North Carolina Business Entity Search

North Carolina business records live with the North Carolina Secretary of State, on the site people call ncsos.

North Carolina only answers searches on its own site. Search opens the official North Carolina search in a new tab and copies your search term, so you can paste it into the business name field there.

North Carolina at a glance

LLC filing fee $125 Source, checked 2026-10-26
Corporation filing fee $125 Source, checked 2026-10-26
Annual Report $200, every year, starting the year after formation Source, checked 2026-10-26
Name reservation $10, held 120 days, not renewable Source, checked 2026-10-26
Certificate of Existence (domestic) or Certificate of Authorization (foreign) $15 Source, checked 2026-10-26

About North Carolina business records

North Carolina's Secretary of State site is widely searched as "ncsos". LLC annual reports cost $200 while corporate ones cost $25, and every entity is identified by its SOSID; the Business Registration Division also publishes free listings and reports of registry records.

The North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division keeps these records; many people call its search ncsos.

Statuses you may see in North Carolina

Status	What it means
Active/Not Current	The entity is active on the registry but behind on one or more required filings.
Active/Failure to Pay Fee	The entity is still active, but its annual report payment bounced after a notice of grounds for administrative dissolution, so dissolution proceedings continue.
In Process	A formation filing has been received and is being examined.
Admin. Cancelled	The Secretary of State cancelled the formation document because of a problem with the filing fee.
Converted	The entity converted into a different type of entity.
Merged	The entity merged into another entity that survived.
Judicial Dissolution	A court ordered the company dissolved.
Auto Dissolve	The entity was dissolved automatically under a law passed by the General Assembly.
Applied to Withdraw	An out-of-state entity has applied to stop doing business in North Carolina.
Withdrawn	An out-of-state entity withdrew its authority to do business in North Carolina.
Reserved Name	A name is reserved on the registry but no entity has been formed under it.
Expired	A name reservation or a foreign entity's registered name has expired.

Source, checked 2026-10-26. Words other states use are in the business entity status guide.

Starting an LLC in North Carolina?

An LLC here starts with the Articles of Organization ($125), then $200 a year to keep it. The steps and the official links are in one guide.

How to start an LLC in North Carolina

Questions

Is this the official North Carolina business search?

No. This is an independent site, not run by or affiliated with the North Carolina Secretary of State. The search itself runs on the state's own site (Business Registration Search), which this page links to.

What is ncsos?

ncsos is what many people call the North Carolina Secretary of State's online business records. The official search linked on this page, Business Registration Search, is part of the same system.

How do I check if a business name is available in North Carolina?

Search the proposed name in the Secretary of State's Business Registration Search; an available name can be reserved for a nonrenewable 120 days ($10 for an LLC, $30 for a corporation).

More about a North Carolina business

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