Performing a Corporate Search provides you with valuable information about a company. In this search, you can find out information in the form of a corporate report. The corporate report is a document that verifies a company's information. The corporate report lists a company's true corporate name, as well as the registered address, and sometimes even shareholder and director names. Corporate searches are used to make credit decisions.
These searches should be performed every time you begin working with a new customer. This can provide you with help in the decision-making process when determining whether or not you want to work with a new customer. It also allows you to verify the info they have provided.
How to Search for a Corporation
- Search by File Number
- Corporation Name
- Search the Delaware Corporation Registry
- Perform a Multi-state Search
- Email Corporate Name Availability Request to the state office
What Will Come up From a Corporation Search?
Corporate search will produce a corporate report, which is a document that verifies a company's information. The corporate report lists a company's true corporate name, registered address, and can sometimes list shareholder and director names.
It can be a very useful tool to check director names. For example, if you have had difficulty working with an individual or company, and you think they may have moved to a new company requesting to work with you, you can use a corporate search. This can help you to determine if they are involved with the new project or company.
This is important because if this person has provided poor service in the past, they are likely to give the same level of service for the next job. Be sure to avoid unnecessary risk by utilizing a simple corporate search.
There are a few times that a company search should be required:
- Prior to beginning legal action
- Prior to granting credit
- As a risk management tool, on customers before beginning a project
Overall, searching for a corporation can provide company information you might not have been aware of.
How to Check if a Company is a Corporation
To look up the registration information of a U.S. company, you will need to search the database of the state or states where it is registered. You can do this through the National Corporation Directory. This allows you to search for companies in multiple states at the same time.
If you want to check if a company is registered in the United States, you can even use Google. Because corporations are not registered nationally in the U.S., they are incorporated in a state. This means you need to go to the Secretary Of State for that state and search for corporations in that state.
Another option is to check with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) to see if the company has registered a trademark on their name. This will also get their state name. But the easiest way to go about this is to use a Corporation search.
Reasons to Search a Delaware Corporation
Suing a Company
Performing a corporate search can be beneficial when you must serve legal documents. This is because legal documentation can only be served to a registered address. If you do not have the registered address then you cannot serve them with legal papers. For companies, most of the time their registered address is likely a law firm and not their actual office.
Learn a Company’s True Name
Being able to know a company's true corporate name is important. This might include deciding to place a Builders' Lien against a company or beginning legal action. In this can, you will need to know the company's true corporate name or spelling. If it ends up being incorrect, then your claim may be considered invalid. You can avoid this by performing a Corporate Search.
Find out if the Corporation Name is Already Taken
If you are creating a new business you need to have a unique name that isn’t already taken. This can be done by performing a Delaware entity search. This search is used to look up a company name in Delaware. It also helps provide you with information to understand if a name is already being used by another company. This is essential to know when forming a new company because if you try to use a name that is already registered, one of two problems may occur. The first is that you will not be able to register. The second is that you may have issues with trademark laws. Both of these situations are ones that you want to avoid as much as possible. By finding out if the corporation name is already taken, you can avoid them.
Do You Need to Perform a Corporate Search?
Performing a Corporate Search provides you with valuable information regarding a company. Whether you are looking to sue, find out who the employees are, verify a company’s information, or simply find out their name. Use this to find a registered address, and even shareholder and director names. Do business safely and legally by performing a corporate search.
