California Entity Search

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

California Entity Search

bizfile search

Quick answer. A bizfile search is the California Secretary of State business search. Use bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov, enter a name or entity number, and open the detail record. You do not need an account to look. You do need one to file or to order a certificate.

Official office

California Secretary of State, Business Programs Division

Open the official search

Phone: (916) 653-6814

1500 11th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

Business search is free and does not require an account. Phone support: (916) 653-6814.

Steps

  1. Start at the business search URL

    The public inquiry is bizfile Online business search. If a page asks you to create an account before it shows a search box, you are in the filing side of the portal. Go back to search.

  2. Try a shorter name if the exact string fails

    The Secretary of State’s search tips suggest fewer keywords, or a begins-with search, when a record will not come up. A status report can be ordered if you need the office to look further. That order is not the free search.

  3. Open the entity and read the date filed

    The formation, registration, or conversion date is the “Date Filed” value the Statement of Information instructions tell you to use. That month sets the filing window for the statement. It is also how you tell a 1998 corporation from a 2024 one with a similar name.

  4. Save the PDF of the latest statement

    Imaged Statements of Information for corporations and LLCs are part of the free download set described in the public-portal help. “Image not available online” means you may have to order the copy. The search tips page says so.

Secretary of State bizfile is one office

People type “sos ca business search,” “ca entity search,” and “secretary of state california business search” for the same index. bizfile also handles UCC filings and other business products, which the overview page lists. A UCC search is a different menu from the business-entity search. Do not read a financing statement as if it were articles of incorporation.

When the record says image not available

Older filings are not all scanned. The search tips page says results include imaged Statements of Information and that an “image not available” note may still be orderable. Use the information-request path the Secretary of State publishes rather than refreshing the page.

Common mistakes

  • Creating an account because a blog said the search is locked. The search itself is public.
  • Quoting a status from memory a week later. The page is the record as of the moment you opened it.
  • Mixing a California entity number with a federal EIN in the search box.

Questions

Does sos business search ca require a login?

No. The Secretary of State says the business search is free and does not require an account. Filings and certificate orders do.

Can I search by entity number in bizfile?

Yes. Use the entity number shown on the record. For newly established numbers, include the letter B, as the bizfile overview page instructs.

What if the name search returns nothing?

Try fewer words or a begins-with query, as the search tips suggest. The company may also be an LLP or a general partnership, which this database does not include.

Sources reviewed