Georgia secretary of state business license search

Welcome to the Secretary of State's Government Records Inquiry System. This facility provides you easy access to public information maintained by the Secretary of State's office in electronic format. If you are searching for certain corporation records from 1949-2010, please visit https://www.archives.alabama.gov.

Notice: We have switched from a 6 digit to a 9 digit Entity ID format. There is no action for you to take, but you may notice 3 leading 0's added to your number.

Business Entity Search Options

Entity Name
Entity Number
Officer | Agent | Incorporator
Month and Year
Date
Reservation | Registration by ID

Each search option opens in a new browser window. Close the search browser or toggle between browsers to return to this page.

Should you encounter problems or have questions about using this facility, please e-mail the Webmaster.

To perform a GA SOS Corp search, you can go to the Georgia Secretary of State Corporations Division page. But before you do this, there are some things to consider when deciding on your name.

Choosing Your Name

LLC must be included at the end of your name. This can be presented as L.L.C or LLC, with LLC being the more commonly chosen version. An LLC is not the same as a corporation, and, therefore, your name cannot use that word or any variation on it such as Incorporated, Corp, or Inc. Try for something uniquely different from all the other registered businesses in Georgia. After you have decided on your preferred name, you must check to see if it is available.

How to Search

• Right at the top under “Business Search,” you will see a “Business Name” box. When you punch in your name omit the LLC from the ending. You also do not need to capitalize any words.
• To start, just enter the first couple words of your desired name to make sure you find anything that is in any way similar. (For example: if your desired LLC name is “Meredith's Cupcake House LLC,” just enter “Meredith's Cupcake.”)
• All of the other boxes you see there leave blank.
• Now click on the “Search” button to scan through the names of already existing businesses.
• If a “No data found” notice appears, this indicates that you are clear to use your preferred name.
• If names show up that are not too close to yours, as in there is still something uniquely different there, you are still clear to use your preferred name.
• If your name comes up in the list identical to yours, it is not available for use, so you will need to try again with an alternative name.
• Similarly, if a name comes up that is too much like your own, your name is not available for use, so you will need to try again.
• Once you have determined the name for your LLC, you can reserve it for 30 days by filling out a Name Reservation Request form for $25.

Once you have a name in place for your Georgia LLC, it is time to make your company official by filing with the Georgia Secretary of State Corporation Division. Included in the articles is the name of your LLC and you can also include the addresses and names of the LLC's managers.

If an LLC is not located in the state of Georgia, it must be registered with the Georgia Secretary of State in order to pursue business in the state. A Foreign LLC needs to put a registered agent for service of process in place who is physically situated in Georgia.

Some Regulatory Requirements and Tax of Your LLC

If the number of members exceeds one in your LLC, it must acquire an Employer Identification Number with the IRS regardless of whether it has any employees. If there is only one member in your LLC — you — an EIN must be put in place in the event that it will possess employees or you choose for it to be a corporation that is taxed rather than a sole proprietorship. A filing fee does not exist for the online application necessary to fill out and obtaining an EIN through the IRS website.

Business License

All LLC businesses in Georgia are required to file a registration with the Secretary of State every year for an online filing fee of $50. Depending on the sort of business it is and its location, your LLC might require alternative local and state business licenses.

The first registration is expected between January 1 and April 1 following the calendar year in which the LLC was created. This can be accomplished through online services.

Knowing the naming requirements for your LLC and simply searching it on the Georgia Secretary of State Corporations Division page is a step on your way to doing business in Georgia.

If you are interested in finding more information in regards to naming and registering your LLC in the state of Georgia, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.

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