VerifySOS · Free lookup
SOS Search by Owner Name
Most people search a Secretary of State by company name. The reverse — typing a PERSON's name to find every company they own or officer — is only offered by some states. Here's the real state-by-state picture, verified against each state's official portal.
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Which states let you search by owner or officer name?
| State | Owner-name search | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | ✅ Yes | On the Alabama SOS Business Entity Records search, pick "by Officer | Agent | Incorporator", type the person's name in the Name box (leave Place of Formation on "All Records"), and Search to list every entity where that person appears, with a Position column showing their role. |
| Alaska | ✅ Yes | On the "Search Corporate Officials" page, type the person's last name in "Official's Last or Entity Name" (optionally "First Name"), pick Starts With or Contains, click Search, and complete the reCAPTCHA checkbox to see every entity that lists them as an official. |
| Arizona | ✅ Yes | On the Arizona Business Center business search, expand the search options and type the person's name in the "Principal Name" field (placeholder "Enter Principal Name"), then search to list every entity where that person appears as an officer, director, member, or manager. |
| Arkansas | — No | On the Arkansas SOS Business Entity Search you can only search by entity Name, Fictitious Name, Registered Agent (plus RA City/State), or Filing # — there is no way to search by an owner's or officer's name. |
| California | ⚠️ Limited | On the free bizfile Online Business Search, open "Advanced", switch "Search Type" from "Entity Information Search" to "Publicly Traded Disclosure Search", and enter the person's name in the "Director or Executive Officer" field (hint: "Search by individual name - enter at least 2 characters"). |
| Colorado | ⚠️ Limited | On the Colorado SOS Advanced Search page, select the person role (e.g. "Trade name registrant" or "Registered agent"), enter the person's Last name and First name, and click Search — it's free and requires no login. |
| Connecticut | ✅ Yes | On the CT Business Records Search page click "advanced search", set the "Search by" dropdown to "Principal Name", enter the person's last name (first name optional), and click SEARCH to list every CT entity reporting that person as a principal. |
| Delaware | — No | Go to the Delaware Division of Corporations General Information Name Search and enter the entity's name or file number — those are the only two search criteria offered. |
| District of Columbia | — No | Create a free Access DC account, sign in at corponline.dlcp.dc.gov, open the Business Filings Search, and search by entity name, trade name, registered agent name, file number, or document tracking number — there is no field for searching by an officer/governor/member/owner personal name. |
| Florida | ✅ Yes | Go to Sunbiz's "Officer/Registered Agent Name" search, type the person's name as Last Name, First Name (partial names OK), and you get a free list of every Florida corporation, LLC, LP, or trademark record where that person appears as an officer, director, manager, or registered agent. |
| Georgia | ⚠️ Limited | Go to ecorp.sos.ga.gov/BusinessSearch, select the "Officer Name" radio button, type the person's name, pick Starts With / Contains / Exact Match, and click Search — free, no login. |
| Hawaii | — No | On the Hawaii DCCA Business Registration portal's Search & Buy page, you can only type a business name (with a "Begins with"/"Contains" dropdown) — there is no way to search by an owner's, officer's, member's, or manager's name. |
| Idaho | — No | On sosbiz.idaho.gov/search/business the keyword box searches only business name or file number (Starts with/Contains), so you cannot look up companies by an owner's or officer's name; the only person-name option is the Advanced-options "Search by Registered Agent" checkbox. |
| Illinois | ✅ Yes | Go to apps.ilsos.gov/businessentitysearch/, under "Choose a Search Method" pick President, Secretary, or Manager, enter the person's Last Name (First Name and Middle Initial optional), and click Submit. |
| Indiana | ✅ Yes | Go to the INBiz Public Business Search, enter the person's name in the "Incorporator or Governing Person Name" field (choose Contains / Starts With / Exact Match), and search to list every Indiana entity where that person is recorded as an incorporator or governing person. |
| Iowa | — No | Go to the Iowa SOS Business Entities Search and pick "Search by Business Name" or "Search by Business Number" — those are the only two options, so you cannot look up companies by a person's name. |
| Kansas | — No | On the Kansas SOS Business Entity Search Station (BESS) page, pick one of the only three search radio options — "By business name", "By Kansas Secretary of State Business ID", or "By resident agent name" — there is no owner/officer/member/manager/incorporator name search. |
| Kentucky | ✅ Yes | On the Kentucky Secretary of State FastTrack "Current Representative Search" page, type the person's last name (and optionally first/middle) under "Search For Officers By Name" and click Search to list every Kentucky entity where that person is a current officer, director, member, or manager. |
| Louisiana | ✅ Yes | Go to the Louisiana SOS CORAWeb Commercial Search, select the "Officer Name or Agent Name" radio option, enter the person's First Name and Last Name, and search for free. |
| Maine | — No | On Maine's ICRS Corporate Name Search you can only enter a "Keyword from name to be searched" (entity name) or a "Charter number" — there is no way to search by an owner's, officer's, member's, or manager's personal name. |
| Maryland | — No | On Maryland Business Express Entity Search you can only search by Business Name, Department ID, or EIN, so there is no way to type a person's name and find the companies they own or officer. |
| Massachusetts | ✅ Yes | On the Corporations Division search page, select the "Individual Name" radio option, enter the person's First/Middle/Last name, pick a search type (Begins with, Exact match, Full text, or Soundex), and submit to list entities where that person appears as an officer, director, or other filed individual. |
| Michigan | ⚠️ Limited | On the MiBusiness Registry Business Search page click "Advanced", choose Search By "Individual Name", type the person's name last-name-first (e.g. SMITH JOHN) in the search box, and click Search; open a result row to see the entity's officers/directors free. |
| Minnesota | — No | On the MBLS Business Search page you can only search by business name or file number (with Begins With/Contains scope and Active/Inactive filters); there is no way to enter a person's name to find companies they own or officer. |
| Mississippi | ✅ Yes | Open the Mississippi SOS business search portal, choose the "Officer Name" search option (one of four search-by modes alongside Business Name, Business ID, and Registered Agent), enter the person's name, and click Search to list entities where that person is listed as an officer/director. |
| Missouri | — No | Go to bsd.sos.mo.gov Business Entity Search and pick a type from the "Search" dropdown — you can only search by Business Name, Registered Agent, Name Availability, or Charter No., not by an owner or officer's name. |
| Montana | — No | Go to biz.sosmt.gov/search/business and enter a business name or filing number; the Advanced tab only adds entity type/subtype, status, state, county, date-range filters and a "Search by Registered Agent PID" checkbox — there is no field to search by an owner's, officer's, or member's name. |
| Nebraska | — No | On the Nebraska Corporation and Business Search page, pick a name-match method (Starts With, Keyword, Sounds Like, or Exact Match) or enter an SOS Account Number, pass the reCAPTCHA, and click Perform Search — person-name searches are not offered. |
| Nevada | ✅ Yes | Go to the Nevada SOS business search at esos.nv.gov/EntitySearch/OnlineEntitySearch, enter the person's first and last name in the Officer Name fields (leave the business-name box empty), and click Search to list every Nevada entity where that person is filed as an officer/manager/member. |
| New Hampshire | — No | On NH QuickStart Business Inquire you can search only by Business Name (Starts With/Exact/Contains/All Words), Business Home State Name, Business ID, Filing #, Business Creation Date, or Registered Agent Name — there is no field to search by an owner/officer/principal name. |
| New Jersey | ✅ Yes | Go to NJ's Business Records Service "Business Entity Status Reports" page, set Search Type to "Principal Name (Officer/Director, Manager, Managing Member, etc.)", enter the person's name, and browse the list of matching businesses for free. |
| New Mexico | — No | Go to enterprise.sos.nm.gov/search/business and enter a company name or file number; there is no option to search by a person's (owner/officer/member) name. |
| New York | — No | Go to apps.dos.ny.gov/publicInquiry/, set the "Search By" dropdown to Entity Name (or DOS ID / Assumed Name / Assumed Name ID) and search — there is no option to search by a person's name. |
| North Carolina | ✅ Yes | On the NC Secretary of State Business Registration Search page, set the "Search for" dropdown to "Company Officials", set "Search type" to "Individual", enter the person's Last/First (Middle optional) name, and submit to list companies where that person is recorded as a company official. |
| North Dakota | — No | Go to the ND FirstStop business search and enter a company name or SOS control ID — there is no field or option to search by a person's (owner/officer/member) name. |
| Ohio | ⚠️ Limited | Go to businesssearch.ohiosos.gov, switch the search type from "Business Name" to "Organizer/Incorporator", enter the person's name, and search to list every Ohio entity that person organized or incorporated. |
| Oklahoma | ⚠️ Limited | On the OK SOS Business Entities Search page click "Advanced Search>>", select the "Search by Name of Person" radio button, choose "Individual", enter First Name and Last Name (Last Name required), complete the captcha, and click Search to list businesses that person is associated with. |
| Oregon | ✅ Yes | On the Oregon Business Registry, open the Associated Business Search (linked as "By Individual" from the Business Name Search page), key in the person's first and last name, pick an associated-name type (or leave "All associated name types" checked) and Active/Inactive scope, then click "Search for Associated Names". |
| Pennsylvania | — No | Go to file.dos.pa.gov/search/business and search by business entity name or entity number only — Pennsylvania offers no way to search by a person's name. |
| Rhode Island | ✅ Yes | Open the RI Corporate Database search page, enter the person's first and last name in the "Search by an individual name (Officer, Director, etc.)" section, and submit to see all entities where that person is listed on filings. |
| South Carolina | — No | Go to businessfilings.sc.gov Business Entities Online and search by business name; there is no way to search by a person's name except the separate registered-agent search. |
| South Dakota | — No | Go to the SD SOS Business Filing Search and enter a business name (Starts With or Contains) or a Business ID — there is no field for searching by a person's (owner/officer/member) name. |
| Tennessee | — No | Go to the TNCaB Business Entity Search, type the company name in the "Business Name" box (or enter its "Control Number") and open the entity's detail card — you cannot search by a person's name. |
| Texas | — No | Use the free Comptroller Taxable Entity Search and search by "Entity Name", "Taxpayer Number", or "Texas Secretary of State File Number" — there is no field to search by an owner/officer/member person name, so you cannot reverse-look-up a person's companies. |
| Utah | ✅ Yes | On Utah's Business Search at businessregistration.utah.gov (Search Business Entity Records), leave the business Name blank, type the person's name into the "Principal Name:" field, choose Starts With / Contains / Exact Match, and submit to list every Utah entity where that person is a recorded principal (officer, director, member, manager). |
| Vermont | ✅ Yes | On the Vermont Secretary of State business search page, expand the "Advanced Search" panel, type the person's name in the "Principal Name" box (placeholder "Enter Principal Name"), complete the captcha, and click Search to list businesses that person is a principal of. |
| Virginia | ⚠️ Limited | Go to the Virginia SCC Clerk's Information System entity search, expand the Advanced Search options, choose "Principal Name" (or "Registered Agent Name"), enter the person's name, and search free with no login to list entities reporting that person as a principal. |
| Washington | ✅ Yes | On the WA Corporations and Charities Filing System, open Advanced Search (ccfs.sos.wa.gov/#/AdvancedSearch), under "Search By:" pick the "Governor" radio button (instead of "Registered Agent"), type the person's name in the "Governor Name:" box, and click search to list all entities where that person is a governor. |
| West Virginia | ✅ Yes | On the WV Secretary of State Business Organization Search, type the person's name into the "Agent/Officer/Name" box (leave "Organization" blank) and click Search; every company where that name appears as an agent, officer, director, member, organizer, or DBA owner is listed with a "Found: NAME" annotation. |
| Wisconsin | — No | On the Wisconsin DFI Corporate Records Advanced Search, you can only search a person's name as a Registered Agent (via the "In Names Of: Registered Agents" option) — there is no way to search by owner, officer, member, manager, or incorporator name. |
| Wyoming | — No | Go to the WyoBiz Business Center Filing Search, type the business name in the "Filing Name" box (choose "Starts With" or "Contains") or enter a Filing ID, and click Search — there is no way to search by a person's name. |
What to do in states without owner-name search
When a state only searches by company name, owner names are still on the record — you just have to open each entity's filing to see them. That's what VerifySOS automates: search any company by name and the officers, members, and managers on file come back in one verified PDF, in every state that publishes them.
Officer search is not agent search
Several portals offer a registered-agent search that looks like an owner search but isn't — the agent is often a paid service, not a principal. The table above only counts true officer/member/principal name search.
Frequently asked questions
Which states let you search businesses by owner name?
About 20 states offer a true officer or member name search on their official portal, and a handful more offer a limited version — see the state-by-state table above, verified against each official portal.
How do I find the companies a person owns in a state without owner-name search?
You search by company name and read the principals off each record. VerifySOS pulls those officer and member names for you automatically and merges them with USDOT and OFAC data in one packet.
Is Secretary of State owner search free?
Where portals offer it, the search itself is free; some states sell fuller reports. The table notes the exceptions.
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