Ohio Secretary of State business search

Ohio LLC lookup by name, number or agent

The Secretary of State's online business search, called Ohio Business Search, finds a company by business name or by charter or registration number. A third choice in the Search By drop down is Agent/Registrant, which finds companies through the person or firm that receives their legal papers.

Ohio describes no separate public tool that tells you a name is clear. Instead, when a filing arrives, the office searches its own records for a conflict. The business entity search by state points you to each state's own register for the same reason.

What counts as a different name in Ohio

Section 1701.05 gives the Secretary of State the job of deciding whether a name is distinguishable from another on its records. The office's guide to name availability lists what does not count. Words naming the entity type, such as "Company," "Corporation," "LP" or "Limited Liability Company," do not separate two names. Neither do punctuation, contractions, abbreviations, articles, conjunctions, or a different tense or number of the same word.

Reversed word order, added letters and different spellings generally do count. Fictitious names are the exception, because they need not be distinguishable from any other registered name.

Ohio business entity search and the Held label

Held is a status you may meet in results. It means a hold was filed on the name and the registrant keeps an exclusive right to it until the hold expires. A cancelled entity gets the same treatment for a year, because the state holds its name for one year from cancellation in case it reinstates.

Words that need approval

Four kinds of wording carry limits in the state's guide:

• Bank, banker, banking and trust need prior approval from the superintendent of financial institutions, even if the business does no banking.
• Cooperative, coop, co-operative and co-op are open only to entities organized under the cooperative laws the guide lists.
• Benefit, or "b-" before an ending such as Corporation, is open to benefit corporations.
• Any name that wrongly suggests a tie to a government agency, such as I.R.S., is prohibited by the Ohio Revised Code.

Holding a name before you file

Form 534B reserves a name for $39 and keeps it 180 days from the date of filing. The same form moves a reservation to someone else for $25 or cancels it for $25.

A preclearance costs $50. It asks the office whether a proposed filing is acceptable and comes back within 1-2 business days. Registering an LLC or corporation protects its name automatically, so no separate name registration is needed after formation.

What Ohio charges once the LLC exists

The Articles of Organization on Form 610 carry a $99 filing fee, and regular service takes 3-7 business days. After that, there is no yearly report to file for an LLC. The Department of Taxation says the Annual Minimum Tax stopped in 2024, and for tax years 2025 and forward the commercial activity tax falls on businesses with more than $6 million a year in Ohio taxable gross receipts. The LLC cost calculator totals these figures.

Trade names in Ohio

A trade name or fictitious name report goes on Form 534A for $39, and renewal on Form 523A is $25. A fictitious name registration gives no protection, so a person who wants to keep others from using a name should read about protecting a business name. The state posts free monthly business reports listing new LLCs, but it offers no list of trade names.

Steps to check and claim a name in Ohio

1. Search the name in Ohio Business Search by business name, then again by charter number or agent if you know one.
2. Look for a Held status, which keeps the name from other filers.
3. Pay $50 for a preclearance if you want the office's view before filing.
4. Reserve the name on Form 534B for $39 if you need 180 days.
5. File the Articles of Organization at $99, using one of the endings in the name endings each state accepts.