South Carolina Secretary of State
South Carolina Business Entity Search
Last updated . Register data is refreshed nightly.
Check whether a business name is already on file with the South Carolina Secretary of State. Free, no account, all entity types.
South Carolina Business Entity Search
Search the state's official business records.
Quick answer
Search the South Carolina business entity database by name to see whether a name is already registered. A no-match result means the name is not on file today, which is a preliminary answer rather than an approval: South Carolina makes the final decision when the filing is reviewed.
What this checks
This search queries South Carolina business records live at the time you run it, so the answer reflects what is on file now rather than a cached copy. Where a matching entity is found, the record is shown alongside the verdict.
Either way it is a preliminary check. Confirm anything you intend to rely on directly with the state, using the official South Carolina search.
How to search the South Carolina database yourself
The search on this page checks the same records. These steps are for running it yourself on the state’s site, which is also how you confirm anything before you file.
1. Open the search page
The South Carolina business entity search is at businessfilings.sc.gov/BusinessFiling/Entity/Search.
2. Complete the verification step
South Carolina shows a reCAPTCHA step, either a checkbox or a grid of images before it will run a search. Clear it once and it normally holds for the rest of your visit. If searches stop returning results, reloading the page to get a fresh check usually fixes it.
3. Search on the distinctive part of the name
Enter the part that makes the name yours and leave off LLC, Inc or Corp. States ignore the designator when they compare names, so searching without it surfaces the conflicts that actually matter.
4. Read the results list
South Carolina returns, for each match:
- the registered name of the business
- the state’s file or entity number, which is the reliable way to identify a record when names are similar
- the entity type, such as domestic LLC or foreign corporation
- the current status, such as active, delinquent or dissolved
- the formation or filing date
5. Open the record itself
The summary line is not the whole record. Opening it shows the filing history, the registered agent, and the dates, which is where you find out whether a conflicting business is still trading or was dissolved years ago.
How to read your result
- No match. No active record uses that name today. That is the starting point for a filing, not a reservation: the name is not held for you until you file or reserve it.
- Exact match. A registered entity already uses the name. Most states will reject a new filing that is not distinguishable from it.
- Similar match. Something close exists. States differ on how much difference is enough, and punctuation, entity designators such as LLC or Inc, and words like The are often ignored when they compare.
- Inactive or dissolved. A closed business can still hold its name for a period after it stops trading, so a dissolved record is not automatically a free name.
Filing in South Carolina
- LLC filing fee: $110
- Expedited option: $50
- Typical processing: 5-7 business days
- New business applications: 102,600 in the 52 weeks to July 25, 2026
- Most recent week reported: 2,100 applications in the week ending July 25, 2026, of which 560 were high-propensity applications, the ones Census expects to become employers
- Rank among the 51 jurisdictions by new applications: 19
- Year on year change: +19.3%
Keeping the name in South Carolina
A name that is free today is not held for you. South Carolina lets you reserve one for 120 days while you prepare the filing, which stops someone else registering it in the meantime. The reservation is a separate application from the formation filing, and it does not create the company. Set against the 5-7 business days the state currently takes to process a formation filing, that window is the room you have to get the paperwork right.
Once registered, the name stays yours only while the entity is in good standing. South Carolina requires an annual report. Miss enough of them and the state administratively dissolves the company, at which point the name eventually returns to the pool and someone else can take it. That is the most common way a business loses a name it has used for years.
Common mistakes
Treating a clear search as approval
It is not. The state decides when it reviews the filing, and it applies rules a search box does not.
Searching the full name with its designator
Searching the distinctive part alone surfaces more conflicts, because that is the part states compare. LLC, Inc and Corp are ignored in the comparison.
Stopping at an exact match
A confusingly similar name can be refused even when nothing matches exactly. Punctuation, spacing and common words are usually disregarded when the state decides how close is too close.
Assuming a name check covers trademarks
A state register and the federal trademark register are separate. A name can be free in South Carolina and still infringe a mark. We hold 6,339,108 federal marks alongside the state registers, so that is a question worth asking before you file rather than after.
South Carolina Secretary of State business services
Business registrations in South Carolina are held by the South Carolina Secretary of State, which maintains the public register this page searches, accepts new filings, and issues the certificates a bank or a counterparty may ask you for. Contact them directly for anything that has to be official.
| Business entity search | businessfilings.sc.gov/BusinessFiling/Entity/Search |
|---|---|
| Phone | (803) 734-2158 |
| Address | Address 1205 Pendleton Street, Suite 525 Columbia, SC, 29201 |
| Office hours | 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. |
| LLC filing fee | $110 |
| Processing | 5-7 business days |
The office handles registration, not disputes. If a name is already taken, they will tell you it is unavailable but not who holds it beyond what the public record shows, and they will not advise on whether your name infringes someone’s mark.
Common questions about South Carolina business entity searches
How do I check if an LLC exists in South Carolina?
Search the South Carolina business register by name using the search on this page, or directly on the state's own portal. If a matching record comes back, the entity exists and its status line tells you whether it is active. No match means no entity is registered under that name today.
How do I verify a company is registered in South Carolina?
A company is registered in South Carolina if it appears on the South Carolina Secretary of State register with an active status. Search the name, open the record, and check the status field rather than the summary line: a dissolved company still appears in results but is no longer in good standing.
Does a clear search mean my South Carolina business name is approved?
Not on its own. A no-match result means the name is not on the South Carolina register today, which is a preliminary answer rather than approval. South Carolina Secretary of State applies its own comparison rules when it reviews the filing, and can refuse a name that is confusingly similar to one already registered.
Can I look up who owns a business in South Carolina?
The South Carolina register shows the registered agent and, depending on the filing type, officers or organisers. It does not list members or shareholders for every entity, so the register identifies who accepts legal service rather than who owns the company.
How much does it cost to register a business name in South Carolina?
Forming an LLC in South Carolina costs $110 in state filing fees, and the state currently takes 5-7 business days to process it. Reserving a name before filing is a separate, smaller fee. Current schedules are set by South Carolina Secretary of State and change from time to time, so confirm them on the state's own site before you file.
Beyond the Secretary of State
The Secretary of State holds the entity filing, and that is only one of the records a South Carolina business generates. If the entity search does not answer your question, one of these offices usually holds the rest.
- South Carolina Department of Revenue — State tax registration and filings. A business registered with the Secretary of State is usually also known here.
- South Carolina Department of Labor — Employer registration, unemployment insurance accounts and wage records. Often the first place a business with staff appears outside the Secretary of State.
- South Carolina Department of Insurance — Licensing for insurance producers and agencies. A name containing insurance or assurance normally needs this office's consent before the Secretary of State will accept it.
- South Carolina Public Utilities or Corporation Commission — Regulates utilities and, in some states, holds corporate filings separately from the Secretary of State.
- South Carolina Department of Health — Licensing for food, care and health-related businesses, which is a separate register from the entity filing.
- South Carolina State Bar Association — Attorney licensing. Relevant if the business name implies legal services, which most states restrict.
Each of these keeps its own register with its own rules. A business can be in good standing with one and delinquent with another, and none of them talks to the others automatically.
Federal registers a South Carolina search does not cover
The South Carolina register is a state record. These are separate federal systems, and a clear result on one says nothing about the others.
- USPTO trademark search — The federal trademark register, which a state name check does not touch. A name can be free on a state register and still infringe a live mark.
- FinCEN beneficial ownership reporting — Most newly formed companies have a federal beneficial ownership filing obligation separate from anything the state requires.
- IRS employer identification number — The EIN is federal and separate from the state registration. The state register will not show it.
- SEC EDGAR — If the business files with the SEC, EDGAR holds filings no state register carries.
Searching beyond South Carolina
Business names are registered state by state, so a name that is taken in South Carolina may be free elsewhere, and a name free here may be taken where you actually intend to trade. If you plan to operate in more than one state you will need to check each of them and register as a foreign entity in the ones you are not formed in.
Other state searches: South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Oregon.
Terms that appear on a result are explained in our reference section, including good standing, registered agent and administratively dissolved.
Sources
- South Carolina business entity search, the official register this page queries.
- Filing fees and processing times: South Carolina Secretary of State, verified Mar 2026. Current schedules are published by the South Carolina Secretary of State.
- Formation activity: Census Bureau Business Formation Statistics, retrieved via FRED at the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis.
- Federal trademark data: United States Patent and Trademark Office, 6,339,108 live marks cross-referenced against the state registers.
- Office contact details: South Carolina Secretary of State, verified against the office’s published contact page.
- Naming and reporting rules: confirmed against two independent sources before publication; anything the sources disagreed on is not stated here.
- State seal: public domain image via Wikimedia Commons.