Missouri Business Entity Search
By Edmond Hui · Last updated October 5, 2026
The short answer. The Missouri Secretary of State (Corporations Division) keeps Missouri's register of business entities. The official search is the state's “Business Search” page, on bsd.sos.mo.gov. We have not confirmed whether the state charges to search, so check the search page itself.
Missouri Business Entity Search at a Glance
| Register kept by | The Missouri Secretary of State (Corporations Division) |
| Official search | Business Search |
| Cost to search | Not confirmed |
| Search by | Entity name; registered agent or registered office; entity or filing number |
| Filed documents online | Yes |
| Copy fee | See Documents |
| Certifying a copy | See Documents |
| Name reservation | Not confirmed |
| Name reservation fee | $25.00 |
Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked October 5, 2026. See the sources.
How to Search Missouri's Register
The official search is the state's “Business Search” page, on bsd.sos.mo.gov. We have not confirmed whether the state charges to search, so check the search page itself. You can search without an account. Open the official search.
On the main search page you can search by:
- Entity name
- Registered agent or registered office
- Entity or filing number
What a Search Result Shows
A Missouri result includes the items below, according to the state's own pages or a result page we read. It may show more.
- Entity type
- Principal office address
- Registered agent or registered office
- Status
- Formation or registration date
- When the next report is due
- Filing history
What Each Missouri Status Means
The status is the label the register puts on each entity. Where the state defines a label, the meaning below restates that definition, with a link to the state page it comes from. Where it does not, we do not guess from the word, because the same word can mean different things in different states.
| Status label | What it means | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Active In the search tool | The state does not define this label on the page we reviewed. Check the search page for what it means. | LLCs |
| Good Standing In the search tool | The state does not define this label on the page we reviewed. Check the search page for what it means. | Corporations |
| Admin Diss/Cancel - Report In the search tool | The state does not define this label on the page we reviewed. Check the search page for what it means. | Corporations |
This list is not complete. It holds the labels we found on search results we read, and the register may show others.
If the search shows that your own LLC was dissolved, see how to reinstate an LLC in Missouri.
A search result is not a certificate of good standing. If a bank or another state asks for one, see how to get a Missouri certificate of good standing.
Viewing and Ordering Documents
Filed documents can be viewed online. We have not confirmed whether viewing them is free.
Paper copies cost $0.50 per page, and certifying them adds $10.00. A certified copy ordered online costs $10.00.
Is the Name Available?
The state tells you to use this same search to check whether a name is already in use.
The state's naming standard, in its own words: “distinguishable upon the records of the secretary.”
We have not confirmed whether Missouri requires a name reservation before you file. A name reservation costs $25.00.
Our free LLC name checker looks up domain and social media handle availability for a name. It does not search Missouri's register, so check the state's search as well.
Ready to form? See what goes on the Missouri articles of organization.
Frequently Asked Questions
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's business entity filing office publishes about searching its register, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you whether a particular business is active, authorized or reliable: read the state's own record for that, and search tools, status labels and fees change between our reviews. Confirm anything you rely on with the filing office named on this page before you act on it.
Sources
Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Missouri sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so. Where we hold the citation but no stable public link, the citation is printed on its own rather than pointed at a guessed address.
- sos.mo.gov/business/corporationsCorporations
- bsd.sos.mo.gov/BusinessEntity/BESearch.aspx?SearchType=0Search for a Business Entity (archived copy)
- sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/Business/BRSGuides/SearchingforEntitiy.pdfSearching for a Business Entity: a step-by-step guide
- bsd.sos.mo.gov/BusinessEntity/BusinessEntityDetail.aspx?ID=3107153&page=beSearchBusiness Entity Detail (foreign business corporation) (archived copy)
- bsd.sos.mo.gov/BusinessEntity/BusinessEntityDetail.aspx?ID=3764016Business Entity Detail (domestic LLC) (archived copy)
- bsd.sos.mo.gov/BusinessEntity/BusinessEntityDetail.aspx?ID=3517276&page=beSearchBusiness Entity Detail (domestic nonprofit corporation) (archived copy)
- sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/Business/fees.pdfSchedule of Fees, Corporations Division
- sos.mo.gov/business/corporations/startBusinessStarting a Business
- revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=347.020RSMo 347.020 Name of limited liability company
- Name standard: RSMo 347.020
Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC
Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.