happens nationwide, pulled from the Census Bureau, FRED, the IRS, and individual state offices.
Where annual filings stand right now
About 1.5 million applications landed in the first quarter of 2026, and quarterly volume keeps running well ahead of pre-pandemic norms. At that pace the country is tracking toward roughly 6 to 7 million new applications for the year.
How far formation has climbed since 2019
A typical 2019 quarter brought around 675,000 applications. Q1 2026 came in near 1.5 million, better than double that baseline. The jump began in mid-2020 and has barely eased off since.
The all-time high, set in 2021
No year has topped 2021, when roughly 5.4 million applications were filed during a wave of pandemic-era startups, remote work, and online selling. Volume has held high in the years since.
States that actually use the title
Three states skip it entirely. In Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah, business filings run through the Lieutenant Governor or a commerce agency rather than a Secretary of State.
How most of these officials get the job
Voters pick the office holder directly for four-year terms in 35 states. In the rest, the role is filled by appointment from the governor or the legislature.
Why Delaware dominates incorporations
More than 2.1 million active entities sit on Delaware's books, including most of the Fortune 500 and the bulk of US public-company listings.
The LLC is now the default choice
Around 21.6 million LLCs were active as of 2024, more than S-corporations and C-corporations combined, which makes it the structure most new owners reach for first.
Notaries on the books nationwide
Roughly 4.4 million notaries public hold active commissions across the country, each licensed through a state office, so notary work ranks among the highest-volume filings every year.
US Census Bureau · FRED BUSAPPWNSAUS
New Business Applications per Year, US
Yearly totals of new business applications, counted as EIN requests in the Census Bureau's Business Formation Statistics.
Why this matters for state filing offices
Core Responsibilities
What These Offices Actually Do
No two states draw the lines exactly alike, but most filing offices cover the same ground, from registration to records to compliance.
Registering entities
Forming, amending, and closing LLCs, corporations, partnerships, and nonprofits.
Running elections
Maintaining voter rolls, certifying results, setting ballot rules, and tracking campaign finance.
Keeping the public record
Holding the state seal alongside enacted laws, official proclamations, and archived documents.
Commissioning notaries
Approving and overseeing notaries public, a service nearly every office provides.
Recording UCC filings
Logging Uniform Commercial Code statements and liens that secure business loans and deals.
Registering trademarks
Handling state trademark and service-mark filings, which sit apart from the federal USPTO system.
Authenticating documents
Issuing apostilles and certifications that make paperwork valid for use in other countries.
Enforcing compliance
Taking in the annual reports that keep registered entities in good standing.
Step-by-step guide
Looking Up a Business, Step by Step
Nearly every state runs a free public database where anyone can look up a registered company. The steps below cover how to get the most out of them.
Find the right state portal
Start from the directory on this page to jump straight to a state's official entity-search tool. Every link points at the source database, never a middleman.
Search by name, ID, or agent
Most state tools let you look up a company by name, file number, registered agent, or officer. Searching part of a name usually surfaces the most matches.
Read the entity record
Expect to see the entity type, current status, formation date, registered agent, principal address, and a full filing history.
Pull the filed paperwork
In many states you can open or download the formation articles, later amendments, and annual reports right from the record.
What a state filing office lets you do
Most of these can be handled online with your state:
- Start a new LLC, corporation, or nonprofit
- Register an out-of-state company to operate locally
- Submit annual reports and pay the related fees
- Change the registered agent on file
- Update a principal business address
- Amend formation articles after filing
- Request a certificate of good standing
- Close, withdraw, or cancel an entity
- Lodge UCC financing statements or run a lien search
- Apply for a state trademark or service mark
- Obtain a notary public commission
- Order an apostille or document authentication
Start a business
Thinking about forming an entity?
LLC, corporation, or nonprofit, it all begins with a filing at your state office.
Form an LLC
The go-to structure for new ventures in the US. It pairs personal asset protection with flexible taxes and very little ongoing paperwork.
Start your LLC →Form a Corporation
Built for companies that plan to raise money or issue stock. C-corps and S-corps each carry their own tax trade-offs.
Incorporate now →Form a Nonprofit
Launch a 501(c)(3) or similar mission-driven entity. You incorporate with the state first, then apply separately to the IRS for tax-exempt status.
Start a nonprofit →Further reading and tools
More Tools and References
Trusted databases and references for working through US entity filings, state rules, and ongoing compliance.
FRED — Business Applications
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis publishes weekly counts of new US business applications, drawn from the Census Bureau formation data.
fred.stlouisfed.org →National Association of Secretaries of State
The national body representing the Secretaries of State, with policy material, statistics, and an up-to-date list of who holds each office.
nass.org →US Census Bureau — Business Formation Statistics
Up-to-the-week figures on new applications and formation trends, split by state and industry. This is what feeds the FRED series.
census.gov/econ/bfs →IRS — Business Structures Guide
How the federal government taxes each structure, from LLCs to S-corps, C-corps, and sole proprietorships, explained by the IRS itself.
irs.gov →Ballotpedia — Secretary of State
Detailed profiles of every state office, covering election results, officeholder backgrounds, and how duties differ from state to state.
ballotpedia.org →USPTO — Federal Trademark Search
Look up trademarks registered at the federal level. State marks are filed separately through each individual state office.
uspto.gov →Delaware Division of Corporations
Delaware's own corporate filing system, the busiest business registry anywhere, with full annual statistics.
corp.delaware.gov →eForms — Free Legal Documents
Grab free LLC operating agreements, corporate bylaws, partnership agreements, and other state-specific formation paperwork.
eforms.com →