Business search · New York
New York business search
The New York Department of State, Division of Corporations keeps the official record of every company, LLC and corporation registered in New York. Look one up by name and see entity type, formation date and registered agent. Clerkfield reads New York's open data directly, and every result shows the source and the date of the data.
What New York's records include
The fields a Clerkfield result returns for New York, taken from the state's own record.
- Legal name (current name only)
- DOS ID
- Entity type
- Initial filing date
- County
- Jurisdiction of formation
- Service of process name and address
- Registered agent name and address, when one is designated
- Business location address, when on file
- CEO name and address (business corporations that filed a biennial statement)
Not in New York's free records
Active companies only.
Types of business New York registers
- Domestic Limited Liability Company
- Domestic Business Corporation
- Domestic Not-For-Profit Corporation
- Foreign Limited Liability Company
- Foreign Business Corporation
- Domestic Professional Service Corporation
- Domestic Professional Service Limited Liability Company
- Domestic Limited Partnership
- Domestic Registered Limited Liability Partnership
What New York's statuses mean
New York uses its own words for a business's standing. Clerkfield keeps the state's wording in every result and marks each one active or inactive.
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Active | The entity exists on the state's records. A New York company stays active until it dissolves, or, if formed elsewhere, until it gives up its authority to do business in New York. |
| Inactive | The entity has ended or lost its standing on the state's records. The live search shows a reason next to it. Clerkfield's New York data leaves inactive entities out entirely. |
| Dissolution by Proclamation / Annulment of Authority | The Secretary of State ended the company (or, for an out-of-state company, its authority in New York) at the Tax Department's request, after franchise tax returns or tax went unpaid for two years or more. It can be reinstated once the taxes are dealt with. |
| Past due | Shown on a Certificate of Status when the company has not filed its biennial statement. The company still exists, but the overdue filing can hold up deals. |
| Suspended | An LLC or similar entity formed after June 1, 2006 that did not complete the newspaper publication requirement within 120 days. Its authority to do business is suspended until it files a Certificate of Publication. |
How to search New York records by hand
The state's own search is at apps.dos.ny.gov.
- Open the Department of State's Public Inquiry search at apps.dos.ny.gov/publicInquiry.
- Search the Corporation and Business Entity Database by the company's name or its DOS ID.
- Open the matching entity and read its status and, if inactive, the reason shown.
- Check the filing history for dissolutions, name changes and the biennial statement.
- Compare the service of process address with what the merchant gave you; it is often a lawyer or agent, not the business.
Fees and how current the data is
Fees
Searching is free. A Certificate of Status costs $25 and must be requested in writing (mail, email or in person); it cannot be ordered online or by phone.
How current it is
Open data published monthly, as a snapshot of active entities on the last business day of the month
Good to know about New York records
01
New York's open data lists active entities only, so a company Clerkfield cannot find may be dissolved or inactive rather than never registered.
02
Only the current name is published. A merchant still using an old company name will not match it in the open data.
03
New York does not collect LLC members or corporate officers. The only person named is a business corporation's CEO, and only if it filed a biennial statement.
04
The county is the one the company named in its filings and can be changed at will, so it may not be where the business operates.
Liens on New York businesses
New York UCC filings are kept by the New York Department of State, UCC Unit and searched at ucc-efiling.dos.ny.gov. A search done by the Department costs $25 per debtor ($50 issued under seal); plain copies are $5 and certified copies $10 per document. Clerkfield doesn't search New York liens yet.
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Clerkfield reads the state's open data, which only lists entities that were active at the last monthly snapshot. A company that dissolved, lost its standing or formed in the last few weeks will be missing, so check the Department of State's Public Inquiry search before treating it as unregistered.
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No. The Department of State does not collect LLC members or managers. Business corporations that filed a biennial statement show a CEO name, and that is the only person New York publishes.
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Often not. The service of process address is where the state forwards legal papers, and it is frequently a law firm or agent. A separate location address is shown only when the company filed one.
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Ask the Division of Corporations for a Certificate of Status, which costs $25 and must be requested in writing. If the company missed its biennial statement, the certificate shows it as past due.
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It means the LLC never finished New York's newspaper publication requirement, so its authority to do business is suspended. It still exists and can fix this by filing a Certificate of Publication.