Nationwide business entity search and company lookup

Short answer: the United States has no national company registry like the UK's Companies House. Each state and DC registers its own companies, so a full search means finding the right state first, then using that state's official database.

Business entities are created under state law. Congress never created a federal incorporation system for ordinary companies, so there are 51 separate registries with their own numbers, labels and rules. A company can be formed in one state and registered as a foreign entity in several others, which means it may have several records and several numbers.

Which official system answers which question

Question	Official system	Covers
Is this company formed or registered in a state?	That state's business search (see the directory)	LLCs, corporations, partnerships, nonprofits
Does it file with the SEC?	SEC EDGAR	Public companies, funds, some private offerings (Form D)
Is it a tax-exempt charity?	IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search	Organizations with IRS exemption
Can it receive federal contracts?	SAM.gov entity search	Entities registered with a Unique Entity ID
Does someone own this brand name?	USPTO trademark search	Federal trademark filings
Is it a licensed bank?	FDIC BankFind	FDIC-insured institutions
Is it a registered broker or adviser?	FINRA BrokerCheck	Broker-dealers and investment advisers

How to find the state a company used

Read the company's own paperwork. Contracts, invoices, terms of service and website footers often state "a Delaware limited liability company" or similar.
Search the state where the company has its office first. If it is registered there as foreign, the record lists its home state.
Try Delaware next for funded startups and larger firms; many form there regardless of location. See the Delaware guide for what its free search hides.
Check SEC EDGAR. Even private companies that raise money often file a Form D that names the state of incorporation.
For government contractors, SAM.gov shows the entity's legal name and address, which you can then search at state level.

Searching every state for one business name

Sometimes the question is not where a company was formed but whether a name is used anywhere. No official tool answers that in one step, but two routes come close.

Run the state searches you need

Each state business search guide links the live register and explains how that state matches names. For a brand you plan to use nationally, the federal USPTO trademark search matters more than any single state record; the name claim guide covers the order.

Use the free state business data downloads

New York, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Connecticut and Texas publish their registers as open data, so one query can scan millions of records. The bulk data guide lists what each state gives away, sells or withholds.

What about commercial "all states" tools?

Several private services copy state data into one index. They can be handy for a first pass, but their copies lag behind the official record, sometimes by months. Status, agent and filing history should always be confirmed in the state's own system, and certificates only come from the state. Our LLC lookup guide covers what each official record shows, and the SOS ID page explains why the same company has a different number in each state.

Federal beneficial ownership reports filed with FinCEN are not public and are not a business search. Since FinCEN's March 2025 interim final rule, companies created in the United States are exempt from that reporting.

Nationwide business search questions

Is there a U.S. equivalent of Companies House?

No. The United States has no national company register. Each state and DC registers its own companies, so a full search starts by finding the right state.

How do I find which state a company is registered in?

Check the company's contracts, invoices or website footer for a phrase like "a Delaware corporation", then search the state where it has its office. A foreign registration there names the home state.

Can one company have records in several states?

Yes. A company is formed in one state and registers as a foreign entity in each other state where it does business, so it can have a separate record and number in each.

Are paid nationwide business search sites accurate?

They copy state data and can lag behind the official record. Use them to find leads, then confirm status, agent and filings in the state's own search.

Sources

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