Illinois business search

Steps

1. Open the entity search

   Go to the business entity search. The Department of Business Services describes this database as the place to view a file detail report, buy a certificate of good standing, and check a company name. The department home page is ilsos.gov business services.

2. Pick a search method

   The form lets you search by business name, registered agent, president, secretary, manager, file number, keyword, or partial word. A file number is the cleanest query. A partial word is how you recover a name you only half remember, and it will be noisy.

3. Read the file detail report

   The Secretary of State says a file detail report contains the information people request most often. It is an individual search. The department prohibits copying or downloading the database in bulk and says the data is its property.

4. Buy a certificate only when you need the paper

   From the file detail report you can purchase a certificate of good standing. The department’s page lists $25 for a corporation or LLC and $5 for a not-for-profit, then a link on the receipt or the email to print it. The search itself is the lookup. The certificate is the purchase.

5. Watch the annual-report clock

   Corporations, not-for-profits, and LLCs file annual reports through the annual report portal. LLC timing and the $75 fee are on the annual report guide.

IL SOS business search and the CyberDrive name

Searches for “cyberdrive illinois business search” and “il sos business search” are looking for this Department of Business Services database. The current host is apps.ilsos.gov and ilsos.gov. Springfield mail and the LLC division use 501 S. Second Street, Room 351, Springfield, IL 62756. The general business line on the certificate page is (217) 782-6961. LLC questions on the LLC page are (217) 524-8008, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central. Chicago: 69 W. Washington Street, Suite 1240, (312) 793-3380.

The database includes corporations, not-for-profit corporations, limited partnerships, LLCs, and LLPs. It is not a city business-license file and not a professional-license board.

Name availability versus a formed entity

The same search checks whether a company name is already on file. That is not a reservation and not a trademark opinion. If you are about to file articles, still read the department’s naming rules. If you are verifying a vendor, you care about the file detail report, not about whether a new name would be allowed.

Common mistakes

• Treating a CyberDrive bookmark that no longer loads as proof the company was dissolved. Use the current apps.ilsos.gov search.
• Downloading or scraping the database. The department says bulk copying is prohibited.
• Quoting a $25 certificate as if it were the search fee. The certificate is the paid item described on the department’s page.

Questions

Sources reviewed

• Business entity search
• Business Services
• Business search and certificates
• Annual report filings
• LLC forms and fees
• Limited liability companies

Guides on this site

• Illinois LLC lookup
• Illinois corporation search
• Illinois assumed name
• Illinois annual report