Kansas Secretary of State business entity search
Kansas runs a Business Search and a separate Name Availability page, and its standard is a name distinguishable upon the record.
Check a name against Kansas's naming rules
Example: a check of "Blue Heron Bakery LLC" against Kansas's rules.
- Ends with "L.L.C.", an ending Kansas lists for an LLC.
- No ending from Kansas's list for a corporation was found at the end of this name.
Get the matching domain name
Type a business name to check its .com, .net, .org and .us.
"Not registered" is the registry's answer at this moment. It is not a promise that the name can be bought at the standard price, since some unregistered names are reserved or sold at a premium. The buttons open Spaceship, a domain registrar, where the price is shown.
This checks the ending and the restricted words Kansas publishes. It does not tell you whether another company already holds the name. Only the state's own search can show that.
A private website, not a government site. Every state entry links to that state's official search.
Kansas Secretary of State's own search
- Run by
- Kansas Secretary of State
- Called
- Business Search
The state's search is the record that counts. State Business Entity Search is not a government site.
The Business Services Division of the Kansas Secretary of State keeps the register.
Kansas filing fees for a new business name
| Filing | State fee | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Form an LLC in Kansas | $85 | Articles of Organization. Source: Kansas Secretary of State, Articles of Organization, form DL. |
| Form a corporation in Kansas | $85 | Articles of Incorporation, for-profit. Source: Kansas Secretary of State, Articles of Incorporation form. |
| Information report for a Kansas LLC | $90 | Every two years. Businesses forming in even years file in each succeeding even year, odd years in odd years. For-profit businesses are due by April 15. |
Name endings Kansas accepts
For an LLC (K.S.A. 17-7920)
For a corporation (K.S.A. 17-7919)
Business Search and Name Availability in Kansas
The Secretary of State links a Business Search from its business page. The formation form says ID numbers may be found there. Name checks run through a separate Name Availability search in the same business system.
The Articles of Organization form asks you to check the name online against every business already registered with the office, before you file.
When a Kansas name is distinguishable upon the record
Name Availability states the test. A small difference in spelling, or the addition of one extra letter or word, is enough to allow the name. A plural is distinguishable from its singular, and a numeral is distinguishable from the word for it, so 10 and ten differ.
Entity words come off before the comparison. Company, Corp, Inc, LLC, LC, Limited, LTD, LLP, Association, Foundation and University are dropped before the check.
If a name is already in use, a Consent to Use of Similar Business Name, form CN, must go in with the formation document.
Endings Kansas requires
For an LLC, K.S.A. 17-7920 requires a word such as LLC, L.L.C., LC, L.C., Limited Liability Company or Limited Company. Corporations follow K.S.A. 17-7919, whose list runs from Association, Church and College through Corporation, Incorporated, Inc. and Ltd. A name without one of these words does not meet the statute, however clear the search looks. The endings by state lists both.
Kansas filing costs and the biennial report
The Articles of Organization cost $85 filed online. A for-profit corporation's Articles of Incorporation also cost $85 online. The online form says processing happens within minutes.
The information report is filed every two years, at $90 online for an LLC. A business formed in an even year files in each following even year, and odd in odd. For-profit businesses are due by April 15. Past the three-month delinquency interval, the business forfeits.
Holding a Kansas name for 120 days
The name reservation form holds a name for 120 days. It says reservations may not be renewed. The form adds that it is not a name registration and does not register a DBA name. The guide on using a trade name beside an LLC covers that gap.
Checking and claiming a name in Kansas
- Run the name through the Business Search, then through the separate Name Availability page.
- Strip the entity word and test a plural, a numeral and an extra word against what appears.
- File the name reservation form if you need 120 days to prepare.
- File the Articles of Organization online for $85, with form CN attached if the name is in use.
Kansas name search questions
Does adding an s make a Kansas business name different?
Yes. The Name Availability page says the plural form of a word is distinguishable from the singular, so Cat and Cats are different names.
Are 10 and ten the same business name in Kansas?
No. The state treats numbers as distinguishable from the words that represent them.
What happens if a Kansas business misses its information report?
After the three-month delinquency interval passes, the business forfeits. A forfeited business can file nothing else until it is reinstated.
Can I renew a Kansas name reservation?
No. The reservation form says it is effective for 120 days and may not be renewed. It is also not a name registration.
How soon does Kansas process an online LLC filing?
The Articles of Organization form says processing happens within minutes for online filings.
After the Kansas name check
- LLC cost calculatorKansas filing and report fees added up
- Business name rules by stateKansas's endings beside other states
- Hawaii business entity searchHawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
- Montana business entity searchMontana Secretary of State
- California business entity searchCalifornia Secretary of State
- Business name change with the IRSWhich IRS form box or letter covers a new business name, who signs it and when an EIN stays the same.
- How to find a business owner's nameWhere registered agents, registrants and owners appear in state and county records, and what FinCEN says.
8 official Kansas sources
- Kansas Secretary of State, Name Availability, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- Kansas Secretary of State, Articles of Organization, form DL, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- Kansas Secretary of State, Articles of Incorporation form, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- Kansas Secretary of State, Name reservation, form NR, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- Kansas Secretary of State, Information reports, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- Kansas Secretary of State, Businesses, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- Kansas Secretary of State, Register a business, retrieved November 12, 2026.
- Kansas Secretary of State, information report for a Kansas LLC, retrieved November 12, 2026.