About EntityFinder
Last updated .
What this is
EntityFinder is a free business entity search covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Enter a name, pick a state, and see whether it is already on that state’s register.
Where the data comes from
State business registers, and the federal trademark register at the USPTO. Every page links the official source for that state, and anything that has to be official should come from there.
Where a state publishes its register as bulk data we hold a copy and refresh it every night, and a search there returns the full record rather than a yes or no. That state’s own page says so.
Each state’s page links the office that holds the record, and new business filings by state lists all fifty-one.
We also hold 3,374,058 federal trademark registrations from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and every search checks the name against them. State registration and trademark protection are separate systems, and a name can be clear on one while colliding on the other.
What we are not
We are not a government agency and we are not affiliated with any Secretary of State or equivalent office. We cannot file anything on your behalf, cannot reserve a name, and cannot tell you whether a state will accept a filing. A clear result here is a good sign, not an approval.
We are also not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice. Questions about whether a specific name is safe to use are questions for an attorney.
How it is paid for
The search is free and there is no account. Some links to business formation services are affiliate links, which means we may be paid if you use one. That never changes what a search returns: the result comes from the register, not from who pays us. The privacy policy names who those partners are.
Corrections
If something here is wrong, we would rather know: write to admin@entityfinder.us. Registers change, portals move, and fees are revised without notice. Anything we cannot verify against two sources is left off the page rather than guessed at.