Indiana Business Entity Search (2024)

A business entity is a structure created to offer services or products. Some of the most common business entities are corporations or limited liability companies (LLCs).

Starting a Business In Indiana

To form an LLC or corporation in Indiana, you’ll need to register the company with the Secretary of State. There is a $90 filing fee associated with registering. To register, go to the Inbiz.in.gov website and click on “Register Now.” This will walk you through the required steps to register and you will need to set up an INBiz account.

You’ll be guided through several prompts that take the required information, such as the name of the entity, who is registering the company, the name of the registered agent and the address of the business.

The process takes only a few minutes. Expect the state to review and process the application over the course of a few days. When you are approved, you’ll receive a notification letter and be set to move forward with your business.

Forming an LLC in Indiana

To form an LLC in Indiana, you must file Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State. If your business will sell goods or services or have employees you must register with the Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR).

Every Indiana LLC must have a unique name. This is why conducting a name search is essential. You’ll want to do this before filing the forms and paying the fees so that you know the name you have selected is available for you to use.

Read More: How To Start A Business In Indiana

To search by name, go to the Indiana Secretary of State’s business search website. You’ll see an option to search for companies by name, business ID, filing number, registered agent or incorporator. Choose Business Name and select how you want the database to search: by words contained, starts with or an exact match.

We did a search for Pete’s Pizza and found no matches. This means that the name is available in Indiana for you to use and register your business.

A registered agent is a person who is legally authorized to accept notices for the company. They might receive tax documents, lawsuit filings and state form requirements. You can search by the registered agent’s name using the Secretary of State’s business search tool.

Select Registered Agent Name, click the captcha button and see the results. If the person is a professional registered agent, the search will likely return a long list of companies they work with. This is useful information when you are evaluating whether to hire a registered agent.

If you want to see which companies a person owns, you can search by Incorporator or Governing Person Name. This is the person who filed the Articles of Incorporation or Articles of Organization with the state. It’s best to use the “contains” filter because you may not have the exact name as it appears on legal documents. If someone owns more than one company, this search will populate a list for you to review.

Bottom Line

Anyone can run a business entity search in Indiana. The data is public record and available through the Secretary of State’s website. With just a little information, you can see what businesses exist that match a name you want to use or see who owns a company you might want to do business with. Searches are free to conduct.