Illinois Business Search

A field guide to the public business registry, written beside the official search.

Illinois Business Search

Illinois corporation search

Quick answer. An Illinois corporation search uses the same Secretary of State entity database as an LLC search. Search the corporate name, the president or secretary, or the file number. The file detail report shows the public record. A certificate of good standing for a corporation is listed at $25.

Official office

Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services

Open the official search

Phone: (217) 782-6961

501 S. Second Street, Springfield, IL 62756

Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Central. LLC annual-report questions: (217) 524-8008. Chicago office: 69 W. Washington Street, Suite 1240, (312) 793-3380.

Steps

  1. Choose president or secretary when the name fails

    The search form has methods for president and secretary as well as business name. Use them when a registered agent is a service company and the only human name you have is an officer.

  2. Separate not-for-profits

    Not-for-profit corporations are in the same database and file annual reports on the same portal, but the certificate price listed on the department’s page is $5, not $25. Read the entity type before you describe the company to a grantor or a bank.

  3. Use the file number for the annual report

    The annual report filing screen asks for the corporation file number and links a way to find it. That number is on the file detail report.

  4. Treat the database warning seriously

    The department states the database is for individual searches, that bulk downloading is prohibited, and that unauthorized copying can be prosecuted under Illinois computer-tampering statutes. Look up the one corporation you need.

Good standing for a corporation

The department’s wording is that a certificate of good standing confirms compliance with Business Services. Purchase it from the file detail report and print it from the receipt or the email. If the corporation is behind on its annual report, the certificate is the wrong first step. File the report, then order the certificate.

Common mistakes

  • Using an LLC manager search and missing a corporation whose president is the person you meant.
  • Assuming a foreign corporation is absent because you searched the home-state name with the home-state punctuation.
  • Sharing a login or a scraped copy of search results as a compliance file. The department says the data is its property.

Questions

Are Illinois corporations and LLCs in one search?

Yes. The Department of Business Services entity search covers both. Read the entity type on the file detail report.

What does the file detail report include?

The department says it contains the most requested information on the entity. Open it rather than relying on the one-line search result.

How do I check an Illinois corporation name before filing?

Run the business-name search. The department lists “check the availability of a company name” as one use of the database. A clear result is not a reservation.

Sources reviewed