Ohio Business Search

How to read the official business-entity file, and a way to have the search run for you.

Ohio Business Search

Ohio charter number

Quick answer. The Ohio charter number is the Secretary of State’s identifier for a corporation. Other entities may be labeled with an entity number, registration number, or license number. The certificate of good standing screen asks for that business entity number. Find it by searching the name, then copy it from Show Details.

Official office

Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services

Open the official search

Phone: (614) 466-3910

180 Civic Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43215

Business filings: (614) 466-3910 or (877) 767-3453. General office: (614) 466-2655.

Steps

  1. Search the name and open the record

    Use Business Search, linked from ohiosos.gov/businesses. The detail view shows the number. The Secretary of State’s dissolved-corporation list also keys off charter number, which is a useful cross-check for older corporations.

  2. Use the label that matches the entity

    A domestic corporation is often discussed as a charter number. A foreign corporation may be discussed as a license number. An LLC may be an entity number. The certificate site calls it the business entity number. Copy the digits from the record rather than translating the label yourself.

  3. Type it into the certificate screen

    cogs.ohiosos.gov asks for the business entity number and links back to Business Search if you do not have it. Ordering without the number means you are guessing which of several similar names you mean.

  4. Keep it distinct from other IDs

    An employer identification number, a vendor’s license, and a municipal income-tax account are not the charter number. Banks mix these up. The charter number is the one printed by the Secretary of State.

When the number is the whole point

Name changes and mergers leave similar names in the index. The charter number is what shows a 1994 corporation and a 2022 reinstatement are the same file. Put the number in the subject line if you email Business Services about a specific record.

Common mistakes

  • Dropping a leading zero or a letter the record actually contains.
  • Using a document image number from one filing as the charter number of the entity.
  • Searching a federal EIN in the business search and deciding the company was never formed.

Questions

Where do I find an Ohio charter number?

On the Secretary of State detail record after a name search, and on the formation documents the office returned. The certificate order form also tells you to search if you do not know it.

Is the charter number the same for an LLC?

LLCs have an entity number in the same database. People say “charter number” mainly about corporations. Use the identifier the detail page prints for that LLC.

Can I order a certificate without it?

The certificate site asks for the business entity number first. Look the number up, then order.

Sources reviewed