California Secretary of State Business Search
You can look up an existing business entity by completing a California business entity search.
Our California Business Search guide will give you instructions for looking up all business types, including corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs).
Recommended: Make sure your business name is available as a website domain. Search GoDaddy and secure your URL.
CA Corporation Search
When you register a corporation in California, you’ll need to complete a name search, follow naming guidelines, and then complete corporation registration documents to officially register your name.
We also recommend searching domain names and trademarks at this time.
Complete a California Business Entity Search
When you start a corporation, you have to make sure your business name is available and distinguishable from other business names.
To verify that your business name is unique, you’ll need to complete a business name availability search on the California Secretary of State Business Search webpage.
TIP: If your potential business name has several words in it, you should also search just the first two words to ensure you pull up all possible similar names.
If you find that your business name isn’t available, we recommend taking a look at our Business Name Generator tool and our How to Name Your Business guide for help with coming up with a unique name.
When choosing a business name you'll need to find out whether or not a good web domain name is available. Having a URL that clearly matches your business name is important.
Follow CA Corporation Naming Guidelines
Most business filing rejections are due to business name issues. This happens when the name isn’t distinguishable enough from other business names or when the name doesn’t meet state guidelines.
California Corporation Naming Rules:
- Your name must be distinguishable from the name of any existing business in California and must not be the same or deceptively similar to an existing corporate name. This includes California reserved names. We will help with this step in the search for your business name section below.
- The name of your corporation must not be one likely to mislead the public. A proposed name is likely to mislead the public in the following circumstances:
- It implies the corporation is a government agency
- It implies the corporation is a professional corporation under the Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act when it is not
- It uses a misleading identifier, e.g. includes the abbreviation LLC
- It creates the false implication that the corporation's purpose is to be an insurer when it is not
Visit the California corporation naming statute for a full list of naming guidelines.
California Business Search
The California Secretary of State's office allows users to do a California business search by name, filing number, or registered agent. Businesses can also be searched by location, type of business, or status. Results can be sorted by relevance or filing date.
You can even perform an advanced search using the business programs division through the California Secretary of State. You can check the database for certificates of status for any entity.
If starting a new business entity in the State of California, such as corporations, s-corporations, limited liability companies, or limited liability partnerships, you'll want to do an entity name search to make sure your business name is available.
Following this process and checking the status of a name lessens the chance of your business entity being rejected by the California Secretary of State.
We also recommend searching domain names and trademarks at this time.
Complete a California Business Search
When you form an LLC, you have to make sure your business name is available and distinguishable from other business names.
To verify that your business name is unique, you’ll need to complete a search on the California Secretary of State Business Search webpage.
TIP: If your potential business name has several words in it, you should also search just the first two words to ensure you pull up all possible similar names.
If you find that your business name isn’t available, we recommend taking a look at our LLC Name Generator tool and our How to Name Your Business guide for help with coming up with a unique name.
When choosing a business name you'll need to find out whether or not a good web domain name is available. Having a URL that clearly matches your business name is important.
US Trademark Search
A quick search on the U.S. Trademark Electronic Search System will tell you whether someone else has trademarked your name. The cost of trademarking a name is usually too high for a startup business, but it’s good to know if your name is already taken.
To learn more about trademarks and the steps you will need to get one, read our How to Trademark Your Business guide.
Follow CA LLC Naming Guidelines
Most LLC filing rejections are due to business name issues. This happens when the name isn’t distinguishable enough from other business names or when the name doesn’t meet state guidelines.
California LLC Naming Guidelines:
- The name of your limited liability company shall contain the words “limited liability company,” or the abbreviation “L.L.C.” or “LLC.” “Limited” may be abbreviated as “Ltd.,” and “company” may be abbreviated as “Co.”
- The name shall not include the words “bank,” “trust,” “trustee,” “incorporated,” “inc.,” “corporation,” or “corp.” and shall not include the words “insurer” or “insurance company” or any other words suggesting that it is in the business of issuing policies of insurance and assuming insurance risks.
- Your name must be distinguishable from any existing business in the state and shall not be a name that the Secretary of State determines likely to mislead the public. This includes California reserved names. We will help with this step in the search for your business name section below.
Visit the California LLC naming statute for a full list of naming guidelines.
CA Secretary of State Business Entity Search
If you need to search existing business entities in California, visit the California Secretary of State Business Search and include any info you have on the business in the search bar. You can also do an advanced search for any business entity name.
California Business Entity Search FAQs
The easiest way to find out who owns a business in California is to search for the business’s filings with the California Secretary of State. Businesses are required to file certain documents with the Secretary of State, including their Articles of Incorporation (if they are a corporation) or Articles of Partnership (if they are a limited partnership) or Articles of Organization (if they are an LLC). These documents will list the names and addresses of the business’s owners and status of the business entity.
An advanced search for California Business Entities can be performed by going to the Secretary of State’s website and clicking on the “Businesses” link. From there, you will be able to select “Entity Name” from the drop-down menu and enter your desired search criteria.
If you are looking for a specific business entity, you may want to use the advanced search feature to narrow your results. For example, if you know the entity’s filing number, you can enter it in the “File Number” field to retrieve the filings associated with that number.
You can also use advanced search to find businesses that have been formed in a specific city or county. Simply select the appropriate option from the “Jurisdiction” drop-down menu and enter the desired location.
How do I name a small business?
Naming a small business is often a do-it-yourself job. Small business startup budgets usually won’t support hiring someone to help name your business. For easy step-by-step instructions on naming your small business, visit our How to Name a Business guide.
How do I come up with a catchy business name?
The first step to naming your business is figuring out what business structure you will use for your new company. After that, you will brainstorm at least 4-5 possible names. The more you brainstorm the better. Once you have some names, you can test the names against best practices, name availability, and state guidelines.
Not sure what to name your business? Check out our LLC Name Generator.
Where should I buy a domain name?
Our top choice in web hosting and domain registrars is GoDaddy. We like their domain search tool — you can search for the exact name you want or make suggestions based on keywords and available names. There are also several other companies to choose from that will provide a good experience.
Visit GoDaddy to search for domain names.
Can I put the word “company” in my business name?
Yes, you can. Neither the term “company” nor any of its abbreviations has any legal connotations. A company is simply an association of individuals.
Do I have to write “LLC” after my company name?
If you choose to use a limited liability company structure for your new business, most states will require that you use LLC after the name. You can also use the full term limited liability company.
If you are marketing your business, you usually don’t have to use LLC after the name.