Doing A California Business Entity Search: What You Need To Know
Table of Contents
- Intro
- How To Do A California Business Entity Search
- Frequently Asked Questions
For those starting a new business or those with an existing business, searching for your entity in the California Secretary of State's website is a common practice. Individuals are able to search for Corporations, Limited Liability Companies (LLC), or Limited Partnership (LP) within the California Secretary of State's database.
There are several reasons why an individual may want to search for an entity. A new business owner might want to utilize the entity search database in order to generate business name ideas. Another example might be to confirm whether or not your entity of interest is in good standing with the CA Secretary of State or reviewing pertinent details about your entity of interest. If we wanted to partner with or acquire a specific entity of interest, understanding an entity's status might be critical to moving forward.
The California Secretary of State has emphasized that this database is not meant to provide the user with confirmation of an entity's name availability. There is a formal process to check entity name availability and to reserve your entity's name through the Secretary of State's office. SunDoc Filings is very familiar with the California Secretary of State's process and can help you reserve your name. SunDoc has successfully reserved thousands of CA entity names for our clients during their LLC or Corporation formation process.
Here's How to Search for a California Business:
Step 1: Basic or Advanced Entity Search
Basic Entity Search
When using the basic search function, the entity name or number is all that is required. When searching by entity number, remove "C" in the search bar. Basic searches only show active entities (Limited Liability Companies, Corporations, Limited Partnerships, Cooperatives and Name Reservations). The basic search function looks for keywords to perform the search, while the advanced search function allows you to search for much broader criteria, including non-active entities.
Advanced Entity Search
Using the assigned entity number, LLC entity name or Corporation entity name will allow the searcher to obtain more information about that particular entity. Click on the "advanced" button just below the search bar to expand the advanced search filter. You are then able to define the search by entity type, entity status and initial filing start or end dates. The California Secretary of State will then populate a list of entities that match some or all of your initial search terms.
Helpful Tips:
- All letters are treated as uppercase in the search, so the search is not case-sensitive.
- If there is a spacing in an entity name, do not remove it or add one that does not belong there.
- You can broaden your search by using a single keyword in an entity name and by selecting "All" for both "Entity Type" and "Entity Status" search filters.
- In the search results, all similar entity names will be grouped together, removing any unique punctuation marks.
- When searching by entity number for a corporation, the letter "C" must be entered before the seven-digit entity number.
- When searching by entity number for an LLC, do not enter anything other than the 12-digit entity number.
Example Search Results:
Step 2: Identifying the correct entity
Once the correct entity is identified among the list of results, the searcher may click the entity of interest, which will then populate additional details about the entity, including:
- Entity Name
- Entity Number: A unique ID number issued by the state when the entity is formed.
- Initial Filing Date: Filing date with the California Secretary of State.
- Formed In: State the entity is incorporated in.
- Entity Type: Classification such as Limited Liability Company, Corporation, or Non-Profit.
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Standing Status:
- Good indicates the entity is in good standing and all state fees and necessary filings are current.
- Canceled / SOS canceled: Payments for filing fees have not been received by the California Secretary of State, so the entity has been cancelled.
- Suspended: The CA Secretary of State has suspended the entity for failure to file the Statement of Information form.
- FTB Suspended: Entity is not current with annual franchise tax payments to the California Franchise Tax Board and therefore the entity is suspended.
- Expired Name/Dissolved/Inactive: An entity that has failed to file the statement of information or is no longer in existence or active in California.
- Principle / Mailing Address: Address of the principal or mailing entity address, which may differ.
- Agent: California required all entities to appoint an agent for service of process, what is commonly known as Registered Agent. This entity or individual is the single point of contact to receive important state notifications.
Here's an example:
What Can I Do if My Entity is Not in Good Standing?
After reviewing your entity details, you may be surprised to discover that your entity is no longer in good standing. This could be for a number of reasons, including your entity being dissolved, canceled or FTB suspended. If your entity is dissolved or cancelled, SunDoc Filings is here to help reinstate your entity. If you are FTB (Franchise Tax Board) suspended, you can contact the CA FTB directly for next steps in order to achieve good standing status. SunDoc filings can also provide more insight how you might achieve good standing status. Please call, chat or email SunDoc Filings so that our team may assist!
What If I Don't Find My Entity Listed in The Database?
There are a number of possible reasons why you might be unable to locate your entity. When using the search function, it is important to double check that the correct search criteria and filters have been applied, as well as the proper entity type selected (LLC vs corporation). It's also possible that you are searching under the entity's DBA (doing business as) rather than the entity's legal name. When searching by entity number for a corporation, do not forget to enter the letter "C" before the 7-digit entity number. For LLCs, do not enter anything else other than the 12-digit entity number. Any mistakes here will result in either incorrect or no results provided.
What If a Result Doesn't Exactly Match My Company Name?
Obvious reasons stem from a misspelling or improper use of an abbreviation. As mentioned in the helpful tips section, unique punctuation is not included in the entity name search results. Also, check that your entity type is correct along with the proper usage of search filters the tool provides. The legal business name could also differ from what you believe it to be within the database.
Can I Use The Name of a Suspended/Cancelled/Dissolved Entity?
It is always advisable that you check whether or not any given entity name is available. Never assume that because of a suspension, cancellation, franchise tax forfeiture or dissolution that the given entity name is available for use. Utilizing a name that isn't available might cause your entity filing to be rejected by the state, which will require you to refile and pay additional state fees. SunDoc Filings can assist in this process and quickly and accurately determine if any entity name is available. SunDoc then can reserve the entity name on your behalf so you may get started with forming your LLC, Corporation or Non-Profit.
For those starting a new business or those with an existing business, searching for your entity in the California Secretary of State's website is a common practice.