VerifySOS is a business-verification tool for credit and underwriting in trucking and commercial finance, with real-time lookups across all 50 states. One search merges Secretary of State registration, FMCSA/USDOT authority and ownership (where the state publishes it) into a single PDF packet, with an optional OFAC sanctions screen.

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, can add an OFAC sanctions screen, and generates a verification packet PDF. USDOT/FMCSA data covers all 50 states; Secretary of State lookups are live in most states, and elsewhere the results give you a direct link to the official state business search.

How much does VerifySOS cost?

You get 3 free searches with no signup and no card, each with its PDF. A free account adds unlimited searches, 3 verification reports (PDF packets) a day and 3 API lookups a day. Pro is $14.99/month for unlimited verification reports and API lookups, with a 7-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Does VerifySOS show business ownership and officers?

Yes, on every plan. 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.

How do I look up a business in Illinois?

Enter the company name on verifysos.com with the IL state code (or a USDOT number). VerifySOS searches the Illinois Secretary of State and FMCSA SAFER together, can add an OFAC sanctions screen, and builds a verification packet PDF.

Does VerifySOS show Illinois business owners and officers?

Where Illinois publishes officers, members, or managers in its free public records, VerifySOS pulls them into the packet on every plan — separate from the registered agent, who is not an owner.

Is an Illinois Secretary of State business search free?

Searching is free. VerifySOS aggregates the free Illinois public records and merges them with USDOT/FMCSA and an optional OFAC screen into one credit-file PDF.

IL · Secretary of State

Verify any Illinois business in seconds.

Illinois SOS entity data + USDOT/FMCSA carrier records, with an optional OFAC SDN screen — all in one verification packet. Real-time pull from the official IL SOS, normalized into a clean credit-file PDF.

What you get with an Illinois lookup

Illinois SOS entity record — name, status, entity type, formation date, registered agent + address, principal office, and officers/managers where the state exposes them.
USDOT / FMCSA carrier verification — for trucking deals, we pull the carrier's authority status, MC#, fleet size and MCS-150 history, plus the FMCSA SAFER snapshot. Auto-matched to the SOS legal name when applicable.
OFAC SDN screening — optional: add it to your search to check the company name against the Treasury sanctions list.
DBA / Fictitious Name finder — a separate tool that points you to the county/town clerk's own search (or the statewide registry) where a DBA is filed in Illinois.
One merged PDF — cover sheet + SOS record + USDOT snapshot + supporting docs, all in a credit-file-ready packet.

How Illinois files business entities

Illinois runs entity filings through the Secretary of State's Business Services division at apps.ilsos.gov. The public lookup is the ILSOS Business Entity Search. The search portal is a JavaScript SPA that blocks data-center IPs at the network level — residential routing is required for any programmatic access.

Official portal: Illinois Secretary of State (Business Services) ↗

How DBAs work in Illinois

Illinois files Assumed Names (DBAs) at the county clerk for sole proprietors and partnerships, and at the SOS for LLCs and corporations operating under any name different from their legal name. Cook County alone processes more than 250,000 Assumed Name filings annually — more than 40 entire states.

Credit-underwriting gotchas in Illinois

Illinois LLCs pay $75 to form and $75 annually; corporations pay a franchise tax based on paid-in capital that can run hundreds or thousands. Missed annual reports trigger 'Not in Good Standing' status and eventual administrative dissolution. Cook County's Assumed Name filings require newspaper publication AFTER filing, adding $30-$100 to the total cost — easy for applicants to skip.

Practical Illinois reference

Filing fees: $150 LLC formation fee + $75 annual report (corporations also owe a franchise tax)

Officer visibility: Officers and managers appear on the public detail page after clicking through search results. The search portal has prefix-based matching, so 'Smith' won't return 'John Smith LLC' unless the entity name starts with 'Smith'.

Illinois DBA / assumed-name search

We've indexed 14 Illinois county clerk DBA portals. Paste any Illinois address and we'll tell you exactly which county clerk to search, and whether that search is free — Pro deep-links straight to each one's search form, no landing pages, no clicking around.

Open the Illinois DBA search →

✓ Illinois is covered

VerifySOS pulls the Illinois SOS record for you in real time. Owners/officers are included wherever Illinois publishes them on the free public record, on every plan. USDOT/FMCSA carrier records run alongside it, and you can add an OFAC screen.

Verify an Illinois business now

Paste a company name above — your first 3 searches are free. No signup, no card. Real Illinois SOS data, pulled in real time.

Or browse every state page to see what we cover.