Delaware LLC & Business Entity Search
How to look up an LLC, corporation or other business entity registered in Delaware, and what the state's records can tell you.
How to search for a business in Delaware
The Delaware Department of State, Division of Corporations runs Delaware's official online business search. It is the authoritative place to confirm that a company exists and is in good standing.
- Open the official Delaware business search.
- Search by the company name without the ending (for example “Acme” instead of “Acme LLC”). If the search allows it, try the entity or file number instead.
- Open the matching record and check its status, formation date and registered agent. Compare the address with what you already know about the company.
Searching the official database is free.
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Not sure what the record means? Our guide on how to look up an LLC explains each field and common statuses.
Delaware's entity search and paid status service
The Delaware Department of State's Division of Corporations runs the Entity Search. Its free information page gives the entity name, file number, formation or incorporation date, and registered agent's name, address, telephone number and residency. The search includes both active and inactive entities. A result in this list does not establish the company's current status: the portal explicitly separates general entity details from its paid status service.
Name and file number searches
The official Entity Search has separate Entity Name and File Number fields. Names are not case sensitive, and the interface tells users to put quotation marks around a name for an exact search. If you have the Delaware file number, use that field to identify the record rather than choosing between similar names. Keep the file number with any request for records or certificates.
The Division's records concern entities formed or registered with it, including corporations, LLCs and partnerships. A Delaware business license is handled separately: the Division's FAQ directs license inquiries to the Division of Revenue. If the name you have is a licensed business rather than an entity name, an empty corporation search should lead to that separate inquiry. For a filing you believe should be present, contact the Division for help with the record or processing date.
What the filings can tell you about people
A registered agent is the contact for service of process and other notices. For corporations, the annual report includes all directors' names and addresses and the name and address of the officer signing the report. LLCs do not file an annual report with this Division, and alternative entities are not required to list members or managers. Corporate shareholder or owner information is not on file with the Division. Bylaws, LLC operating agreements and amendments to those internal documents stay with the entity; they are not filed here. The free entity detail page therefore should not be treated as a list of LLC owners. These distinctions are explained in the Division's FAQ.
Status information and official certificates
Corporate Status Online costs $10 per entity for status, or $20 for more detailed information including current franchise tax assessment and filing history. This online status check does not produce an official certificate of good standing.
A written request can obtain a short form Certificate of Status for $50, showing the name and status when issued, or a long form Certificate of Good Standing for $175, adding filed documents, their dates and times, and name changes. Submit through the Document Filing and Certificate Request Service or by mail as described in the Accessing Corporate Information page. The free portal also directs requests for plain or certified document copies to that service or a Delaware online agent.
Sources for this page
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What a Delaware business record shows
A state business record usually lists the entity's legal name, its type (for example LLC or corporation), a file or entity number, its current status, the date it was formed or registered, and its registered agent: the person or company that accepts legal documents on its behalf. Depending on the state and the filings, it may also show a principal office address, managers or officers, and past filings such as annual reports.
Many states do not publish the owners (members) of an LLC. If you are trying to find the people behind a company, read how to find out who owns an LLC.