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 LLC lookup

Quick answer. Search the LLC’s legal name in the Ohio Secretary of State business search and open Show Details. The record shows status, the statutory agent, and the entity number. That number is what you use if you later order a certificate. Member names appear only when a filed document included them.

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 on file

    Start from Business Services and open Business Search. Type the legal name, not the storefront slogan. If several LLCs share the words, compare the formation date and the city on the record with what you were told.

  2. Confirm it is an LLC

    An ohio llc lookup is the entity-type line. A corporation can contain “LLC” as a mistake in a marketing packet and still be a corporation in the database. Read the type before you quote a filing fee.

  3. Read the agent block

    Service-of-process instructions on the Secretary of State’s site walk through Show Details and the agent section. Use that address for legal papers. A post office box on a website is not a substitute.

  4. Save the entity number

    You will need it for a certificate and for many later filings. The charter number page covers the labels Ohio uses for different entity types.

Starting an LLC is not this search

People arrive from searches about starting an LLC in Ohio. Formation is a filing with Business Services, with a fee on the current forms-and-fees list. This lookup only tells you whether a name or a company is already on file. It does not draft an operating agreement or get an EIN from the IRS.

Cancelled and dead records

The Secretary of State keeps cancelled and dissolved records searchable. A name that appears with a dead or cancelled status is not an active company. The public dissolution list for domestic corporations is a separate tool, but the business search is still where you open the underlying record.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming an active trade name means the LLC is active. Check the LLC’s own record.
  • Using a vendor’s “Ohio LLC search fee” when the Secretary of State search is the database you actually need.
  • Serving the statutory agent named on an old PDF after a later filing replaced them.

Questions

Can I search an Ohio LLC by entity number?

Yes. The business search accepts an identifier as well as a name. Use the number from the formation receipt or from a prior detail page.

Does ohio llc lookup show members?

Only if they were included on a document the Secretary of State filed. The reliable public facts are the entity itself, its status, and its agent.

Where do I file if the LLC does not exist yet?

With Ohio Secretary of State Business Services, using the current online filing link on ohiosos.gov/businesses. Searching this guide does not create the company.

Sources reviewed