These indexes are usually kept by a business licensing agency at a city, which often is a part of the city clerk’s office or city treasurer’s office.Ī few cities have put their business license records online. In the case of listings for companies, the index usually will also include the name of the owner or owners of each company. The index will list the address of the person or company. The city will keep on a computer terminal an alphabetical index of the names of people or companies licensed to do business in a city. ThomasNet – listings for manufacturers, distributors and service providersĪ city often will require any person or company doing business in the city to get a business license and pay a fee such as a business license tax. The online directories usually only have very basic information, such as the city where the business is based, The directories include:īetter Business Bureau – Check out a business or charity Some of the directories are available as online databases, searchable by the name of a company. While the directories list millions of businesses in the United States, millions more smaller businesses are not covered. Sometimes a short profile of the business and some basic financial information is included. Several companies or organizations compile directories of businesses, often listing each business’s address, phone, principal officer or officers, and the type of business in which it’s engaged. There are many telephone and yellow page directories on the Web you can search by a business name to get a phone number or an address. Look especially for anything that identifies the headquarters city or a specific address for a company, any officers of the company, and the type of business in which it’s engaged. You may find a home page for the business, a listing in an online yellow pages guide or just references to the business at other websites. So always begin by running the business’s name through a Web search engine, such as Google, to see what information is available on it. With more information on a business, you’ll also better be able to distinguish the business you’re researching from other businesses that may have nearly identical names. Or if the kind of business the company is engaged in is regulated by the government, you’ll know to check an online database of a particular business licensing or regulatory agency. Knowing where a company is located will help you identify which local or state agencies might have records on it. Securities and Exchange Commission.īefore you search the various databases of public records on businesses, it’s important to try to gather as much background as you can on the business. The filings vary from simple listings of the address and principal executive of a company, to detailed documents that publicly traded companies must file with the U.S. The records are kept by a variety of local, state and federal agencies, as well as some private organizations. Additionally, the Secretary of State acts as a notary public where official legal documents can be notarized.This is a guide to the public records a reporter can access to find background information on a business. Along with business formation services, other actions such as dissolving a company, adding/removing officers (for a corporation) or members (for an LLC), obtaining a certificate of good standing and annual report filings can be performed. There are usually multiple search criteria options such as business name, business address, owner name, and registered agent name. Records of current businesses can also be searched on the website. If a Corporation is chosen, Articles of Incorporation must be filed, and in the case of an LLC, Articles of Organization would be filed. The most common are the Corporation and the Limited Liability Company. If someone chooses to use it immediately in the business formation process, they would have to decide what type of business structure to choose. If a name is available, it can be reserved and used immediately or at a later time. One of the key features offered by the Secretary of State’s website is the ability to perform a business entity name search in order to check the availability of a specific business name. In addition, the office is responsible for maintaining records of business actions and movements as well as keeping certain specific business information on the official Secretary of State website. Along the same lines, the Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing the trademark registration process as it relates to business entities conducting business within the state. The California Secretary of State is responsible for the administration and governance of business structures as well as the contracts and procedures that relate to them.
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