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Kansas

Kansas Secretary of State Business Search

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

The short answer

Kansas business records are searched on the Secretary of State's Business Search by business name or business ID number, and every document a business has filed can be viewed and printed online for free. Certified copies and Certificates of Good Standing are sold online only, after you log in to a user account.

On this page
  1. LLC lookup, step by step
  2. What the status means
  3. Agent, filings, owners
  4. Your Business ID number (business entity ID or file number)
  5. Is the name available?
  6. DBA and UCC search
  7. Fees and deadlines
  8. Questions
  9. Sources

Kansas at a glance

Who runs it
Kansas Secretary of State
Business Entity Search
Cost to search
Free
Viewing and printing file-stamped copies of filed documents is free. Certified copies and Certificates of Good Standing are bought online through a user account.
Account needed
No
Search without signing up
Search by
Business name, Business ID number

State fees

  • Form an LLC$85$85 online, $90 on paper.Articles of Organization (Form DL)Official source
  • Information Report$90$90 online, $110 on paper.Every two years by April 15. LLCs formed in an even year file in even years, and LLCs formed in an odd year file in odd years.Official source
  • Certificate of Good StandingNot publishedSold online only, after logging in to a user account. The Copies & Certifications page doesn't list the price.Proof the business is currentOfficial source
  • Change resident agent and registered office$35Paper fee for a single business on the state's certificate of amendment form (RGO). Changing only the suite number is free.Every LLC must have oneOfficial source

An LLC lookup in Kansas is the same search as a business search. The Business Entity Search, kept by the Kansas Secretary of State, lists LLCs alongside corporations and other registered businesses. You can search by business name or business ID number. It's free, and you don't need an account.

  1. Open the Kansas Business Search from the Secretary of State's site. The site may ask you to pass a human verification check first.
  2. Search by the business name, or by the business ID number if you have it.
  3. Open the business to see its status, legal structure, resident agent, and registered office.
  4. Open any filed document to view or print a file-stamped copy for free. The filing date is stamped at the top.
  5. For a certified copy or a Certificate of Good Standing, log in to a user account and choose "Purchase Certified Copy/Certificate of Good Standing Search".

Good to know in Kansas: Kansas puts more ownership detail on the public record than most states. The LLC information report asks for the name and address of each member who owns 5% or more of the capital, and every filed document can be viewed and printed for free. Reports are due only every two years, by April 15, in odd or even years to match the year the business formed.

What the search shows you

  • Business name and business ID number
  • Status, including the date a business forfeited
  • Legal structure (corporation, LLC, limited partnership, LLP)
  • Resident agent and registered office
  • File-stamped copies of every filed document, free to view and print

What the status words mean

Kansas 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 Business Entity Search, in the state's own wording.

StatusWhat it means
Active and in good standingThe business is current with the Secretary of State. A certificate of reinstatement returns a forfeited business to this status.
DelinquentThe information report wasn't filed by the due date. The business gets a three-month window to still file it, and while delinquent it's limited in what documents it can file.
ForfeitedThe three-month delinquency window passed without the report, or the business didn't keep an active Kansas resident agent and registered office. It can't file anything else until it files the past-due reports and is reinstated.

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

Finding the registered agent, filing history and owners

Resident Agent and Registered Office

Kansas calls it the resident agent, with a registered office that must be a street, rural route, or highway address, not a PO box. A paper change for a single business costs $35, and changing only the suite number is free.

Filing history

Every document the business has filed can be viewed and printed online at no cost, with the filing date stamped at the top. Tax documents aren't filed with the Secretary of State.

Owners, managers and officers

The LLC information report lists the name and address of each member who owns 5% or more of the capital (Kansas LLCs and series). Filed documents are public record and may be viewable online. 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 Kansas Business ID number (business entity ID or file number)

Kansas gives every business on its register a Business ID number (business entity ID or file number). It's the quickest way to pin down the right company when names are alike.

What it looks like
A file number the Secretary of State issues when the business registers. State forms label it "Business ID/file number."
Where to find yours
On the business's record in the Business Search. Kansas amendment and reinstatement forms ask for it.
Search by it
Yes. The Business Entity Search accepts it.

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

  • Sales tax account number (Kansas Department of Revenue). Three parts: tax type 004, the federal EIN followed by "F" (or a K or A number from the department), and a two-digit suffix, for example 004-123456789F-01. It isn't the Secretary of State's business ID.

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 Kansas

  1. Use the Business Name Availability search linked from the Register a Business page.
  2. To hold a name for a future filing, file NR, Reservation of Exclusive Right to Entity Name. It doesn't register a DBA.
  3. If your name is similar to an existing business's, that business can sign Form CN, Written Consent to Use of Similar Business Name.
  4. Don't put a DBA, fictitious, assumed, or trade name on the Articles of Organization.

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 Kansas

DBAs and assumed names

What it's called
Trade name (DBA)
Where they're filed
The Secretary of State doesn't register DBAs. Its name reservation form says it "does not register an assumed, fictitious, trade, or DBA (doing business as) name," and sole proprietors don't register with the Secretary of State.
Search
No statewide online search.

UCC liens

Lenders file UCC financing statements with the Kansas Secretary of State. The online search is paid and needs an account. Our Kansas UCC search guide has the steps and fees.

Kansas 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

$85
  • Articles of Organization (Form DL).
  • Online filings are processed within minutes, and the certified copy of the Articles of Organization can be printed right away.
File online Fee source

Information Report

$90
  • Due: Every two years by April 15. LLCs formed in an even year file in even years, and LLCs formed in an odd year file in odd years.
  • If you're late: After the due date the LLC is delinquent for three months and can still file. After that it forfeits, and to reinstate it must file each missed report with a Certificate of Reinstatement (Form RL), going back at most 10 years (5 reporting years).
  • Domestic LLC reports list each member who owns 5% or more of the capital.
File the report Fee source

Change your resident agent and registered office

$35
  • Every Kansas LLC must have one.
  • Paper fee for a single business on the state's certificate of amendment form (RGO). Changing only the suite number is free.
Fee source

Certificate of Good Standing

Not published
  • Proof the company exists and is current, from the Kansas Secretary of State.
  • Sold online only, after logging in to a user account. The Copies & Certifications page doesn't list the price.
Order one Fee source

33,984 new business applications were filed in Kansas from January to September 2026, up 23.9% on last year, according to the Census Bureau. See every state.

Starting a business in Kansas?

A lot of people search the Business Entity 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 KansasTakes two minutes, steps on this page
  2. 2File your LLC with the stateArticles of Organization, $85 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 Kansas?

Search the Business Entity Search, the official database kept by the Kansas Secretary of State. You can search by business name or business ID number. 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 Kansas business search free?

Yes. Searching, and viewing or printing file-stamped copies of filed documents, is free. Certified copies and Certificates of Good Standing are bought online through a user account.

Can I find who owns a Kansas LLC?

Often, yes. The LLC information report asks for the name and address of each member who owns 5% or more of the capital, and filed reports may be viewable online.

What does "Forfeited" mean in Kansas?

The business missed its information report deadline and the three-month delinquency window, or it didn't keep a resident agent and registered office. It must file the missing reports and a reinstatement form to become active again.

When is the Kansas information report due?

Every two years by April 15, in odd or even years to match the year the LLC formed. It costs $90 online or $110 on paper.

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.Information Reports (due dates, delinquency, forfeiture)Checked November 8, 2026
  2. 2.Reinstate a BusinessChecked November 8, 2026
  3. 3.Copies & CertificationsChecked November 8, 2026
  4. 4.Register a BusinessChecked November 8, 2026
  5. 5.Form DL, Articles of Organization (PDF)Checked November 8, 2026
  6. 6.Form ILC, Information Report for LLCs (PDF)Checked November 8, 2026
  7. 7.Form RGO, Certificate of Amendment for resident agent changes (PDF)Checked November 8, 2026
  8. 8.UCC Filing InformationChecked November 8, 2026
  9. 9.UCC Definitions (trade names)Checked November 8, 2026
  10. 10.Kansas Register, February 12, 2026: fee regulations effective February 27, 2026Checked November 8, 2026
  11. 11.Kansas Department of Revenue: Pub. KS-1510, sales tax account numbersChecked November 8, 2026

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

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