How to Conduct a Virginia Business Entity Search

The Virginia business entity search, sometimes called the Virginia entity search, is a valuable resource for anyone who needs to look up information about businesses in the state. Whether you’re a curious consumer who wants to check if a company is in good standing or a soon-to-be-entrepreneur who wants to check if a business name is available, the business search is a go-to tool.

But using the search can feel a little overwhelming, especially if you’ve never used a tool like this before. That’s where this guide comes in. We’ll walk you through how to use the search tool. We’ll also cover some of the essential business name guidelines in Virginia and what to do after searching the Virginia State Corporation Commission website.

Let’s get started.

Virginia Secretary of State Contact Information

Virginia 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, Virginia has several rules about naming your business. 

First, your name needs to be different from the names of other registered companies in Virginia, 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 Virginia business name should follow: 

• Your business name needs to include a designator. For example, corporations need to include a word like “company,” “corporation,” “incorporated,” “limited,” or an acceptable abbreviation. Meanwhile, LLCs need to include the phrase “limited liability company” or “limited company” or an abbreviation like “LLC” or “LC” with or without periods.
• Your name can’t imply that you’re conducting activities that aren’t permitted by law or by your founding documents. 
• Your name cannot state or imply that you’re another business type; you also can’t use words that say you’re conducting a special kind of business unless you’re actually conducting that business.

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 Search by Business Entity Name

The Virginia company search tool allows you to look up businesses in several different ways, from the company name to business ID number, and more. We’ll address a few of the most common search methods throughout this guide, but in this section, we’ll focus on searching by a business name.

Step 1: Set up your search

To get started, you’ll need to navigate to the business entity search homepage. Once there, you’ll want to use the search bar labeled “Entity Name.”

But before you type your search terms, you have the option to change how the search retrieves your results. The drop-down menu (labeled “Starts With” by default) lets you choose these options:

• Starts With: This method will show only those business names that begin with the same word(s) as your search terms.
• Exact Match: This search method only pulls up business names that are identical to the name you search.
• Contains: This search method acts more like a keyword search, retrieving business names that include your search term(s) anywhere in the business name.

Pick the search type that best matches your search goals. Then type in your search terms and click “Search.”

Step 2: Review your search results

After you click search, the business search tool will retrieve all of the business names that match your search criteria. For example, when we searched “America,” here’s what our results looked like:

On this first page, you’ll see the entity name and ID number for each business that matches your search criteria. You’ll also see what type of name it is, the entity type, whether it’s a series LLC, the principal office address, registered agent name, and business status for every matching company.

If you’d like to learn more about a specific company, click on its Entity ID number on the far left.

This second page will show you additional information about the company, including its formation date, industry code, home state jurisdiction, charter fee, annual report due date, and more. You’ll also see the name and address of the company’s registered agent, followed by any information the company has provided about its principals. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find buttons to review the company’s filing history, name history, and more.

How to Search by Entity ID

The State Corporation Commission assigns a unique ID number to every company that’s registered with the commission (not unlike each person having a unique SSN). The business search tool allows you to look up a company directly by its entity ID number.

The plus side of this search? As long as you know the number and type it correctly, you’ll be directed right to the business you’re looking for.

To get started, navigate to the search homepage. But this time, you’ll use the search bar labeled “Entity ID.” Then, type in the ID number (carefully) and click search. The search tool will retrieve the business with that ID number.

From here, you can click on the company’s ID number to review additional information about it, check its filing history, and more.

Alternative Search Options

The Virginia Corporation Commission also offers a few other search options you can use if you don’t know a company’s name or ID number. Here are a few different options you can use:

• Advanced Search: This menu offers you several filters that you can use to supplement any of the searches above, including entity type, industry code, name type, and more. These filters can be especially helpful if you don’t know the full name of the business or individual you’re searching.
• Filing Number: This allows you to look up business information by the filing number that’s assigned to a particular document the company filed.
• Principal Name: If you know the name of an individual or entity that’s a principal for the company (such as an LLC’s member or a director for a corporation), you can use that name to look up the company information.
• Registered Agent Name: This search retrieves business information for each business that is represented by a particular registered agent (could be an individual or an entity).
• Designee Name: Use this search if you know the name of a person who’s been designated as a person responsible for a company’s filings, such as an LLC’s organizer or a corporation’s incorporator.

How to Run a Virginia Business Name Availability Search

If you’re starting a business, you need to run a business name availability search to check that you aren’t infringing on any already-used business names. Here’s how.

To get started, navigate to the name check search homepage. It’s a separate page from the one we covered above.

Next, type the name you’re hoping to use into the search bar. Leave off entity type identifiers like “LLC” or “Inc.” Then click “Name Check.”

Ideally, you’ll see a green-colored message saying, “The Name Is Available.” If that’s the case, you can click the accompanying link to reserve the name or create an entity with that name.

However, if the name is claimed, you’ll see a message that the name isn’t available. You’ll also see the name of the company that has a claim to the name and a link to review their information, if needed. For an illustration, here’s what you’d see if you checked availability for our name, “ZenBusiness.”

What to Do After Searching Business Names in Virginia

After you’ve come up with a name and searched it, 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 Virginia business name and make the most of it. 

Reserve your Virginia business name (optional)

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

You can use Virginia’s Clerk’s Information System to submit a name reservation online. There’s a $10 filing fee for this process. 

After your paperwork is filed and approved, your reservation is valid for 120 days. If you need more time than that, you can renew a reservation during the 45 days before the reservation expires. 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 Virginia will be able to register their own company with the same name. 

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

Get a domain name that matches

You want it to be easy for your customers to find your business website. 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 Old Dominion.

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.