United States · OH

Ohio Business Search — Free Ohio Secretary of State Lookup

Ohio SOS Business Search — free & complete.

Search the Ohio register

The official Ohio business register is operated by the Ohio Secretary of State — Business Search. LemReveal does not intermediate — click through directly to run your search on the state's authoritative source.

Search by name, Charter/Registration number, or agent.

Open Ohio Secretary of State

What makes Ohio different

•No state annual report requirement for LLCs.
•Corporations file statements-of-continued-existence every 5 years.
•Common entity types: Corporation, LLC, LP, Non-Profit.

Entity types on the Ohio register

LLC (Limited Liability Company)

Owned by members rather than shareholders. Liability sits with the company, and profits normally pass through to the members' personal tax returns. The register shows the registered agent and, in most states, the members or managers.

Corporation

Owned by shareholders and run by a board. Formed by filing articles of incorporation with the state. Some states publish officer and director names on the record; others show only the registered agent.

LP / LLP (Limited & Limited Liability Partnership)

Partnership structures where at least some partners have limited liability. The register lists the general partner and the registered agent; limited partners are usually not published.

Non-profit

Incorporated without shareholders. State registration is separate from federal 501(c) tax-exempt status, so an entity can be active on the state register and still not be tax-exempt.

What each Ohio filing status means

Active / In Good Standing: Registered and up to date on required reports and state fees.
Delinquent / Not in Good Standing: Still registered, but a report or fee is overdue. The entity exists and can usually be restored by filing.
Administratively Dissolved / Revoked: The state ended the registration, almost always for missed reports — not the same as the owners closing the business.
Voluntarily Dissolved / Terminated: The owners filed to close the entity. This is a deliberate wind-up.
Withdrawn: A company registered in another state has ended its authority to operate in this one. It may still be active in its home state.
Merged / Converted: The entity was absorbed into, or re-formed as, another entity. Follow the successor name on the record.
Forfeited: Rights suspended, typically for unpaid state tax. Wording varies by state and often overlaps with 'revoked'.

Wording varies between states — the Ohio Secretary of State — Business Search is authoritative for Ohio.

How to read a Ohio entity record

1
Entity name and any former names. Name changes are filed as amendments, so the current name may differ from the one on a contract or invoice. Check the history before concluding a company does not exist.
2
Entity or file number. The state's permanent identifier. It never changes after a rename, which makes it the safest key to search or store.
3
Formation / registration date. Date the state accepted the filing, not the date trading began. A foreign registration date shows when the company entered this state, not when it was founded.
4
Status. Read with the vocabulary above — 'inactive' rarely means 'fraudulent'; most often it means a missed annual report.
5
Registered agent and office. The legal address for service of process. It is frequently a commercial agent's address, so it is not evidence of where the business actually operates.
6
Principal / mailing address. Closer to the real operating address, but self-reported and only refreshed when a report is filed.
7
Officers, directors, members or managers. Published in some states and withheld in others. Absence is a state policy difference, not a red flag.
8
Filing history. Amendments, annual reports, mergers and reinstatements. The gap between the last filing and today is the best single signal of whether a record is current.

Registered agents in Ohio

Every US state requires an entity to name a registered agent with a physical in-state address to receive legal notices. Thousands of companies share one commercial agent's address, so a shared or out-of-town agent address is normal and says nothing about the company's size or legitimacy.

Checking name availability

Names are cleared per state, and only against that state's register. A name being free here does not clear a federal trademark, a domain, or a registration in another state — and reserving a name is a separate filing from forming the entity.

Also known as

Ohio entity search

OH business lookup

These all refer to the same Ohio business register.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search Ohio business records?

Use the Ohio Secretary of State — Business Search at https://businesssearch.ohiosos.gov/. Search by name, Charter/Registration number, or agent. Basic name and status searches are free.

Is Ohio business data free to access?

Yes. The Ohio state business register is publicly available at no cost. Some copies of filed documents may carry a small per-page fee, but entity lookups, status, and registered-agent data are free.

What entity types are registered in Ohio?

Corporation, LLC, LP, Non-Profit are the most common. All formations, mergers, dissolutions, and reinstatements appear in the register.

What does "Administratively Dissolved / Revoked" mean in Ohio?

The state ended the registration, almost always for missed reports — not the same as the owners closing the business. Delinquent / Not in Good Standing: Still registered, but a report or fee is overdue. The entity exists and can usually be restored by filing.

Who is the registered agent on a Ohio record?

The registered agent is the person or company named to receive legal notices at a physical Ohio address. Many entities share one commercial agent's address, so the agent address is not the company's operating address.

How do I check if a business name is available in Ohio?

Search the Ohio Secretary of State — Business Search for the exact and similar names. Availability is cleared only against the Ohio register — it does not clear a federal trademark or a registration in another state.

What makes Ohio incorporation different?

No state annual report requirement for LLCs. Corporations file statements-of-continued-existence every 5 years.

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