NC SOS business search

What the NC Secretary of State business search offers

The state calls its tool Search Business Registration. A search for the NC business entity search or the North Carolina corporation search ends up here. Four tabs sit on it: company by name, company by Secretary of State Identification Number, company officials and registered agents.

Name searches have four match options: Starting With, All, Any and Exact Match. Starting With is the widest net for a name you are testing, since it lists every company whose name opens with those words. The same page links to separate searches for assumed names and for new companies and changes.

North Carolina name rules and what counts as different

G.S. 55D-21 requires a new entity name to be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records from other domestic and registered foreign entity names, and from reserved or registered names. The statute does not list which differences count.

Two routes exist for a name that is too close. The other holder can give written consent along with an undertaking to change its name, or a court can enter a judgment.

A dissolved company's name is not free right away. After an administrative dissolution or revocation, it stays unavailable for five years.

Words a North Carolina name may not imply

G.S. 55D-20 bars a corporation, nonprofit or LLC name that states or implies a purpose other than the one the statute and its articles permit. It also says a filing, a reservation or a registration gives no right to use a name that breaks someone's federal or state trademark rights. A register search shows only what is filed, so trademark checking is a separate job, covered in the guide to trademarking a business name.

Reserving a North Carolina name

The state portal for starting a business lists confirming the name as a step before registering. An application for a reserved LLC name is $10 on the Secretary of State's fee page, and a corporate name costs $30. The statute holds the name for 120 days and calls that period nonrenewable.

What it costs once the company exists

Articles of Organization are $125 for an LLC, and Articles of Incorporation are $125 for a corporation. The annual report is due April 15 of each year after the year of creation. It costs $203 online or $200 on paper, and it is not due in the year the LLC forms. The LLC cost calculator adds these to your first-year total.

The Secretary of State also offers a free e-notification subscription that watches a company's filings and status, which the office presents as a guard against identity theft.

Assumed business names in North Carolina

A DBA here is an assumed business name certificate, filed with the register of deeds in the county where the business operates. The same fee applies if you list one county or 100. Since December 1, 2017, the Secretary of State has kept a statewide database of these filings that anyone can search. Older ones remain only at the register of deeds.

Steps to check and claim a name in North Carolina

1. Run an Exact Match and a Starting With search under company by name.
2. Search the assumed names database too, since an assumed name can sit outside the company register.
3. Check that the name carries an ending G.S. 55D-20 accepts, from the name endings each state accepts.
4. Reserve it for $10 as an LLC or $30 as a corporation if you need 120 days.
5. File the Articles of Organization at $125.