Pennsylvania business entity search

Pennsylvania's Department of State says Act 122 of 2022 will keep name availability constricted until annual reports and administrative dissolutions are fully in place in 2028.

Search Pennsylvania's published file of active business registrations

Type a name with or without its ending. LLC, Inc., Corp., Co. and Ltd. are set aside before matching, along with punctuation and capital letters.

Your result will appear here

Type a business name above and press Search. The answer shows here, with the date of the list it came from.

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.

See an example search

Example: a search for "Keystone Bakery" in Pennsylvania, run on November 12, 2026.

No exact match and no close match

Nothing on Pennsylvania's published file of active business registrations matched "Keystone Bakery" as of November 3, 2026.

That is a reading of the published list. The state makes the decision, and names reserved or filed in the last few days may be missing.

Source: Registered Businesses in PA Current by County, Pennsylvania Department of State, data dated November 3, 2026.

The file holds active registrations only and is updated once a month.

Confirm with the state before you file: Pennsylvania's Business Entity Search. A state business name is not a trademark. This is not a government site.

A private website, not a government site. Every state entry links to that state's official search.

Pennsylvania's own search

Run by: Pennsylvania Department of State
Called: Business Entity Search
Search by: entity name, entity number

Open Pennsylvania's official search

The state's search is the record that counts. State Business Entity Search is not a government site.

Until then, names held by defunct companies stay on the register. The Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations keeps the register.

LLC filing fee $125
Register kept by Pennsylvania Department of State

By the State Business Entity Search team. Fees, endings and rules come from 9 official Pennsylvania sources, retrieved on November 12, 2026. Last updated November 13, 2026. How these facts are gathered.

Pennsylvania filing fees for a new business name

Filing	State fee	Details
Form an LLC in Pennsylvania	$125	Certificate of Organization. Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, Fees and payments.
Form a corporation in Pennsylvania	$125	Articles of Incorporation. Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, Fees and payments.
Reserve a name in Pennsylvania	$70	Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, Fees and payments.
Annual report for a Pennsylvania LLC	$7	Every year. September 30 for LLCs, domestic and foreign. Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, Annual reports.
Fictitious name registration, in Pennsylvania	$70	Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, Fees and payments.

Name endings Pennsylvania accepts

For an LLC (15 Pa.C.S. § 204(c))

company
limited
limited liability company
or an abbreviation of one of those terms (the statute does not list the abbreviations)

For a corporation (15 Pa.C.S. § 203(a) (business corporations))

corporation
company
incorporated
limited
abbreviations of those terms
association, fund or syndicate (also allowed)

The Pennsylvania Business Entity Search

The Bureau's database is online as the Business Entity Search, also labeled Business Name Search. It takes an entity name or an entity number. Officer and owner names do not work, so a person hunting for who runs a company will not get there this way.

A match on the register is only the first check. Pennsylvania's name rules also look at reserved names and registered names.

What the published Pennsylvania list covers

The search on this site reads "Registered Businesses in PA Current by County", a file the Pennsylvania Department of State publishes on data.pa.gov. It is updated once a month. Each row shows the business name, the type of registration, the creation date and the filing number.

The file holds active business registrations only. A business that has been dissolved or cancelled is absent, and its name can still matter. Pennsylvania repealed the decennial report on January 3, 2023, so names of inactive entities no longer free up on their own.

Name availability in Pennsylvania until 2028

To use the name of an active entity, a filer needs that entity's consent, a Name Availability Certificate, or certification of abandonment from another jurisdiction. An email to RA-CORPS@pa.gov with the subject line Name Availability starts the inquiry. The reply comes in 7-10 days and the certificate is uploaded with the filing.

The fee schedule also lists a name availability inquiry for 3 names at $15. Section 202 as printed by the legislature still lists a Department of Revenue tax return route for out-of-existence entities, while the Department of State's page lists only consent, a certificate or abandonment.

Words that need approval in a Pennsylvania name

Section 202 bars names that imply a state or federal agency, and names that imply a bank or trust company without a statutory exception. Insurance words such as insurance, surety, fidelity, bond and title need a license or an Insurance Department certification.

College, university and seminary need a certificate from the Department of Education. Engineer, surveyor and architect words need a certificate from the licensing board. Cooperative is for cooperative corporations. Words that imply a licensed profession need prior written approval from the relevant board of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs.

Pennsylvania filing fees and the annual report

The Department's fee schedule lists the certificate of organization at $125 and a name reservation at $70. The LLC cost calculator adds the $7 annual report that LLCs file every year.

The Department warns that third parties charge $100 to $200 for an annual report that costs $7 filed directly. Business corporations also pay $125 for articles of incorporation, and the same $7 annual report applies to them.

Checking and claiming a name in Pennsylvania

Search the exact name in the Business Entity Search, and in the monthly list here.
Confirm the ending: section 204 asks an LLC for company, limited or limited liability company, or an abbreviation. The name endings each state accepts list them beside other states.
Email RA-CORPS@pa.gov for a Name Availability Certificate if an active entity holds a close name.
Reserve the name for $70, or file the $125 certificate of organization.

Pennsylvania name search questions

How do I run a PA business corporation search?

The Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations offers a Business Entity Search, also called the Business Name Search. Records are reached by the correct entity name or entity number.

Can I look up a Pennsylvania business by an owner's name?

No. The Bureau says records may only be accessed by the correct entity name or entity number, not by officer or owner name.

How often does a Pennsylvania LLC file an annual report?

Every year. The Department of State sets the fee at $7, and LLCs, domestic and foreign, file by September 30. The first report is due the year after formation.

How long does a Pennsylvania name availability certificate take?

The Department answers an emailed request in 7-10 days. The reply is either a Name Availability Certificate or word that the name is not available.

Where do I register a fictitious name in Pennsylvania?

With the Department of State's Corporation Bureau, not a county office. The fee schedule lists a fictitious name registration at $70.

After the Pennsylvania name check

9 official Pennsylvania sources

Pennsylvania Department of State, Business and Charities, retrieved November 12, 2026.
Pennsylvania Department of State, Record searches, retrieved November 12, 2026.
Pennsylvania Department of State, Name availability, retrieved November 12, 2026.
Pennsylvania Department of State, Fees and payments, retrieved November 12, 2026.
Pennsylvania Department of State, Annual reports, retrieved November 12, 2026.
Pennsylvania Department of State, Filing guidelines, retrieved November 12, 2026.
15 Pa.C.S. section 202, name distinguishability, retrieved November 12, 2026.
15 Pa.C.S. section 203, business corporation names, retrieved November 12, 2026.
15 Pa.C.S. section 204, limited liability company names, retrieved November 12, 2026.