Virginia Business Entity Search

VA SCC Entity Search: LLC Lookup and Corporation Search on CIS

A Virginia LLC lookup and a corporation search run on the same CIS form, which lists the business entities registered with the Commonwealth: stock and nonstock corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, general partnerships and limited liability partnerships (LLP), business trusts and more. You can search business entities by name, Entity ID, filing number, principal, registered agent or designee, and open any record’s filing history and images without an account.

The Virginia business search above shows the SCC’s status code followed by its reason: in PENDINACT - Annual Registration Fee Past Due, PENDINACT stands for Pending Inactive and the rest is the Reason for Status.

Official site: SCC CIS Business Entity Search

Step 1: Start From the CIS Home Page

Business Entity Search sits in the middle column, with Entity Name and Entity ID fields and a link to Advanced Search. Under Business Services (No Login Required) sit Check Name Availability and Certificate Verification. The SCC recommends a PC; mobile devices are not recommended for CIS.

Step 2: Choose Starts With, Contains or Exact Match

Select One sets how the name is matched. Starts With is the default; Contains finds the words anywhere in the name. Fill in one field only. Advanced Search Options narrow the list by entity type, status, name type, industry code, formation date or address.

Step 3: Read the Results Table

Each row gives the Entity ID, the name, the name type, the entity type, the principal office, the registered agent and the status. Name Type reads Legal Name for the entity itself; a Fictitious Name row is a DBA, listed under the Entity ID of the company that owns it. The list exports to Word, Excel, CSV or PDF.

Step 4: Open the Entity Information Page

The record shows the entity status and its Reason for Status, formation and status dates, the registered agent with its qualification, and the principal office address. The buttons below it open the Filing History, RA History and Name History. Images of filed documents are generally free to view; a certified copy costs $6 per request.

Virginia DBA Search: Fictitious Names Sit on CIS Too

Since January 1, 2020, every assumed or fictitious name in Virginia, including those filed by individuals, goes to the SCC Clerk’s Office. On CIS, set Name Type to Fictitious Name.

A certificate costs $10 under Va. Code 59.1-70. Fictitious names don’t have to be unique, and the SCC doesn’t decide who may use one. Trading under an unfiled name is a misdemeanor, and the business cannot bring a lawsuit in Virginia until the certificate is filed.

Virginia Business Name Availability: The SCC’s Core Name Test

A Virginia business name search on CIS compares core names: a name is available when its core name is distinguishable on the SCC’s records. The core name drops entity endings such as LLC, Inc. or Company, nondescript words such as the, and, or, of and for, punctuation, and spaces. One added letter is enough: the SCC treats ABC, Inc. and ABCs Inc. as different names.

The SCC’s own example: ABC of Virginia, Inc. and ABC Virginia Company share the core name ABCVIRGINIA, so the second is refused unless the first consents in writing.

Check Name Availability gives the same verdict, but a distinguishable name is not yet an accepted one: words such as bank, trust or engineer are restricted, and names go first come, first served. Reserving a name costs $10 for 120 days, renewable, and needs a CIS account online. A name on file doesn’t protect it as a brand.

Officers Are Public in Virginia, LLC Members Are Not

For an LLC, CIS names no owners: the SCC does not keep a record of members or managers, and the LLC keeps its own member list. For a corporation, the annual report puts the directors and principal officers on the record, under Principal Information.

An LLC record can still point to a person: when the registered agent’s qualification reads “Member or Manager of the Limited Liability Company”, the agent is one of them. Principal Name in the CIS form, and the Person tab above, search officers, directors and agents by name.

Virginia Registered Agent Search

Registered Agent Name finds every entity an agent represents. The agent must be a Virginia resident who is a member, manager, officer or director of the entity or a member of the Virginia State Bar, or a business entity authorized in Virginia; an entity cannot be its own agent. Changing the agent is free.

Pending Inactive, Then Canceled: How a Virginia Entity Loses Its Status

CIS uses four statuses: Active, Pending Active, Pending Inactive and Inactive. The Reason for Status line says why, and for an inactive entity whether it can still reinstate.

When a Virginia LLC Is Automatically Canceled

A Virginia LLC pays a $50 annual registration fee by the last day of its formation month each year, starting the year after it is formed; a late payment adds a $25 penalty. If the fee is still unpaid on the last day of the third month after the due date, the LLC is canceled automatically (Va. Code 13.1-1050.2). An LLC formed on April 23, 2021 pays by April 30 each year from 2022; if a year’s fee stays unpaid, it is canceled on July 31. Corporations also file an annual report and are terminated at the end of the fourth month. Fees and filing steps are in the Virginia annual registration guide.

Letters, emails and texts with QR codes offering to file the annual report or pay the registration fee for a markup don’t come from the SCC, which warns about them. Paying on CIS costs no extra fee.

“Can Reinstate”: $100 Plus the Missed Fees

An inactive entity can reinstate for 5 years: $100 plus the fees and penalties it missed, online or with form LLC1050.4P for an LLC. The LLC is then treated as if it had never been canceled. After 5 years the Clerk’s Office no longer has the authority to reinstate it.

Good Standing Certificates, Licenses and Liens

CIS proves that an entity exists and is current with the SCC. A license or a lien lives elsewhere, or in another CIS search.

Virginia SCC Search FAQ