Montana Business Entity Search: MT SOS Records, Filing Numbers and DBAs

Where the MT SOS Keeps Its Records: biz.sosmt.gov

The Montana Secretary of State (SOS) keeps its free search tool, “Business Search,” at biz.sosmt.gov/search/business, part of the Online Business Services portal. One box takes a name or a Filing Number; the state’s own note warns that “Results are limited. Please use the “Advanced” search to narrow results.”

Step 1: Pick a Match Mode, Then Narrow by Type or Status

Advanced search switches the match from Starts with to Contains or Word Contains and narrows results by Entity Type, Status, State, County, registration or expiration date; a Search by Registered Agent PID box looks up an agent’s companies. The Entity Type list holds 37 business entity types, among them assumed business names, name reservations, cooperatives and water and sewer districts. Separate tabs search state trademarks (Trademark) and commercial registered agents (CRA).

Step 2: The Right-Hand Panel and View Filings

For a Montana LLC lookup, click the business name in the results: the panel on the right shows the registered agent’s name and address, with File Annual Report, Filing Actions, Request Information and View Filings. Under View Filings, articles and first registration papers are labeled “Initial Filing.”

The status field uses the state’s labels: Active-Good Standing for a current company, Involuntary Dissolution for one dissolved over missed filings or fees or no registered agent, and Expired for a DBA or trademark whose term lapsed. Request Information orders a Certificate of Existence ($5, Montana’s good standing certificate) or a certified copy ($10) after logging in.

Montana Filing Number: One Letter, Six or Seven Digits

“The Filing Number begins with an alpha character followed by 6- or 7-digits (Ex: C123456),” the Department of Revenue explains; the same number identifies the company for its tax certificate. No official table lists the letters; in the corporate and LLC records below, C marks a Montana LLC, E a foreign LLC, D a Montana corporation, F a foreign corporation and A an assumed business name.

Older numbers use six digits padded with zeros, as in C092503, and newer ones seven, so C92503 is C092503 typed without its zero, while C114523 and C1145237 are two different numbers. The box adds the missing zeros after the letter but never guesses a letter.

January 1 to April 15: Montana’s Annual Report Window, Free Through 2027

Montana LLCs and corporations file their annual report between January 1 and April 15, starting the year after formation. The regular fee is $20, but the Secretary of State waives it for reports filed on time from 2024 through 2027; after April 15 the report costs $35. “It is not a tax or earnings report.”

A report with no changes can be filed without logging in, from the record’s File Annual Report button; filing a Montana LLC annual report is covered step by step elsewhere. An LLC 140 days late, or a corporation 120 days late, goes on the Secretary of State’s list of defaulting companies by September 1 and is dissolved if it doesn’t fix the default within 90 days of notice (MCA 35-8-209 and 35-8-914 for LLCs, 35-14-1420 and 35-14-1421 for corporations). The record’s status then reads Involuntary Dissolution, which the help center defines as “Administratively dissolved due to missed filings and fees, or not maintaining a registered agent.”

Reinstating Within Five Years, With a Title 15 Certificate

A Montana LLC or corporation can reinstate within five years of dissolution; a foreign one must requalify. The reinstatement costs $35 for an LLC, $30 for a profit corporation or $10 for a nonprofit, plus $35 for each of the missing annual reports, and filing those annual reports alone isn’t enough. Most also need a Title 15 tax certificate from the Montana Department of Revenue: free, processed within 30 days as a goal, valid six months, and not required for a single-member LLC not taxed as a corporation.

Members and Managers Named in the Montana LLC Annual Report

A Montana LLC’s annual report must give the names and business mailing addresses of its managers or, if the members run it, of its members; a corporation lists its directors and principal officers (MCA 35-8-208, 35-14-1621). Ownership percentages aren’t required.

Those names sit in the filed reports under View Filings. Searching by person is a paid report: $2 for a principal search and $4 for an individual name search. The Person tab of the box finds registered agents by name; members and managers don’t appear in its results. The agent must have a street address in Montana and be available during business hours, and Montana’s help center suggests a commercial registered agent for owners with “privacy concerns about your address.” Changing the agent is free.

ARM 44.5.131 and Montana LLC Name Availability

Montana’s name rule, ARM 44.5.131, comes with its own examples: “Maid in Montana” is distinguishable from “Made in Montana,” and “Yellowstone Hotel” from “Hotel Yellowstone,” but “In the Water” is not distinguishable from “On the Water,” and “3 Kings,” “III Kings” and “Three Kings” count as one name.

Punctuation, special characters, capitals, spacing, contractions, domain suffixes such as .com and business identifiers such as Inc. or LLC don’t make a name distinct either. An LLC name must also stand apart from assumed business names, trademarks and service marks on file (MCA 35-8-103), and “Name availability isn’t guaranteed until your registration is completed and approved.” A name reservation holds it for a nonrenewable 120 days for $10. Checking a name against federal trademarks with the USPTO is a separate step before forming a Montana LLC, which costs $35.

Montana DBA: An Assumed Business Name at the Secretary of State

“In Montana, a ‘Doing Business As’ (DBA) name and an ‘Assumed Business Name’ (ABN) are the same thing,” and it is registered online with the Secretary of State at biz.sosmt.gov, not with a county: $20 for five years. Two businesses can’t hold the same ABN, and a business without an effective registration can’t sue in Montana courts under that name.

The state sends a notice at least 90 days before expiration, and “Expired Assumed Business Names (ABN) cannot be renewed; you must file a new application online.” A sole proprietor working under anything other than their own name must register one. In the box, a company’s ABNs and state trademarks appear under Other names; Town Pump, Inc. alone lists more than 100. A Montana trademark search runs in the portal’s Trademark tab; state trademarks cost $20 plus $20 per additional class, last five years and need three specimens showing the mark in use.

No Sales Tax, No General License: Where Montana Licenses Come From

A Montana business license search doesn’t go through the Secretary of State: the state issues no general business license, and its help center sends owners to city and county offices, since “Many cities and counties require a local business or occupation license.” “Montana does not have a general-use sales tax,” so there is no seller’s permit to look up either. Professions such as contractors, cosmetologists and real estate agents are licensed by the Department of Labor and Industry.

The eStop program, now run by Labor and Industry, handles state licenses such as retail food, tobacco and off-premise beer and wine sales. The IRS issues an EIN for free, and Montana’s tax certificate asks for the Filing Number and the FEIN (or SSN), but the registry never shows it; the ways to find another company’s EIN are covered in finding a company’s EIN.

The $150 “2027 Annual Report Instruction Form” Mailing

On September 24, 2026, the Secretary of State warned about a 2027 annual report “instruction form” mailed by “an out-of-state organization seeking $150” to file a report the state takes free until April 15, 2027. Its standing alert: “If you received a letter stating you owe money to file an annual report or purchase a certificate, it is NOT affiliated with our office.” A certificate can be checked through Verify Certificate.