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Key takeaways
- There's no national business registration number in the U.S. A company gets one from the state where it registered, and a separate EIN from the IRS.
- The state number goes by different names: file number, document number, entity ID, control number. It's on your approval letter and your record on the state's business search.
- When a form asks for a "company registration number", it almost always means the state number. When it asks for a tax ID, it means the EIN.
The short version
There isn’t one business registration number in the United States. Companies are registered by states, not by the federal government, so each state hands out its own number. On top of that, the IRS issues an EIN for taxes.
So most LLCs and corporations end up with at least two numbers:
- A state number from the state where the company was formed. This is what most people mean by “business registration number”.
- An EIN from the IRS, used for taxes, payroll and bank accounts.
The state number
When a state approves your articles of organization or incorporation, it gives the company an ID. Every state calls it something a little different. Florida calls it a Document Number, Texas a File Number, and others use entity ID, charter number or control number. The table at the bottom of this page lists each state’s name for it.
Where to find yours:
- The approval the state sent you when the company was formed. It’s usually printed near the top.
- The state’s business search. Look up your company by name. The number is on the record, and in most states you can search by it too.
- Annual report notices from the state usually show it.
If the company is registered in more than one state, it has a different number in each one.
The EIN
The Employer Identification Number is nine digits, written like 12-3456789. The IRS issues it for free, and you apply directly at irs.gov. You need one to hire employees, and banks almost always ask for one to open a business account.
Lost your EIN? Our EIN lookup guide walks through where to find it.
Other numbers you might be asked for
- State tax account numbers. Some states give businesses a separate number through their revenue or tax department, for sales tax, payroll tax or a state business tax. It’s a different number from the one on the business search.
- DBA registration numbers. If you registered an assumed name, the state or county may have given that filing its own number.
- Unique Entity ID (UEI). Companies that bid on federal contracts or apply for federal grants register on SAM.gov, which assigns a Unique Entity ID.
- Local license numbers. City or county business licenses come with their own numbers.
Which number a form wants
- “Business registration number”, “company number”, “entity number”, “file number”: the state number.
- “Tax ID”, “TIN”, “FEIN”, “federal ID”: the EIN.
- “State tax ID” or “seller’s permit”: the state tax account number, not the business search number.
- A form from outside the U.S. asking for a “company registration number”: the state file number from the state where the company was formed, and say which state.
Not sure which state? See how to search businesses across all 50 states.
What each state calls its business number
| State | Number | Looks like | Searchable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Entity ID Number | Nine digits in three groups, for example 000-441-283. | Yes |
| Alaska | Alaska Entity Number (shown as "Entity #") | A number, for example 97311. | Yes |
| Arizona | A.C.C. Entity ID Number (the search calls it "Business ID") | Printed in the upper corner of filed documents and shown on the business record. | Yes |
| Arkansas | Filing # | Nine digits, for example 811268074. | Yes |
| California | Entity Number | LLCs have a 12-digit number. The Secretary of State's LLC forms ask for "the exact 12-digit Entity (File) Number issued by the California Secretary of State." | Yes |
| Colorado | ID number | 11 digits, for example 20261159674. | Yes |
| Connecticut | Business ID (ALEI) | A number, usually 7 digits (for example 2730125). Connecticut also calls it the ALEI, short for authoritative legal entity identifier. | Yes |
| Delaware | File Number | Seven digits on most records, and eight on newer ones (for example 10211017). The Division's tax filing page says a file number "can be up to 9 digits in length." | Yes |
| District of Columbia | File Number (shown in the search as "Initial File No.") | For LLCs, the letter L followed by 11 digits (for example L00008221433). Some older records use a plain number. | Yes |
| Florida | Document Number | The Division calls it a "6- or 12-digit number." Most numbers start with a letter for the filing type, such as L14000008976 for an LLC or P04000102990 for a corporation. Older records have six characters, such as G63750. Type the number zero, not the letter O. | Yes |
| Georgia | Control Number | Newer filings use an 8-digit number (for example 25182476). Some older records use a letter and six digits (for example K718100). | Yes |
| Hawaii | File Number | A number followed by a code for the record type. Domestic LLCs end in C5 (for example 365323C5), domestic corporations in D1 (96085D1) and trade names in ZZ (503955ZZ). | No |
| Idaho | File number | A number shown in parentheses after the business name in search results (for example 408878). | Yes |
| Illinois | File Number | Up to eight characters for an LLC. The online LLC annual report takes an eight-character "Limited Liability Company File Number." | Yes |
| Indiana | Business ID | A long string of digits that starts with a date, for example 201810161284312. Lengths vary, and some records have 13 digits. | Yes |
| Iowa | Business No. (business entity number) | Numbers only, for example 492116. | Yes |
| Kansas | Business ID number (business entity ID or file number) | A file number the Secretary of State issues when the business registers. State forms label it "Business ID/file number." | Yes |
| Kentucky | Organization Number | Seven digits, with leading zeros on older records, for example 1501605 or 0332819. | Yes |
| Louisiana | Charter Number | Eight digits followed by a letter, for example 40282112K for an L.L.C. | Yes |
| Maine | Charter Number | The search help asks for 10 or 11 characters. Charter numbers in the state's own record links are 8 digits followed by the entity type code from the search's key, such as DC for a domestic LLC (for example 20240701DC). | Yes |
| Maryland | Department ID | A letter for the entity type followed by eight digits. W is a limited liability company, D a stock corporation, M a limited partnership, A a limited liability partnership, L a general partnership, and B a business trust. SDAT's example is A12345678. | Yes |
| Massachusetts | Identification Number (ID Number) | 9 digits, including leading zeros (for example 001818831). | Yes |
| Michigan | Identification Number | A 6-digit or 9-digit number, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury. | Yes |
| Minnesota | File Number | 13 digits (for example 1476982600028). | Yes |
| Mississippi | Business ID | 7 digits (for example 1263331). | Yes |
| Missouri | Charter No. | Letters followed by digits. Domestic LLCs look like LC1041362 and foreign LLCs like FL001713124. | Yes |
| Montana | File Number | A letter followed by digits. A filed LLC annual report shows "BID: C255552" and the certification letter repeats it as the "Certified File Number." | Yes |
| Nebraska | Secretary of State Account Number | The search form labels it "Secretary of State Entity Account Number," and the eDelivery filing system asks for the "Secretary of State Business Services Account Number." | Yes |
| Nevada | NV Business ID Number | Shown in the "NV Business Id #" column of ORION search results, next to a separate "Entity No." column. | Yes |
| New Hampshire | Business ID | A number. A Secretary of State certificate of good standing on file shows, for example, "Business ID: 722129." The office says the Charter Number and Business ID are the same number. | Yes |
| New Jersey | Entity ID | A 10-digit number issued by the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services. | Yes |
| New Mexico | Business ID | A 7-digit number in the records we checked. A filed amendment shows "Business ID 7079028," and the same number appears as "Record #" in the search drawer. Each filed document also has its own "File #," which numbers the filing, not the business. | Yes |
| New York | DOS ID | Digits only. Entities formed in November 2026 have seven-digit DOS IDs, such as 8127221. | Yes |
| North Carolina | Secretary of State Identification Number (SOSID) | The Secretary of State doesn't publish a format. Copy it exactly as it appears on the company record. | Yes |
| North Dakota | SOS Control ID# | Search results show it as a 10-digit number with leading zeros, such as 0000147386 or 0007492475. The search box calls it a "system id." | Yes |
| Ohio | Entity Number | Ohio calls it a "Registration Number" for LLCs and a "Charter Number" for domestic corporations. It isn't the Document ID, which is a separate number assigned to each filing. | Yes |
| Oklahoma | Filing Number | A number the Secretary of State assigns to each entity. It's shown as a link in the search results. | Yes |
| Oregon | Business Registry Number | Assigned by the Corporation Division to each registration. An assumed business name gets its own number, separate from the LLC that owns it. | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | Entity Number | The Department of State doesn't publish a format. Copy it exactly as it appears on the entity record. | Yes |
| Rhode Island | Identification Number | 9 digits. The Corporate Database requires exactly 9 digits for an Identification Number search. Filings have a separate 12-digit Filing Number. | Yes |
| South Carolina | Entity Id | Eight digits with leading zeros, for example 00088154 on a printed entity profile. | No |
| South Dakota | Secretary of State Business ID | A letter and number code shown on each business record. The public help pages don't describe its layout. | Yes |
| Tennessee | Secretary of State Control Number (Control No.) | Nine digits with leading zeros, for example 000217213. | Not stated |
| Texas | File Number | Six to 10 digits. The Comptroller's search says a Texas Secretary of State file number "must be from 6 to 10 digits." | Yes |
| Utah | Entity Number | Digits, a hyphen, then a four-digit type code. Utah LLC numbers end in -0160, for example 13070465-0160. | Yes |
| Vermont | Record Number | The number the Secretary of State assigns to each business record. The public help pages don't describe its layout. | Yes |
| Virginia | Entity ID | A number such as 11064549, the example in the SCC's CIS how-to guide. | Yes |
| Washington | UBI Number (Unified Business Identifier) | Nine digits, shown in groups of three, such as 604 672 874. | Yes |
| West Virginia | Org Id | A number of up to six digits in the records we checked, such as 305639. The detail page also shows a separate alphanumeric "Control Number", such as 99TA9. | Yes |
| Wisconsin | Entity ID (DFI's "ID Number") | Seven characters mixing letters and digits, such as T064347 or 1S21620. | Yes |
| Wyoming | Filing ID | The year, a dash, and nine digits, such as 2022-001073411. | Yes |
From our state guides, each checked against the state's official site. Click a state for the full guide and sources.
Frequently asked questions
Is a business registration number the same as an EIN?
No. The EIN is a federal tax number from the IRS. The business registration number usually means the number the state gave your company when it registered. They come from different agencies and look different.
How do I find my business registration number?
Search your company's name on the business search of the state where you formed it. The number is on the record. It's also on the approval or certificate the state sent when you filed.
What is a company registration number in the USA?
The U.S. doesn't have one national company number like some countries do. The closest match is the file or document number from the state where the company was formed.
Do sole proprietors have a business registration number?
Usually not a state one, since a sole proprietorship isn't registered with the state as a company. A sole proprietor may have a DBA registration number, local license numbers, and an EIN if they applied for one.
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.IRS: Get an employer identification numberChecked November 8, 2026
- 2.IRS: Employer identification numberChecked November 8, 2026
- 3.SAM.gov: Entity registration and the Unique Entity IDChecked November 8, 2026
See something out of date? Report it and we'll look into it.