Over 140 Business Filings, Name Reservations, and Orders for Certificates of Status and Certified Copies of Corporations, Limited Liability Companies and Limited Partnerships available online.
- Online Searches
- Certificates, Copies, Status Reports and Processing Times
- Frequently Requested Information
Online Searches
Business Search: Free online access to over 17 million corporate, limited liability company and limited partnership images is available online at bizfileOnline.sos.ca.gov. In addition to the images, available data includes:
- Entity name,
- Entity number,
- Formation, registration or conversion date,
- Status,
- Standing with FTB, SOS Agent and VCFCF,
- Jurisdiction,
- Entity street and mailing addresses,
- Name and address of the agent for service of process,
- Due Date of Statement of Information, if applicable,
- Officer, director, member, manager names and addresses, and
- Additional information related to publicly traded companies.
Certificates, Copies, Status Reports and Processing Times
Certificates, Certified Copies and Free Copies for Corporations, Limited Liability Companies and Limited Partnerships can be obtained online at bizfileOnline.sos.ca.gov.
Other entity types including registered General Partnerships and Limited Liability Partnerships can submit a request to the California Secretary of State's Sacramento office either in person (drop off) or by mail. Instructions and fees for ordering certificates and copies related to General Partnerships and Limited Liability Partnerships are available on the Business Entities Records – Order Form (PDF).
- Certified Copies (Online) – certified copies of documents indicates that the document is certified to be a true and complete copy of a document on record with our office.
- Certificates of Status (Online) - certificates of status are available within minutes online at bizfileOnline.sos.ca.gov. Certificate of Status certifies to the current status of an entity (e.g., active/good standing, suspended, dissolved, cancelled, etc.)
- Certificate of No Record (Paper Only) - Certificate of No Record certifies there is no record of a particular business entity filed with the California Secretary of State.
- Plain Copies - Customers can print plain copies of business entity documents online at bizfileOnline.sos.ca.gov including formation/registration, amendments, terminations and statements of information.
Note: If a certified copy of a filed business entity document is requested for an entity type other than a corporation, limited liability company and limited partnership it must be submitted on paper and the certified copy provided by the Business Programs Division will contain a manually placed certification stamp. The stamp will appear on the back of the final page of the document in the lower right-hand corner. The stamp will contain the date the document was certified, the signature of the California Secretary of State, and the California State Seal. Within the area of the stamp will be the handwritten number of pages being certified and the initials of the deputy certifying the document.
Frequently Requested Information
- Bankruptcy information: With the exception of publicly traded corporations, information concerning bankruptcies of business entities of record, other businesses or individuals, is not disclosed to the California Secretary of State. California and qualified foreign (out-of-state or out-of-country) publicly traded corporations must annually disclose to the California Secretary of State whether or not an order for relief has been entered in a bankruptcy case during the 10 years preceding the date of the disclosure with respect to the corporation, its directors and its five most highly compensated executive officers. The disclosed information and a copy of the filing can be viewed on the Secretary of State's Advanced Publicly Traded Disclosure Search.
- Business licenses or permits are not issued by the California Secretary of State. Please refer to the CalGOLD (California Government: On-Line to Desktops) website for information regarding business license/permit requirements.
- Business entity information such as ownership, telephone numbers, email addresses, and subsidiaries or associated businesses of an entity is not made of record with the California Secretary of State. Requests for information should be directed to the business entity itself.
- Bylaws or Operating Agreements (or any amendments thereto) are maintained by the business entity and are not filed with the California Secretary of State. Requests for copies or information about these documents should be directed to the business entity itself.
- Employer identification numbers are not issued by or disclosed to the California Secretary of State. Please refer to the Internal Revenue Service for information relating to the issuance of Federal Employer Identification Numbers or the Employment Development Department for information relating to the issuance of State Employer Identification Numbers.
- Fictitious business name statements are filed with the County in which the principal place of business is located.
- Owner, shareholder and employee information for a business entity is not made of record with the California Secretary of State. Requests for information should be directed to the business entity itself.
- Personal information such as telephone numbers, email addresses and social security numbers of business entity members (e.g., officers, directors, managers, members, partners, agents and employees) is not made of record with the California Secretary of State.
- Security offerings or sales (such as the sale of shares of stock) are regulated by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, Division of Corporations. Requests for information should be directed to that agency.
- Sole proprietorships are not registered with the California Secretary of State but may register with the city, county or other local government entity in which the principal place of business is located.
- Subchapter S is a tax classification provided for under the Internal Revenue Code and the California Revenue and Taxation Code, and is not reported to the California Secretary of State. Please refer to the Internal Revenue Service or the Franchise Tax Board for information regarding this tax classification.
