You might be looking to find a certain company in California. You might also be looking to find out if a certain name to name your business entity is already taken. This article with ways on how to do a business search in California has the solutions that you need.

Business name searches can be done using platforms like search engines the likes of Google, Yahoo, Bing and DuckDuckGo. You can also try a business search on white pages websites as they too offer them. These may give you the results that you need but they have their limits. They are not government sponsored which runs the risk of them having varying information from government sources.

A source that have first-hand information on all businesses located in California is just what you need. This is exactly what this article aims to offer. You will find all information that has been made available to the public as far as companies registered in California are concerned.

The Secretary of State

The United States does not have a national registry for companies. In order for you to find details on a particular company, you will have to search for it from a database from the state where that company is registered.

The Secretary of State is the official government entity that is responsible for the registration of companies in that particular state. They also keep a database where you can be able to search for company details.

The business section of the Secretary of State’s office is the one that processes filings, keeps records and offer information to the public on business entities. These can be limited liability companies, corporations, general partnerships, limited partnerships limited liability partnerships and other business filings.

California Business Lookup

You can look up information on a business in California from a website that is maintained by the Secretary of State in California. From this website, you can find details on limited liability companies, corporations and limited partnerships.

Details on associations, general partnerships, limited liability partnerships and other forms of business types are not available from here. You will need to provide a formal request in order to get information on such businesses.

Searches can be performed using a name or entity number when you are looking to find information on a business entity. An entity number is the number that is given to the company upon registration to uniquely identify it.

A California company name registry search will provide the following details on the company:

• Full legal company name
• Entity number
• Registration date
• Address
• Mailing address
• Entity type (e.g., LLC, corporation, limited partnership)
• Jurisdiction (state, foreign country, or other place where the entity is formed)
• Name and address of the registered agent (business or individual who will receive service of process for the entity)
• Status (active/dissolved/suspended/cancelled)

You will be able to obtain uncertified PDF of that company’s business documents, such as information of record and statements. The statement of information contains details like company’s officers, directors and company type.

California Limited Liability Company Search

In cases whereby you are looking for the availability of a particular name for your business, you will need a guideline to help you achieve that goal. You will need to find out if the name is available and how to make it stand out from the others in the same field. This type of search is possible from the California Secretary of State Business Search website.

If the business name that you are looking to use has a number of words, you can search using just two of them. This will enable you to find all companies with similar names.

There are times when LLC name filings get rejected. This is normally when the name is not unique enough from other companies. This also happens when the name chosen that not meet the stipulated guidelines.

Here are a few guidelines that can help you along the way:

• The words LLC L.L.C. or ‘Limited’ should be included must be included in the name of your limited liability company. Limited can be shortened to ‘Ltd’ and company to ‘Co’.
• The name of your company must not include words such as ‘trust’, ‘trustee’, ‘bank’, ‘inc’, ‘incorporated’, ‘corp’, ‘corporation’, ‘insurer’, ‘insurance’.
• The name of your company must also be unique from any other available name found in the state. It must also be a name that is not likely to mislead the public.

You can find more guidelines mentioned from California LLC Naming Statue if you are looking for a name for your company.

If you are looking for ways on how to do a business search in California, you can try these suggestions. Whether you are looking for an existing business or are looking to create one in the state, these methods are just what you need.