North Carolina (NC) Secretary of State (SOS) LLC & Business Search

North Carolina offers a business search facility that enables users to search for businesses that have registered in North Carolina. The Business Entity Search provides records with publicly available information. You can search for businesses by:

• Company name
• Company SOS ID
• Registered agent
• Company officials
• Assumed business names

Search by company name

The North Carolina database can be searched by company name and you can select whether to search by starting with or exact match.

The search results display the entity name, SOS ID, date formed, status and type.

You can view more information about the businesses by clicking on the entity name in blue. This displays the publicly available business details which include:

• Legal name
• Business type
• SOS ID
• Status
• Date formed
• Citizenship
• Annual report due date
• Annual report status
• Registered agent
• Addresses
• Company officials
• Filing information

There is also a list of actions that can be taken for the business if you are the business owner which includes viewing and ordering documents that non-owners may be able to do also.

Search by company SOS ID

You can search by the company SOS ID number if you know it by selecting the company in the search box and then changing how you want to search to SOSID.

The search results should have a single record and will display some of the basic information about the business including the entity name, SOS ID, date formed, status and type. You can find out more about the business by clicking on the entity name which is highlighted in blue. This will display publicly available information such as registered agents, addresses, officials and filing information, plus more as listed above in search by company name.

Search by registered agent

The database can be searched by a registered agent and you can select whether that is an organization or an individual which are slightly different searches. The organization search looks like the image below and allows you to select starting with or exact match:

The individual search changes the search fields to last, first and middle names:

The results will display the name of the agent and the total representations that they have.

You can see the businesses that they represent by clicking on the agent’s name in blue. This will display a list of businesses that they represent with details including the entity name, SOS ID, date formed, status and type. You can view more information about these businesses by clicking on the business name in blue to see details such as addresses, officials and filing information. A full list of the details displayed is listed above in search by company name.

Search by company officials

The database can also be searched by company officials which can also be filtered by organizations or individuals like the registered agent as well as selecting starting with or exact match.

The search results also display a list of officials and the total number of representations they have.

You can view the businesses that are represented by them by clicking on the official name highlighted in blue. This will be displayed in a table with the entity name, SOS ID, date formed, status and type. More information can be found by clicking on the business name in blue where you can view details such as addresses, agent details and filing information. A full list of the available details can be found in search by company name.

Search by assumed business name

You can also search the North Carolina database by assumed business name by changing the search to assumed business name.

This can result in a similar list of businesses to those in the company name search with the list displaying the entity name, SOS ID, date formed, status and type. Further business information can be viewed by clicking the blue business name. The record displays additional information such as agent details, official details, addresses and filing information, plus more as listed above in search by company name.

Contact details

Website: https://www.sosnc.gov/

Phone: (919) 814-5400

Address: Mailing address – PO Box 29622, Rayleigh, NC 27626-0622. Physical address – 2 South Salisbury Street, Rayleigh, NC 27601

Hours: Monday-Friday 8.00am-5.00pm

How to register a business in North Carolina?

When you are starting a business in North Carolina you may need to register it. Below are some steps that can help you.

1. The business will first need to have a name that you will be registering it with. You should do some due diligence and check whether the name is already registered in North Carolina on their Business Entity Search
2. You will also need to decide what business entity type you are going to operate as this will determine the next step such as limited liability company or sole proprietorship.
3. It will depend on your business entity type on how you will form your business:
   • Corporations, nonprofits, limited liability companies, partnerships and professional entities will need to complete forms and register with the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Office.
   • Sole proprietorships and general partnerships will need to file an assumed name certificate with the Register of Deeds Office in your county of location.

How much does a North Carolina business entity search cost?

There are no charges for doing a business entity search on the North Carolina Business Entity Search database.

How can I get a business license in North Carolina?

There is no general statewide business license in North Carolina but some businesses may be subject to several state requirements. There are 950 regulatory, state-issued and occupational licenses and permits of which 319 are occupational licenses, 498 business licenses and 80 business/occupational licenses. You can search the North Carolina Business and Occupational License Database for licenses for your business. There may also be local licenses needed for your business which you will need to check with your local municipality.