How to Conduct an Ohio Business Entity Search

The Ohio business search tool is a valuable resource to business owners in the state. Whether you’re an established entrepreneur who needs to look up business records for your company quickly or you’re about to start your first company and you need to check name availability, the business search will be a helpful tool for your efforts.

But using the search can feel a bit overwhelming, especially if you don’t know what to expect. That’s where this guide comes in. We’ll walk you through the essential steps to using this tool. We’ll also cover some important naming guidelines and what steps to take after you search your business name.

Let’s get started.

Ohio Secretary of State Contact Information

Address: 180 Civic Center Dr. Columbus, Ohio 43215	Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Telephone: 614.466.2585	Website: https://www.ohiosos.gov/

Ohio Business Name Guidelines

When you’re starting a business, one of the most important things you’ll do is pick your business name. And like other states, Ohio has several rules about naming your business. 

First, your name needs to be different from the names of other registered businesses in Ohio, including both domestic and foreign corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), limited partnerships, and so on. This is one of the simplest but most important naming standards. 

That said, uniqueness isn’t the only naming guideline to adhere to. Here are a few other rules your Ohio business name should follow: 

• Your business name should include a designator. For example, LLCs would need to include the phrase “Limited Liability Company” or an abbreviation like “LLC” or “Ltd.” Corporations would need to include words like “corporation,” “incorporated,” or an acceptable abbreviation. 
• Your name also needs to be distinguishable from trade names, but it doesn’t have to be distinguishable from fictitious names. Ohio is unique because it allows businesses to use two different types of DBAs — fictitious names and trade names. However, fictitious names are not protected for exclusive use; multiple businesses can use the same fictitious name. In contrast, trade names are exclusive, so new business names need to be distinct from trade names.
• A business name isn’t distinguishable enough if its only difference from a registered name is an article, abbreviation, plural or singular form of a word, verb tense, conjunction, contraction, punctuation, or a business designator. 
• Your name cannot imply that you’re connected or affiliated with government entities and agencies. 
• Your name cannot include profanity or slurs. 
• You cannot use words like “bank,” “banking,” “banker,” “trust,” and similar words without prior approval from the Division of Financial Institutions.
• Using a foreign language in your name is permissible, but keep in mind that foreign language names aren’t translated to determine distinguishability. So in Ohio, there could be a business named “Les Fleurs” and “The Flowers.” Both names have the same meaning, but they’d be considered distinguishable from each other.

If you’re in a licensed trade or profession, keep in mind that you’ll need to meet any naming rules that your industry has in place, too. If your business name doesn’t meet these requirements, you’ll need to pick a new one.

How to Run an Ohio Business Search by Entity Name

The Ohio government website actually provides several different ways to search for a business: by name, registered agent name, incorporator or organizer name, and even by ID number. In this section, we’ll cover how you can search by business name.

Step 1: Select your filters and type your search terms

To get started, navigate to the business search page on the Ohio Secretary of State’s website (you may first have to pass a brief security check to verify you are human). Make sure that the drop-down menu (labeled “Search By” on the far left) is set to “Business Name.”

On that page, you’ll see a search bar with several filter types that you can use to refine your search, including businesses that are active, cancelled, or even fraudulent. You can also set it to “All” to review every single result on record.

Choose the filter that best matches your search goals, and then type in your search terms. You can type as much of the business name as you know; the more specific your search, the more refined your results will be. After you’ve typed, click “Search.”

Step 2: Review your search results

The search tool will show all of the business name results that match your search terms. For example, when we ran a search on the name “Smith,” the tool showed us these results:

This first results page will show you various information about every matching result, including the business’s entity number, full business name, type of registration, expiration date, business status, location, and more.

Clicking on the “Show Details” button on the far right will show you even more information, including the company’s registered agent information. This page will also let you order a Certificate of Good Standing or look at business filings that the company has made.

Using the Business Name Search to Check Name Availability

You can use the business search tool to check whether or not your desired business name is available. To do this, it’s recommended to run a couple of searches. First, start by typing the full business name you hope to use (without the business designator like “LLC” or “Corporation”).

Then, you’ll also want to run what Ohio calls a wildcard search. A wildcard search will pull not only business names that contain your exact search terms but also names that contain very similar forms of those words. For example, if you ran a wildcard search for “Contract,” the tool would pull names with “Contract,” “Contracts,” “Contractor,” “Contracting,” and so on.

To do a wildcard search, type a percent sign after each major keyword you want to check (i.e., Contract%). Don’t worry about small words like “a,” “the,” or “and.”

Hopefully, these two search types won’t reveal any matches (or extremely close matches) for your desired business name. If that’s the case, then there’s a good chance that your desired business name is available. This isn’t a guarantee, of course, but it’s a good starting point.

How to Run an Ohio Business Search by Registered Agent

You can also look up a business’s information and records if you know the registered agent’s name using the agent search page.

This search is actually pretty straightforward. To get started, just type in the registered agent’s name (or as much of the agent’s name as you know).

In response, the search tool will pull up all the businesses that are represented by an agent who matches your search terms. For example, when we searched a particular registered agent, our results looked like this:

As before, the results page will let you see each matching company’s name, entity number, status, location, and more. You can also hit the “Show Details” button to view even more business information, request certificates, and more.

How to Run an Ohio Business Search by Organizer or Incorporator

The Organizer/Incorporator Search allows you to look up a business’s information if you know the full or partial name of one of the company’s founders.

This search is pretty simple to run: all you have to do is type the founder’s name into the search bar and hit “Search.” You can narrow down your results by typing in their full name (if you know it) or by typing in the location where the business was incorporated (optional).

On the results page, you’ll see a list of businesses that match your search. From this list, you can review the company name, entity number, registration type, and more.

How to Run an Ohio Business Search by Entity Number or Filing ID

In most of the searches we’ve detailed above, there’s a very good chance that your search could reveal a long list of results. But running a Number Search will allow you to get the exact result you’re looking for. That’s because each number is unique to a particular business, so the database will only retrieve information for a single registered business.

Before you type in an ID number, however, make sure you select the search type that meets your needs. “Doc ID” searches the number that is assigned to a particular filed form, such as the Articles of Organization or the Articles of Incorporation. But “Entity Number” will look up the ID number assigned to a particular business entity.

After you’ve picked the right search filter, type in the ID number and hit “Search.” Unlike the previous searches we’ve done, this search should only reveal one result. On the results page, you can review business information, request certificates, and more.

What to Do After Searching Business Names in Ohio

After you’ve come up with a name and searched it on the official state website, you’re probably feeling like you’ve done a lot of legwork. You’d hate for that hard work to go to waste, right? Here are some steps you can take to protect your Ohio business name and make the most of it. 

Reserve your Ohio business name (optional)

If you’ve picked the perfect business name but you’re not quite ready to file your business formation paperwork, Ohio allows you to reserve a business name.

You can get an Ohio name reservation by filing Form 534B with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. This form lets you list up to three possible names to reserve; the Secretary of State will reserve the first available option. There’s a $39 fee to reserve a name. 

After your paperwork is filed and approved, your name reservation will be valid for 180 days. This step is optional, and you should only pursue it if you’ve picked a name but aren’t ready to file your formation paperwork yet.

Form an LLC or register your business

One of the best ways to protect your business name is to register your business. After you register a business under your chosen name, no one else in Ohio will be able to register their own company with the same name. 

Registering an Ohio business is an important legal process. Learn more about starting an Ohio LLC. 

Get a domain name that matches

You want your customers to find your business website easily. That means you need a domain name that matches your business name as closely as possible. A matching domain will help your brand maintain consistency both in person and online.

If you’re struggling to come up with a domain name (or the one that matches your name is already taken), try using a domain name generator. A generator can help you come up with a domain that matches your brand image. 

Set up your business online

Today, you can’t run a business without a good digital footprint. A good business website is a decent starting point. But don’t stop there; set up social media accounts like a Facebook page, a TikTok profile, and an Instagram account. Make sure your business name is included on each account so your brand is consistent across your online presence.

Last but not least, set up a Google Business Profile for your business (or claim it if it already exists). This profile will help you direct customers to your website or your store location. Plus, it’ll help you respond to customer reviews and build a good brand reputation in the Buckeye State.

Trademark your business name (optional)

If you want the most robust protections for your business name, you could pursue trademark registration. Trademarks can be registered at the state or federal level (with federal protections being the strongest). 

Getting a trademark can be pretty complicated and time-consuming. If you go this route, it’s highly recommended to work with a trademark attorney.