Ohio Business Search
Ohio business search
Quick answer. The Ohio business search is the Secretary of State’s business database. Start at the Business Services page and open Business Search. You can look up a corporation, LLC, or trade name and then read the entity number, often called a charter number for corporations. Certificates of good standing are ordered with that number.
Official office
Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services
Phone: (614) 466-3910
180 Civic Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43215
Business filings: (614) 466-3910 or (877) 767-3453. General office: (614) 466-2655.
Steps
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Start at Business Services
The stable front door is Ohio Secretary of State Business Services. It links Business Search, certificates, forms and fees, and the UCC section. Ohio.gov also describes the database as the filings the Secretary of State has accepted.
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Open the business search application
The search application has been published at businesssearch.ohiosos.gov. If that address is retired, use the Business Search link on the Business Services page rather than a third-party copy. The certificate site links the same search when you need an entity number.
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Search the legal name, then open details
The Secretary of State’s service-of-process instructions tell you to visit Business Search, enter the business name, and choose Show Details for the right record. The agent or registrant block is in that detail view. A hit list is not the record.
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Copy the charter or entity number
Corporations are commonly identified by a charter number. Other entities may show the same idea under entity number, registration number, or license number. The charter number guide explains how the certificate screen uses it.
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Keep trade names in their own lane
Trade names and fictitious names are in this database too. They are not the same as the LLC that owns them. Use the trade name search when the question is the DBA, and the LLC lookup when the question is the company.
What an Ohio secretary of state business search covers
The business database includes the filings the Secretary of State accepts: for-profit and nonprofit corporations, LLCs, partnerships that file with the office, trade names, fictitious names, trademarks, and name reservations. A state of ohio business search is this office, at 180 Civic Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43215. Business filings are answered at (614) 466-3910 and (877) 767-3453.
Municipal income tax, vendor’s licenses, and many local permits are not in this file. The Secretary of State record tells you the entity exists and who the statutory agent is. It does not tell you the company paid a city tax.
SOS Ohio business search versus a name reservation
Ohio.gov says entrepreneurs can use the business search when they are researching whether a name is already on file, and it points to the Secretary of State’s guide to business name availability. A clear search is not a reservation. If you need the name held, file the reservation on the current form and fee list.
Common mistakes
- Calling the elections division about a corporation. Business Services is the desk, at the Civic Center Drive address.
- Reading a cancelled corporation’s old agent as the place to serve a lawsuit. Open Show Details on the current record.
- Mixing a trade-name registration with the LLC’s charter number on a bank form.
Questions
Where is the official Ohio business entity search?
On the Ohio Secretary of State’s Business Services pages, through Business Search. The application address to try first is businesssearch.ohiosos.gov, with ohiosos.gov/businesses as the page that will still be right if the application moves.
What is an Ohio charter number?
It is the identifier the Secretary of State assigns, especially for corporations. You need it to order a certificate at cogs.ohiosos.gov. The detail record shows it after a name search.
Does the search show the statutory agent?
Yes. The Secretary of State’s service-of-process steps say to open Show Details and read the Agent/Registrant Information section.
Who answers the phone?
Business filings: (614) 466-3910 or (877) 767-3453. The contact page lists Business Services at 180 Civic Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43215.