Vermont Business Entity Search: VT SOS Business Search and LLC Lookup

VT SOS Business Search: The Online Business Service Center

The Vermont Secretary of State’s Business Search (Business Services Division, still called the Corporations Division on some state pages) runs in the Online Business Service Center at bizfilings.vermont.gov: one Business Name/Record Number field with Exact Match, Starts With or Contains, plus Record Type, Record Status and an Initial Filing Date range. Each search opens a “User validation required to continue” captcha.

Step 1: Set the Record Type, or Search by Person

To look up an LLC in Vermont, set Record Type to Domestic Limited Liability Company or Foreign Limited Liability Company; a corporate search uses Domestic Business Corporation or Foreign Business Corporation. The Advanced Search panel adds Principal Name, Filing Number and Registered Agent Name, so officers, managers and agents can be searched free. The same list covers reserved names and assumed names; liens are in a separate UCC Search on the same portal.

Step 2: Record Number, Fiscal Year End Month, Filing History

Results list Business Name, Record Number, Record Type, Status, Registered Agent, Physical Address and the Fiscal Year End month. The business record adds the Annual Report Due Date and the last report filed, and its Filing History opens filed documents free: “Plain Copies $0.00,” certified copies $25. The redesigned system gives records no web address of their own, and links to the old /online/BusinessInquire pages no longer open a business. The Secretary of State normally processes online filings in less than one business day; mail filings take 7-10 business days.

When a Vermont LLC’s Annual Report Is Due: Its Fiscal Year Decides

A Vermont LLC files its annual report “within three months after the expiration of the company’s fiscal year” (11 V.S.A. § 4033), and a corporation within two and a half months. For a December year end, that means by the end of March for an LLC.

LLPs and mutual benefit enterprises report from January 1 to April 1 whatever their fiscal year; nonprofits file a biennial report in the same window. “To determine a business’s fiscal year end, search for the business online.” Reports are filed online only, from a user account; filing a Vermont LLC annual report walks through it.

“Terminated” on a Vermont Record: A Missed Report, Not a Closed Business

Vermont charges no late fee: an LLC that misses its annual report is terminated, and “This is indicated by the business status reading either terminated or inactive depending on how long the business entity has been out of compliance.” A Terminated company still holds its name.

It comes back by filing each missed report with its fee plus a $35 reinstatement fee for every year missed ($50 for a corporation), and the reinstatement takes effect “as if the termination never occurred.” After five years without a report, an LLC loses the right to its name. Good standing also requires a current registered agent: an agent’s resignation takes effect on the 31st day, and without a replacement the business turns Terminated. The Record Status filter separates active companies in good standing from active companies marked NOT In Good Standing.

A Certificate of Good Standing downloads immediately after payment, $35 for an LLC and $25 for a Vermont corporation, and the Certificate Search confirms one; “If you are given a certificate that does not have a verification number or looks different, it may be a fraud.”

Synonyms Count, “Vermont” Doesn’t: Name Rules in Vermont

A Vermont business name search is judged against one standard, “distinguishable in the records,” and the state’s examples cut both ways: Dog Training, Ltd. and K9 Training, Ltd. are distinguishable, as are The Bicycle Shop and The Bike Shop, but adding or removing “Vermont” or “Green Mountains” doesn’t make a name new, and Green Mtn. Organics equals Green Mountain Organics.

Reserving a name for 120 days costs $25 for an LLC and $40 for a corporation, and the Secretary of State advises: “Do not invest in websites, signs, business cards, or other marketing materials until you receive a certificate confirming the availability and your ownership of the requested name.” Trademarks are a separate check, and checking an LLC name against them comes before forming a Vermont LLC.

Assumed Business Names, the Vermont DBA Once Called a Trade Name

“An assumed business name registration (formerly known as a trade name registration)” is filed with the Secretary of State within 10 days of starting business under the name, costs $70, and must be renewed every five years. It is searchable in Business Search itself, under Record Type Assumed Name.

A sole proprietor trading under anything other than their full legal name registers one; a company that wants to trade without its Inc. or LLC can too. The registration “does not create a legal business entity.” Vermont registers trademarks for goods only: “Vermont law does not provide for the registration of service marks.” A state trademark costs $35, lasts ten years, doesn’t allow the ® symbol, and has its own Trademark Search.

Registered Twice: The Secretary of State Record and a myVTax Tax Account

Vermont’s Licenses and Permits page lists professional and industry licenses, not a general business license. Most businesses register a tax account with the Department of Taxes through myVTax, one per tax type such as sales and use or meals and rooms, and “You do not have to renew your business tax account.” Licensed professions are checked in the Office of Professional Regulation’s Find a Professional.

An LLC taxed as a pass-through owes the Department of Taxes a minimum tax: “Generally, a minimum tax of $250 is due.” The Business Search record has no EIN field; where a company’s EIN can be found covers the other sources. On May 6, 2026, the Secretary of State warned that “multiple third-party service companies, including US Filing Services LLC,” were contacting businesses about their filing status, and asked owners to check bizfilings.vermont.gov themselves.