Last Updated on March 16, 2023
How To Do A Louisiana SOS Business Search
The business corporation registry of the Louisiana Secretary of State falls under the Commercial Division. The Division is responsible for the registration of business entities in the state and the administration of trademark laws.
The Division’s registry has records of all business entities that are registered with the Secretary of State of Louisiana. Records include details of their filing, authorization, and status. The registry stores information for the following type of entities:
- Corporations
- Limited Liability Companies
- Limited Liability Partnership
- Limited Liability Partnerships
See: How to start an LLC in Louisiana
Using the Louisiana SOS Name Database
The online search tool of the Louisiana Secretary of State allows the user to search the database for any business entity that has been registered in the state.
To use the search tool, you need to have any one or all of the following information with you:
- Entity Name
- Chartered Number or Trade Registration Number
- Office Name or Agent Name
Follow our step-by-step guide below to perform the search for registered business entities in Louisiana:
Step 1. Visit the Louisiana Secretary of State’s website to go to the Business Entity Search Page (this will look similar to the screenshot below).
Step 2. Type in the information you have in the appropriate field. For our sample search, let’s start by typing in the Business Entity name in the “Name” field (for example, “Crown Crafts”).
Step 3. Now click on the “Search” button. The Results Page will then appear.
Step 4. Now click on the “Details” button. The page that follows will give you further information regarding the entity you are searching for, including:
- Business Name
- Charter Number
- Registration Date
- Mailing Address
- Status
- Annual Report Status – Good Standing
- Type of Entity (Corporation or Limited Liability Company)
- Registered Agent Information
- Officer Information
In addition, on this page, an information certificate, certificate of existence, certificate of good standing, and duplicate original certificate can be purchased for a small fee.
Registered Agent
In Louisiana, one of the requirements for a registered business is that a Registered Agent has to be named. This agent is a single point of contact in case the business needs to be served with legal papers or contacted by the state. One of the business owners often files as the entity's Registered Agent. When they file, their home address is often used (PO Boxes aren’t allowed), and the owner's name and address are now a public record that can be looked up by anyone. This can be a big concern, especially for home-based businesses. Using a commercial Registered Agent service like Northwest Registered Agent will keep their personal address from being public record.
Louisiana Business Licenses
The business name registration is different from business licensing in Louisiana. The Louisiana GeauBiz website has more information regarding Louisiana business licenses.
Also see: How to do a Louisiana UCC search
Information on the Louisiana (LA) SOS
Secretary of State Contact Information
Secretary of State
8585 Archives Ave.
225.922.2880
Office:
The Secretary of State of Louisiana is one of the constitutionally-created elected government officials in the state.
The current officeholder of the Louisiana Secretary of State is Kyle Ardoin.
Functions:
The Louisiana Secretary of State is the official in charge of the following eight divisions of the state.
- The Elections Division
- Louisiana State Archives
- The Commission’s Division
- The Commercial Division
- The Museums Division
- The Notaries Division
- The Voters Outreach Division
- The Publications Division