Missouri Secretary of State
Missouri Business Entity Search
Last updated . Register data is refreshed nightly.
Check whether a business name is already on file with the Missouri Secretary of State. Free, no account, all entity types.
Missouri Business Entity Search
Search the state's official business records.
Missouri's register is at bsd.sos.mo.gov, run by the Secretary of State. Free, no account.
It shows you why a result matched
Search Acme and among the results is a company called 4-B0 Farms, Inc., with Acme Farms, Inc. (previous name) indented underneath it.
Missouri tells you which name your search actually hit. The company is called one thing now; it was called something else, and that is the string that matched.
Michigan does the same with a Matched Names line. Hawaii is the counter-example and the reason it matters: there a search hits a dropped name and says nothing, so you open a record expecting one company and find another entirely.
If your hit is on a previous name, the name is still spoken for, but you are looking at a different company from the one you thought.
Two things cut the results
The match is set to Starting With. A name inside a longer registered name will not appear until you widen it.
The list stops at 1,056 records and says so.
That is an oddly specific cap and it is a real one. Combined with a starts-with default, a common word will show you neither everything nor a clear account of what is missing. You will get 1,056 records that all begin with your term, and no indication of what sits beyond either limit.
An Only Active Corporations tick box sits alongside, left unticked, which is the right way round. Leave it that way: a dissolved company still holds its name.
The record
The names, type and domesticity, the registered agent and address, the principal office address, the charter number, home state and status, plus tabs for filings and processes.
Who decides
The register records what was filed; acceptance is judged by the Secretary of State on examination, under Mo. Rev. Stat. Chapter 347, the Missouri Limited Liability Company Act.
Before you rely on it
Widen Starting With before concluding a name is free.
Read the indented line under a result. That is the name that matched.
Leave Only Active unticked.
Remember the 1,056 ceiling on a broad search.
Missouri filing facts
| Filing | Online | On paper |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Limited Liability Company | $50.00 | $105.00 |
| Name reservation | $25.00 | $25.00 |
| Fictitious name | $7.00 | $7.00 |
| Amendment | $25.00 | $25.00 |
| Termination | $25.00 | $25.00 |
| Annual report | none | none |
Missouri has the largest online-versus-paper gap of any state here: $50 against $105. Filing on paper costs more than twice as much for the identical document.
Idaho charges a flat $20 extra on paper, Kansas $20, Minnesota charges $20 extra to go online. Missouri charges $55 (more than the entire online fee) to accept a piece of paper.
The bigger number is the one that is not there. Missouri has no annual report for LLCs at all. Chapter 347 lists no annual or periodic report fee, so after the $50 there is no recurring state filing.
That puts Missouri with New Mexico and South Carolina in the small group where an LLC costs nothing to maintain, and it is the cheapest of the three to start.
One more worth knowing: under Startup for Soldiers, active-duty military in Missouri, including the National Guard, may create new businesses without paying a filing fee. Pennsylvania and West Virginia waive theirs for veterans; Missouri waives it for serving members.
Nothing to pay annually, and 122,040 applications over the 52 weeks to 26 September 2026 to show for it: 488 a business day, up 31.3%, 15th of 51 by volume.
What the register will not tell you
Missouri has 46,898 live registered marks, and the concentration is geographic rather than industrial:
| word | live marks | times more common than nationally |
|---|---|---|
| missouri | 476 | 64x |
| louis | 631 | 30x |
| ultra | 373 | 4x |
| city | 540 | 3x |
| pro | 886 | 3x |
| big | 452 | 2x |
Louis at 631 marks is St. Louis arriving as a single word, the same split that gives Montana big and sky, and Rhode Island rhode and island.
Below the two place words nothing is contested: ultra, city, pro and big all sit at two to four times normal, the generic boosters that turn up mildly over-represented everywhere.
The filing split is the sharp bit. St. Louis files 36.5% of Missouri's marks against Kansas City's 15.6%: better than two to one, in a state where the two cities are usually spoken of as a pair.
What the Missouri portal looks like
Captured from the live register. Personal names and addresses are blacked out; everything else is as the state publishes it.
Missouri Secretary of State business services
Business registrations in Missouri are held by the Missouri Secretary of State, which maintains the public register this page searches, accepts new filings, and issues the certificates a bank or a counterparty may ask you for. Contact them directly for anything that has to be official.
| Business entity search | bsd.sos.mo.gov/BusinessEntity/BESearch.aspx |
|---|---|
| Phone | (573) 751-4153 |
| Address | 600 W Main St, Room 322, Jefferson City, MO 65101 |
| Office hours | 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| LLC filing fee | $50 |
| Processing | 5-10 business days |
The office handles registration, not disputes. If a name is already taken, they will tell you it is unavailable but not who holds it beyond what the public record shows, and they will not advise on whether your name infringes someone’s mark.
Common questions about Missouri business entity searches
How do I check if an LLC exists in Missouri?
Search the name on this page or on the state's own portal. What Missouri does by default is worth knowing before you read the result: starting With. A match means the entity is on file, and its status line tells you whether it is still active.
How do I verify a company is registered in Missouri?
Search the name, then open the record rather than reading the results line. You get names, type and domesticity, registered agent and address, principal office address and charter number. The status on the record is the one to trust: a dissolved company still appears in a search and still holds its name.
Does a clear search mean my Missouri business name is approved?
Not on its own. A no-match result means the name is not on the Missouri register today, which is a preliminary answer rather than approval: Missouri Secretary of State decides when it reviews the filing. Worth knowing about Missouri in particular: it stops at 1,056 records and says so. Combined with Starting With as the default match, a common word will neither show you everything nor tell you what it left out. Its own advice is worth following: include the designation and punctuation only for an exact match, and leave them out otherwise.
Can I look up who owns a business in Missouri?
The Missouri register shows the registered agent and, depending on the filing type, officers or organizers. It does not list members or shareholders for every entity, so the register identifies who accepts legal service rather than who owns the company.
How much does it cost to register a business name in Missouri?
Missouri Secretary of State charges $50 to file the Certificate of Limited Liability Company, which is the document that forms the company, and currently takes 5-10 business days to process. Reserving a name beforehand is a separate and smaller fee. Confirm the figure with the state before you file: schedules move.
Sources
- Missouri business entity search, the official register this page queries.
- Filing fees and processing times: Missouri Secretary of State, Schedule of Fees and Charges, Chapter 347 fees, verified 2026-09-10. Current schedules are published by the Missouri Secretary of State.
- Formation activity: Census Bureau Business Formation Statistics, retrieved via FRED at the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis.
- Federal trademark data: United States Patent and Trademark Office, 3,374,058 live registrations cross-referenced against the state registers. Live excludes both abandoned applications and cancelled registrations.
- Office contact details: Missouri Secretary of State, confirmed against the office’s own contact page.
- Naming and reporting rules: Missouri Secretary of State, Schedule of Fees and Charges, Chapter 347 fees.
- Naming statute: Mo. Rev. Stat. 347.020, published by the state.
- State seal: public domain image via Wikimedia Commons.