North Carolina LLC Search

For someone who doesn’t have much expertise in business, understanding all of the different structures and types of businesses can be complex. Some company owners prefer to have a large and complex enterprise where everything connects to everything else, whereas others prefer privacy and compartmentalization in their structure. An LLC is one of the more innovative structures available for business owners in North Carolina.

A limited liability company, or LLC, is a United States business structure in which all of the liabilities for and in the business ultimately fall on the business itself. This means that owners of an LLC are not personally liable for any legal or financial issues in the organization. An LLC can come in a range of sizes, with some featuring a single founder as its membership and others having multiple employees and several series LLCs in a wider structure beyond the foundational organization.

In essence, people look to form LLCs when they are taking on business ventures with a level of risk, helping them to innovate with greater freedom since they know that their professional decisions will have a far more limited impact on the personal lives of entrepreneurs.

There are a few steps in the process of searching for an LLC in North Carolina. One of the most important things to know when searching for a North Carolina LLC is that anyone can do it. The state has a thorough database of all of the LLCs that are registered in the state and offers further information to anyone who is able to find the company they are looking for. This is a significant part of the state government’s Open Government policy, which looks to inform people about the business of government and provide easy access to public documents wherever it can.

Where can you search for an LLC?

The best place to search for an LLC is on the North Carolina state government website. Their business registration and search feature online provides users with a lot of access to information, including the addresses that the companies provide online, the status of the organization, the registered agent, and more. There aren’t any documents uploaded on the website, but information such as the due date of the annual report provides readers with a lot of insight to begin with.

Another ideal feature of the search function is that it allows the user to search in a range of different ways. This includes searching for information that is specifically at the start of the name of the company, searching for the exact name of the organization, and using the SOSID to find an organization with more precision. People who are looking for companies through their registered agents, company officials, or assumed business names can also modify their search depending on these requirements.

The search function on the North Carolina state government website is highly flexible and supports people through searches with a wide range of information. To get your company search correct the first time, it is recommended that you have a key piece of information such as the company’s formal name. Using the official name of the company in an 'exact' search will show only that company, leaving you in no doubt in the event that there are companies with similar names in the state. Having the specific EIN also helps, as an Employee Identification Number points readers to a specific company.

Completing a search without all of this specific information is still possible. By knowing the registered agent or having an approximation of the company’s name, you can complete a series of searches and sift through all of the businesses that the website returns. Although this method takes far longer than a more precise search, you eventually get to the company that you are looking for.

People have a wide variety of reasons to search for a North Carolina LLC, whether using the North Carolina corporation name search feature or another method of finding an organization. Some of the reasons to complete a North Carolina LLC search include:

Want to file a lawsuit against an LLC

One of the main features of an LLC is the way that it limits liability from the owner’s perspective in the event that someone wants to take legal action against the company. To take legal action, the litigant needs to find the company. Finding an LLC using a North Carolina business search is the first part of completing legal action against the LLC, as you find the specific business address and the details for the registered agent. Any action against a business goes through the registered agent, so identifying them at this early stage is essential.

Learn more about an LLC

Some people have an interest in learning more about an LLC. There are a few reasons that a specific LLC might be of interest, such as:

• Education: A university or other educational institution may guide students toward the North Carolina LLC search page to see what they can find out about companies as a research exercise.
• Journalists: A journalist with an interest in an emerging story can use the search function to find out more about the founders of a specific organization and the other companies that that specific registered agent works with.
• Business rivals: Companies can search for more information about their rivals, such as seeing when the company was initially incorporated. This helps to get a better idea of who the competition is and how to create a winning strategy.

Find out ownership of an LLC

One of the pieces of information available when completing a company search in North Carolina is the list of company officials. This includes the members (or owners) of the company and any administrators, in addition to their address and some contact details. Having this information is especially valuable for a company executive looking to negotiate a deal with an LLC or even buy out a rival LLC. The more you know about the other company, the more opportunities you have to contact them and negotiate an agreement for either a business arrangement or a takeover, depending on your company’s needs.

Searching for name availability for your LLC

When looking to form your own LLC, it can be difficult to choose a name. This process gets worse when you spend a long time thinking of a name and start to register your company only to find that the name is already taken. By brainstorming at the very start of the process and coming up with a few options that you like, you can search for all of the names and any variants to see which of the available names is most suitable for your organization. This saves you a lot of time later on in the process, meaning that you can get to the important work of developing your business as soon as possible rather than having to resolve early logistical issues such as this.

There is plenty of information available as a result of an LLC search in North Carolina. Some of this information, what it means to the LLC, and reasons that someone might search for the information, includes:

• Company legal name: This is the name that the company was formed under and features on all administrative and legal documents pertaining to the business. Anyone searching for a business requires the company's legal name, as this helps them to refer to the company properly and in a formal manner.
• SOSID: An SOSID is a Secretary of State ID (number) and is attached to every company in the state. Having a SOSID means that the state can identify each individual company, making it easier to find a company for legal and tax purposes.
• Date of formation: The date of formation is the date that the company legally formed, having completed all of the necessary paperwork and documentation to become an LLC. Some people use this information to learn more about the organization, such as how long it has been in operation and cross-referencing the tenure of an official’s time in that business with another.
• Annual report due date and status: All LLCs have to produce an annual report which informs the state about significant structural changes in the organization, in addition to the financial state of the organization. The search informs searchers of when the report is due and whether the most recent report was submitted on time.
• Registered agent: The search provides the user with information about the registered agent. The registered agent is an official related to the company and acts as the first point of contact between the company and other bodies, whether legal or financial, such as the IRS. People looking for this information are likely seeking a way of contacting the business.
• Important addresses: A list of addresses associated with the company. For example, if a company receives its mail at one address but operates elsewhere, both of these addresses can feature on the listing. This is especially useful when looking for contact details.
• Company officials: This is a list of company officials that the LLC provides to the state of North Carolina, either in its initial formation or in a later annual report. These details are useful for journalists working on stories involving specific people or with an interest in an interview.

Some people form an LLC with the intention of keeping their information relatively private and away from prying eyes. However, if a North Carolina business search means that you can see other people’s involvement in LLCs, they can also see yours. There are a few ways you can go about keeping your LLC information private in North Carolina, such as:

Use a Registered Agent service

If you prefer to keep your information to yourself, consider making use of a Registered Agent service. A Registered Agent service is a company that operates within North Carolina and offers to be your Registered Agent when filing your company. These services mean that the only address associated with the company on the documentation will be a third party’s. This ensures that your personal address is not online.

Filing elsewhere

Whilst you stay off the documentation as a Registered Agent, North Carolina still requires that companies include business member information. However, North Carolina does require you to list the LLC’s members. So, to achieve complete anonymity for your organization’s members, you must use a holding company or double LLC structure. This is beyond the scope of this article, but you can learn more about North Carolina LLC privacy here.

Use an effective lawyer

If you're uncertain about how to form your LLC and maintain privacy, consider seeking assistance from a lawyer, such as Wyoming LLC Attorney. Relying on a reputable legal service ensures you benefit from available expertise, keeping crucial information confidential and safeguarding both yourself and your business. You can establish your LLC entirely online.

For assistance in forming your LLC or if you have questions, contact us through our online form or by dialing +1 (307) 683-0983. A member of our team of experienced paralegals will assist you with the process.