California Business Registrations & Company Search

How to Search California Business Records

All California business registrations are public record and searchable free of charge through the California Secretary of State's Business Search portal at bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov. You do not need an account to look up a company.

1. Open the Business Search — choose "Business Search" from the Bizfile Online homepage.
2. Enter the company name or entity number — a partial name works; the search returns every entity containing those words, so expect multiple results for common names.
3. Read the status line — the two fields that matter most are the entity status ("Active", "Suspended", "Forfeited", or "Dissolved") and the entity number, which is your unique reference for the record.
4. Pull the detail page — click through to see the registration date, jurisdiction, agent for service of process, and the filing history showing every document filed since incorporation.

If a name returns nothing, the business is either unregistered (possibly operating as an unregistered DBA), or the name you have is a trade name rather than the legal entity name. Try the free company search here on The Verified HQ, which also matches against SEC filings and other records the SOS does not hold.

What a California Company Record Contains

A complete California SOS record tells you: the exact legal name; the entity number; status (active, suspended, forfeited, or dissolved); the type of entity (corporation, LLC, LP, LLP); the date of formation or registration; the agent for service of process and their address; the jurisdiction of formation for foreign entities; and the complete filing history. If the status is "Suspended" or "Forfeited", the company has failed to file its Statement of Information or pay franchise taxes with the Franchise Tax Board — a major red flag for anyone planning to do business with it.

Verifying an EIN for a California Company

The IRS does not confirm EINs publicly — it will not verify a tax ID over the phone or by email to third parties. The practical ways to validate an EIN are: ask the company for a W-9 (the single best document, since it comes with an IRS penalty risk for false statements); request a 147C letter (the IRS-issued confirmation of the EIN) or a CP575 notice; or check tax returns if you have authorization. The EIN itself is not proof the entity is registered with California — always cross-check the SOS record separately, because a business can have an EIN and no registration, or vice versa.

Common Issues When Verifying California Companies

• Suspended entities — the largest share of "problem" records: an entity can be suspended for unpaid franchise tax or a missed Statement of Information, and technically may not transact business while suspended.
• Same-name confusion — with 4 million entities, many companies share or resemble each other's names. Always compare the entity number, not just the name.
• Expired DBAs — a fictitious business name filing lapses after 5 years; a "filing expired" record does not necessarily mean the company stopped operating.
• Out-of-state entities — a foreign (non-California) company must register as a "foreign" entity to do business in California; if you see the word "Foreign" in the record type, the company was formed in another state, and its home-state record needs checking too.

Why This Matters Before You Transact

A California company can hold itself out as legitimate while its registration is suspended, its name is a near-match of a larger firm, or its listed agent is no longer at the registered address. Checking the SOS record takes minutes and is the cheapest due diligence you can do. Pair it with an HQ Trust Score report to add sanctions screening and litigation history on top of the registry data.