The South Carolina Secretary of State's website offers a Business Entities Online service that allows you to search for information on companies registered in the state. This can be useful for due diligence and Know Your Client (KYC) purposes. Here's a step-by-step guide on using the search tool:
1. Visit the Business Name Search page on the South Carolina Secretary of State's website.
2. Enter your search term in the provided field. You can choose to search for records that begin with, contain, or are an exact match for your search term.
3. On the results page, you'll see a list of businesses sorted alphabetically by name. The information displayed includes the company's name (with former names flagged), formation date, business type (legal structure), current status, and state of incorporation.
4. Click on a specific record to view more details, such as the Registered Agent's name and contact information, important dates, and documents on file with the office.
South Carolina 5 Business Entity Status Definition
Note that accessing filed documents requires creating an account and paying a fee.
While the South Carolina Secretary of State's search tool provides basic information, it has some limitations:
- Lack of search filters, which can lead to lengthy results lists that include inactive businesses and former names.
- Inability to sort results by fields other than company name or reverse the alphabetical order.
- Minimal information available without creating an account and purchasing documents.