Methodology and sources
Where results come from
Every result comes from one source named on the result: the state’s own business search, the agency’s official open data, or (where we can’t search) a link to the official search. We don’t use commercial data resellers and don’t keep a nationwide copy of business records. The coverage report lists the source for each jurisdiction.
Our server identifies itself to state systems as USEntitySearch/1.0 with a link to this page and our contact address. We only query sources whose robots.txt and terms permit it, never attempt to get past CAPTCHAs, bot checks or logins, and limit how often each source is queried.
How a search is sent
For a name check we remove a trailing designator (“LLC”, “Inc.”) so that records with any designator are found, keep your punctuation (many official searches match literally), and, if your name has “&” or “and”, also search the other form. We merge the results and drop duplicates. Number lookups are sent as typed, minus spaces.
How names are compared
Each state compares names under its own rule, usually whether a name is “distinguishable upon the records.” We apply the differences each state says it ignores: designators, articles like “the,” “and” versus “&,” punctuation, spacing, plurals. Colorado, for example, says a different designator or an added “the” does make a name distinguishable, so we don’t ignore those there. Where a state doesn’t publish what it ignores, we ignore only capitalization and punctuation.
Each record returned by the source is then labeled:
- Same name: identical after removing what the state ignores. Former or alternate names on the record are compared too.
- Similar: not identical but close. We show the reason: the same distinctive words with only generic words (“Group,” “Services”) different, spelling within one or two characters, all of your distinctive words present, or two or more shared distinctive words.
- Other result: returned by the source but not close.
We don’t calculate conflict scores or percentages. State examiners use judgment, and no number we could produce would be meaningful.
How the overall result is chosen
- Taken if any record is the same name, whatever its status. Inactive records can still block names.
- Similar names on file if none is the same but some are similar.
- Too many results to review if the source stopped returning results at its limit and none we saw was the same.
- Partly completed if part of the source failed, or the source doesn’t cover the whole registry (Texas Comptroller data, for example).
- Data may be out of date if an open-data source hasn’t been published on its usual schedule.
- No matching records found only if the search succeeded, the source is the full registry or its official data, the data is current, and nothing was the same or similar.
- Check not completed for any error, timeout, block, unexpected page layout or unsupported state. We treat an unfamiliar response as a failure rather than as “no results,” so a changed state website can’t produce a false “not found.”
Only the “no matching records found” result shows a link to start a business, and it always says the state makes the final decision.
Naming-rule notes
We also check the name you typed against the state’s published rules: whether it has a designator the state accepts for LLCs, whether it uses a corporate or partnership designator by mistake, and whether it contains words the state restricts. These notes use only rules recorded with an official source.
Dates and freshness
We track three different dates and never substitute one for another:
- Checked at: when our server got the response for your search, shown on every result.
- Source data dated: when an open-data source was last published by the agency, from the dataset’s own metadata.
- Page updated: when the facts on a guide or state page last changed. Routine re-checks don’t change this date.
Monitoring
Scheduled jobs run on our servers around the clock:
- Every 30 minutes, a known-answer search against each searchable source confirms it still works and still returns the expected record. Three failures in a row pause searches to that source.
- Every day, each state’s official search page, filing portal and fee pages are rechecked for errors, moved URLs and changed dollar amounts. Changes are queued for human review and flagged on the state page until reviewed; we don’t rewrite fees automatically.
- Open-data publication dates are recorded so stale data is flagged.
If an update fails, the existing information stays in place and is flagged, never replaced with blanks. A record that disappears from a source isn’t treated as dissolved.
What we show from records
We show the official name, number, status (in the state’s exact words), type, domestic or foreign registration, the filing date with the state’s label for it, the registered agent’s name and the principal address the business filed. We don’t show officer, member or owner lists in results, add information from other sources, or link records across states unless the source does. Two records with the same name are not assumed to be the same business.
Last updated .