Mississippi business entity search and name check

For a Mississippi LLC the annual report is free, but it still has to be filed by April 15 every year; an out-of-state LLC registered here pays $250 for the same report. The Secretary of State's Business Services Division keeps the registry, which you search through its Business Search. That site runs a bot-protection check that blocks automated tools, so we send you to the official search instead of searching it here.

Registry: Mississippi Secretary of State, Business Services Division
Official search: MS Corp Business Reporting / Business ID Search
How we search Mississippi: Official site only (we hand you off). Mississippi's business search runs a bot-protection check that blocks automated requests, and we don't try to get around it, so we link you to the official search.
What a result can tell you: Searching the official site shows names on record. Mississippi decides acceptance when you file.
State fee to form an LLC: $50 (Certificate of Formation)
Ongoing LLC filing: Annual Report, $0. Due April 15 each year

What the Mississippi search covers

The Business Search looks up businesses registered with the Mississippi Secretary of State. You can search by name, business ID, profile type, NAICS industry code, address or postal code, and formation date.

Each record has a Business ID. Search by number on the MS Corp Business Reporting / Business ID Search.

How to read Mississippi results

Mississippi does not publish definitions for its status labels in one place. We show the official wording exactly as the registry gives it.

A status describes the registry filing only. It isn’t evidence of a license, tax compliance or reputation, and a record with the same name as a company you know may be a different business. More on statuses.

Mississippi business name rules

An LLC name must include one of: limited liability company, L.L.C., LLC.

An LLC name must be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records from Mississippi and out-of-state corporations, nonprofits, limited partnerships, LLPs and LLCs that haven't been dissolved, and from reserved or registered names that haven't expired. (Miss. Code Ann. §79-29-109 (2010 Revised LLC Act text)) Source: sos.ms.gov

Mississippi doesn’t publish a list of the differences it ignores, so our check treats only capitalization and punctuation as insignificant and flags other close names as similar for you to judge.

Words that need approval or are restricted

Words	Requirement
bank, banker, bankers, banking, trust company, insurance, trust, corporation, incorporated, partnership, limited partnership	Not allowed in an LLC name, including combinations, abbreviations or words that mean the same thing. Source: sos.ms.gov

Using a similar name with consent

Yes. The Secretary of State will allow a name that isn't distinguishable if the other business consents in writing and agrees to change its own name (§79-29-109(3)).

Reserving a name in Mississippi

Mississippi lets you reserve a name before you form the business for $25, held for 180 days. It can't simply be extended: the same applicant can't reserve the same name again until more than 60 days after the reservation expires.

File an Application for Name Reservation through the Secretary of State's online filing system.

Mississippi name reservation Source: sos.ms.gov

Searching on this site doesn’t reserve anything. Only Mississippi SOS can.

Forming an LLC in Mississippi

Document: Certificate of Formation
State filing fee: $50
File online: Mississippi SOS filing
Out-of-state LLC registering here: $250 (Application for Registration of Foreign LLC)

Fees change. Confirm them on the official Mississippi fee schedule before you file.

File it yourself or use a service

File directly with Mississippi

$50 state fee

You fill in the Certificate of Formation yourself and pay only the state. You’ll need a registered agent with a Mississippi street address; that can be you if you have one.

File with Mississippi SOS

Use a formation service

A service prepares and files the paperwork, and most can act as your registered agent and send compliance reminders. You still pay the state fee on top of their price, and the state still decides whether to accept your name.

Bizee: $0 plus the state fee (Basic); Standard $199, Premium $299, plus state fee
LegalZoom: $0 plus state fees (Basic); Managed Service $249 plus state fees
Northwest Registered Agent: $39 plus the state fee
ZenBusiness: $0 plus the state fee (Starter); Pro $199 plus state fee, renews $199/yr

We don’t currently earn commissions from these providers. Prices from each provider’s site on Oct 30, 2026. We never send them your proposed name. Compare what each includes · Disclosure

An EIN (federal tax ID) is free from the IRS; you don’t need to pay anyone for one.

Keeping a Mississippi LLC in good standing

Annual Report: $0. Due April 15 each year. Source: sos.ms.gov

A Mississippi LLC pays nothing for its annual report. Out-of-state LLCs pay $250 and corporations $25. Since a 2024 law, nonprofits must also file annual reports, due May 15.

Proof of status: Certificate of Good Standing. Source: sos.ms.gov

Assumed names (DBAs)

Fictitious business names are registered with the Secretary of State for $25. Source: sos.ms.gov

Good to know about Mississippi

Mississippi LLCs file their annual report for free, but out-of-state LLCs registered here pay $250 a year. Source: sos.ms.gov
Annual reports for corporations and LLCs are due April 15. Source: sos.ms.gov
A name reservation lasts 180 days. Afterwards, the same applicant has to wait more than 60 days before reserving that name again. Source: sos.ms.gov
LLC names can't contain words such as 'bank', 'trust', 'insurance', 'corporation' or 'partnership'. Source: sos.ms.gov
An out-of-state profit corporation pays $500 for a certificate of authority, against $50 to file Articles of Incorporation for a Mississippi corporation. Source: sos.ms.gov

Sources and accuracy

We checked this page against official Mississippi sources on October 30, 2026. Our monitor rechecks the official search, filing portal and fee pages daily and flags changes for review.

Items we couldn’t confirm on an official page (7)

Our naming rules come from the 2010 text of the Revised LLC Act on the Secretary of State's site. We haven't checked later amendments.
We couldn't confirm Mississippi's required corporation endings.
We couldn't confirm the fee for a Certificate of Good Standing. It isn't on the October 2024 fee schedule.
We couldn't confirm the Business ID format or the status labels the search uses.
We couldn't confirm whether the search includes dissolved businesses. The state's help text is reported to describe it as a database of currently registered businesses whose results can be exported to Excel.
We couldn't confirm Mississippi's registered agent rules on an official page.
We couldn't confirm whether there is a late fee for annual reports.

See something wrong? Tell us. We can fix how we present information, but only Mississippi SOS can change an official record.