VerifySOS is a 50-state business-verification tool for credit and underwriting in trucking and commercial finance. One search merges Secretary of State registration, FMCSA/USDOT authority, OFAC sanctions, UCC liens, ownership, and county DBA filings into a single PDF packet.

How do I look up a business across all 50 states?

Enter the company name and its 2-letter state code (or a USDOT number) on verifysos.com. It searches the Secretary of State and FMCSA SAFER side by side, screens OFAC, and generates a verification packet PDF.

How much does VerifySOS cost?

There is a free tier, a Starter plan at $14.99/month (about 250 searches), and a Pro plan at $25/month with unlimited searches plus API access, UCC, and DBA.

Does VerifySOS show business ownership and officers?

Yes. Where a state publishes officers, members, or managers in its free public records, VerifySOS pulls them into the packet, separate from the registered agent, which is not the owner.

← All posts June 18, 2026

Butte County DBA search — how to look up a fictitious business name (CA)

A DBA (doing business as) or fictitious business name is not a legal entity — it’s a filing that lets someone operate under a trade name. In Butte County, California, a sole proprietor, partnership, or even an LLC might file a DBA to do business as something other than their legal name. For credit underwriting, you need to know the difference: a DBA filing shows who owns the trade name and when it expires, but it does not tell you the entity’s legal status, ownership structure, or tax standing. A DBA search in Butte County is one piece of due diligence, not the whole picture.

What a Butte County fictitious business name filing contains

When someone files a DBA in Butte County, the county clerk records the trade name, the names and addresses of the owners, the type of business activity, the date filed, and the expiration date. California law requires the filing to be renewed every five years. If a DBA has lapsed, the owner can no longer legally use that trade name in Butte County, which is a red flag for credit: the business may be operating under an expired or non-renewed filing.

The key names on the filing are the actual owners · the people behind the DBA. This is where you find the principal(s) of the business. If an applicant tells you they own “Golden State Consulting” but the DBA shows a different person as the owner, or if the owners listed are deceased or inactive, you have a problem. The DBA filing is public record, and Butte County makes it available for search at the county clerk’s office.

How to search for a DBA in Butte County

The Butte County Clerk-Recorder maintains fictitious business name records. You can search in person at their office in Oroville, or you can request a search by phone, mail, or online through their public records system. Provide the trade name (the DBA you are looking for) or the owner’s name. The search will return the filing if it exists, the date it was filed, the expiration date, and the owners’ names and addresses.

Not all searches yield results. If no record comes up, either the business was never filed as a DBA, the filing lapsed and was not renewed, or the trade name is registered under a different name or spelling. In that case, you may need to ask the applicant directly or search other county records if the business spans multiple counties.

Why a DBA is not enough for credit underwriting

A DBA filing does not tell you if the owners have been sued, are judgment debtors, or have UCC liens against them. It does not give you tax ID, federal EIN, or bankruptcy status. It does not show whether the DBA is the only business the owner operates, or if they have a pattern of filing and abandoning trade names. It does not tell you if the business is registered with the California Secretary of State as an LLC, corporation, or other legal entity.

For credit purposes, a DBA search should be paired with a Secretary of State lookup (to verify the applicant’s legal entity, if any), a UCC search (to find existing liens), a public records search (to check for lawsuits or judgment liens), and OFAC screening. A sole proprietor operating under a DBA but no formal entity registration is a higher-risk borrower than an LLC with a filed operating agreement, clear ownership, and clean UCC records.

Expiration and renewal red flags

California DBAs expire five years from the date of filing. Butte County will not enforce the expiration on behalf of the county, but the law says the owner loses the legal right to use the DBA once it expires. If you pull a DBA record and the expiration date is in the past, the applicant is operating without a valid filing · that is illegal in California and a major underwriting risk. It suggests either negligence or intentional non-compliance.

Before approving credit to a DBA applicant, verify that the filing is current. If it is within six months of expiration, ask the applicant if they plan to renew. A business that has renewed its DBA on time, filed accurately, and kept it current shows at least administrative diligence.

Matching the DBA to the applicant’s story

When you pull a DBA record, cross-check the owners’ names against the application. If the applicant is applying as “Jane Smith” but the DBA lists “Jane Smith LLC” or a different person entirely, ask for clarification. If the DBA shows two owners but the application lists only one, dig deeper. Discrepancies here often indicate fraud, sloppy record-keeping, or a change in ownership that was never formally updated.

Also check the business address on the DBA. Does it match the applicant’s stated location? A DBA filed with a residential address for a business claiming a commercial storefront is a mismatch worth investigating.

Bottom line

A Butte County DBA search is a fast, cheap way to confirm that a trade name is filed, who owns it, and whether it is current. But it is a compliance check, not a credit decision. Pair it with entity verification through the California Secretary of State, UCC searches, and background checks. A current, accurately filed DBA in the applicant’s name is a positive signal; an expired, abandoned, or mismatched DBA is a warning sign that demands explanation before you move forward.