Skip to content
RegistryWise

Georgia

Georgia Business Search

Written byRegistryWise Editorial TeamFact-checked against the Georgia Secretary of State · How we research

The short answer

Georgia businesses are searched for free on the Secretary of State's eCorp Business Search by business name, control number, registered agent name or officer name. Each record shows the status, control number, principal office, registered agent and last annual registration year, but Georgia LLC records don't list members or managers.

On this page
  1. LLC lookup, step by step
  2. What the status means
  3. Agent, filings, owners
  4. Your Control Number
  5. Is the name available?
  6. DBA and UCC search
  7. Fees and deadlines
  8. Questions
  9. Sources

Georgia at a glance

Who runs it
Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division
eCorp Business Search
Cost to search
Free
Searching is free. A Certificate of Existence is $20 ($10 plus a $10 service charge).
Account needed
No
Search without signing up
Search by
Business Name (Starts With, Contains or Exact Match), Control Number
and 2 more

State fees

  • Form an LLC$110$100 filing fee plus a $10 service charge, online or on paper.Articles of OrganizationOfficial source
  • Annual Registration$60$50 plus a $10 service charge.Between January 1 and April 1 each year, starting the year after the LLC is formed.Official source
  • Certificate of Existence$20$10 plus a $10 service charge.Proof the business is currentOfficial source
  • Change registered agent$30Amended annual registration ($20 plus a $10 service charge). You can also change the agent on the regular annual registration.Every LLC must have oneOfficial source

An LLC lookup in Georgia is the same search as a business search. The eCorp Business Search, kept by the Georgia Secretary of State, lists LLCs alongside corporations and other registered businesses. You can search by business Name, control Number, registered Agent Name or officer Name. It's free, and you don't need an account.

The eCorp Business Search search page, with the name box marked 1 and the search button marked 2.
The eCorp Business Search as we found it on November 8, 2026. We marked where to type (1) and what to click (2). The state may change its layout.
  1. Open the eCorp Business Search. You don't need an account to search.
  2. Pick a search type: "Business Name", "Control Number", "Registered Agent Name" or "Officer Name".
  3. For a name search, choose Starts With, Contains or Exact Match, type all or part of the name, and click Search.
  4. Open the business from the results to see its status, control number, registered agent, principal office and annual registration history.
  5. To order a Certificate of Existence or copies, go to the HOME tab on eCorp.

Good to know in Georgia: Georgia LLC records list only the registered agent. Georgia law requires an LLC to name its agent but not its members or managers, so an eCorp record won't tell you who owns an LLC, and an "Officer Name" search won't turn up LLC members. The search page also warns that it "is not intended to serve as a name availability search."

What the search shows you

  • Business name and control number
  • Business type
  • Business status
  • Principal office address
  • Registered agent name, county and address
  • Formation date and jurisdiction
  • Last annual registration year
  • Officers (corporations)
  • NAICS code

What the status words mean

Georgia uses its own words for a company's status, and they don't always mean the same thing as in other states. Here's what you'll see on the eCorp Business Search, in the state's own wording.

StatusWhat it means
Active/ComplianceThe status eCorp shows for an active entity that is current on its filings. The Secretary of State's FAQ doesn't define it separately.
Active/NoncomplianceThe entity hasn't filed its annual registration. The Secretary of State says an entity with this status "will be administrative dissolved or revoked this year" unless it files all the annual registrations due and pays the fees.
Admin. DissolvedThe Secretary of State administratively dissolved the corporation or LLC, most often for not filing its annual registration. It may not carry on business except to wind up its affairs. A Georgia entity can apply for reinstatement within 5 years of the dissolution.

For how these compare across states, see what business entity status means.

Finding the registered agent, filing history and owners

Registered Agent

On the record, with the agent's county and street address. The agent must be at a physical street address in Georgia. You change the agent on the annual registration or on an amended annual registration ($30).

Filing history

The record lists the entity's filings and annual registrations. Certified copies of documents under 25 pages are $20 ($10 plus a $10 service charge).

Owners, managers and officers

Corporations list their CEO, CFO and secretary. Georgia LLCs list only the registered agent, so members and managers aren't on file with the Secretary of State. If the state record doesn't name anyone, our guide on how to find the owner of an LLC covers where else to look.

Finding a Georgia Control Number

Georgia gives every business on its register a Control Number. It's the quickest way to pin down the right company when names are alike.

What it looks like
Newer filings use an 8-digit number (for example 25182476). Some older records use a letter and six digits (for example K718100).
Where to find yours
On the business's eCorp record and in the search results. The control number or the business name is what you need to file the annual registration.
Search by it
Yes. The eCorp Business Search accepts it.

It's easy to mix it up with these, which come from other offices:

  • Withholding payroll tax number (Georgia Department of Revenue). Employers register for it in the Georgia Tax Center. It's a state tax account number, separate from the control number.

Your federal EIN is a different number again. See which business number a form is asking for.

Checking whether a business name is available in Georgia

  1. eCorp's business search isn't a name availability check, so file a name reservation if you want the state to review a name.
  2. A name reservation costs $35 ($25 plus a $10 service charge) and lasts 30 days. Most online requests are answered in 5 to 7 business days.
  3. You can't reserve the name of an entity that was administratively dissolved within the last 5 years.
  4. Trade names are registered with the county clerk of superior court, not the Secretary of State.

A clear result on the state search isn't a trademark clearance. If the name matters to you, also search the USPTO trademark database and check the domain. More in our business name search guide.

DBA and UCC search in Georgia

DBAs and assumed names

What it's called
Trade Name
Where they're filed
Trade names are registered with the clerk of superior court in the county where the business is mainly carried on. A Georgia corporation files in the county of its legal domicile. The Secretary of State doesn't register trade names.
Search
No statewide online search.

UCC liens

Lenders file UCC financing statements with the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority (GSCCCA), which keeps the statewide index of filings made with county clerks of superior court. The online search is paid and needs an account. Our Georgia UCC search guide has the steps and fees.

Georgia fees and deadlines

These are the state's own fees, before any service charges. Each row links to the official page we took it from.

Form an LLC

$110
  • Articles of Organization.
  • Online filings are generally processed in 7 to 10 business days and paper filings in 15 business days. Expect longer waits from late December through January and at the end of each quarter.
File online Fee source

Annual Registration

$60
  • Due: Between January 1 and April 1 each year, starting the year after the LLC is formed.
  • If you're late: $25 late filing penalty. An entity that doesn't file is mailed a Notice of Administrative Dissolution and has 60 days to file before it is dissolved. Reinstatement costs $260.
  • You can file up to three years in advance. "One Click Annual Registration" lets you file without logging in if nothing has changed and your fees are current.
File the report Fee source

Change your registered agent

$30
  • Every Georgia LLC must have one.
  • Amended annual registration ($20 plus a $10 service charge). You can also change the agent on the regular annual registration.
Fee source

Certificate of Existence

$20
  • Proof the company exists and is current, from the Georgia Secretary of State.
  • $10 plus a $10 service charge.
Order one Fee source

224,142 new business applications were filed in Georgia from January to September 2026, up 16.1% on last year, according to the Census Bureau. See every state.

Starting a business in Georgia?

A lot of people search the eCorp Business Search to see if a name is taken before they file. If that's you, here's the order to do things in.

  1. 1Check the name is free in GeorgiaTakes two minutes, steps on this page
  2. 2File your LLC with the stateArticles of Organization, $110 state fee
  3. 3Or let a service file it for youCompared on what you pay in year two

Step 3 goes to our comparison page, which has sponsored links. We earn a commission if you buy, and it doesn't change our rankings. How that works.

Frequently asked questions

How do I look up an LLC in Georgia?

Search the eCorp Business Search, the official database kept by the Georgia Secretary of State. You can search by business Name, control Number, registered Agent Name or officer Name. It's free, and you don't need an account. Open the matching record to see the LLC's status, registered agent and filing history.

Is the Georgia business search free?

Yes. Searching eCorp is free. A Certificate of Existence costs $20, and certified copies start at $20.

Can I find who owns a Georgia LLC?

Not from the Secretary of State. Georgia LLCs only list a registered agent, so members and managers aren't on file. Corporations list their CEO, CFO and secretary.

What does "Active/Noncompliance" mean in a Georgia entity search?

The entity hasn't filed its annual registration, and the Secretary of State says it will be administratively dissolved or revoked that year unless it files and pays the fees.

When is the Georgia annual registration due?

Between January 1 and April 1 each year, starting the year after an LLC is formed. It costs $60, and filing late adds a $25 penalty.

Sources

We take every fee, deadline and rule on this page from these pages and nowhere else. Rules change, so open the source before you pay anything.

  1. 1.eCorp Business SearchChecked November 8, 2026
  2. 2.eCorp home pageChecked November 8, 2026
  3. 3.Business Division FAQChecked November 8, 2026
  4. 4.Corporations Division filing fees, effective September 6, 2025 (PDF)Checked November 8, 2026
  5. 5.How to guide: file annual registrationChecked November 8, 2026
  6. 6.GSCCCA: UCC system and fee scheduleChecked November 8, 2026
  7. 7.GSCCCA: UCC Index searchChecked November 8, 2026
  8. 8.GSCCCA: service descriptions (certified search)Checked November 8, 2026
  9. 9.Department of Revenue: withholding payroll tax numberChecked November 8, 2026

See something out of date? Report it and we'll look into it.

Guides people read next