How to Do a Michigan Business Entity Search (2024)

• Rick Mak
• Updated onMay 23, 2024

Currently, the state of Michigan has over 900,000 small businesses, but they’re not stopping there. The governor has an ambitious goal of having the state’s small businesses hit Top 10 growth in the next five years, so you can bet on tempting incentives here.

If you have plans floating around in your head, then why not bring them to life in Michigan? You can count on solid support, after all.

Before you move ahead though, first check if your desired business name isn’t already in use. This is how to do a Michigan business entity search.

Check With the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA)

In most other states, you’d check with the Secretary of State. However, there’s no official Michigan Secretary of State business search. Instead, you’ll have to use LARA’s site.

When using the LARA business entity search, you can search by entity name, individual name, identification number, or filing number. For the first two options, you can search with these parameters:

• Begins with
• Exact match
• Keyword
• Soundex

To do more thorough research, you should try each option, as you might turn up unexpected results.

After you hit “Search,” the next page might bring up businesses with the exact name you’ve searched, or a partial match, depending on what you’ve selected. In addition to their names, you’ll see their ID numbers, old ID numbers (if applicable), and addresses. If you wish, you can sort them by using the blue header.

More About Individual Business Entities

If you’re interested in learning more about a particular company, click on its name. This will take you to a more detailed page that lists the following:

• Date of incorporation
• Purpose
• Date of dissolution (if applicable)
• Most recent report
• Name and address of the resident agent
• Registered office mailing address

There’s also a button that says “View assumed names for this business entity.” This will show you any assumed names the company’s used in the past or is using currently.

In addition, you can view filings for the business. There may be comments or notes at the bottom of the page too.

Do a Google Search

Another way you can do a Michigan business lookup is by performing a Google search. Type in the business name and the word “Michigan” (or a city in the state), then see what comes up.

Take a good look through the search results to see if there are any companies that have similar enough names. This can be problematic in the future, so search carefully.

This is also a great time to see what domain names are available. If you’re confident that you’ll stick with a particular name, and it’s free, you can buy up the domain to reserve it.

Use Our Business Name Checker

We’ve got a business name checker built straight into our website. It’s very convenient since you can read through our service offerings and prices first, which are laid out transparently.

Then, you can type in the company name you want, and select either “LLC” or “corporation.” After hitting “Check availability,” you’ll know instantly if it’s available. If so, you can fill out your details so we can reach out and get you started on our fast and easy business registration service.

That’s How to Do a Michigan Business Entity Search

Performing a Michigan business entity search is relatively simple. You can carry out this task in an afternoon, meaning you won’t have to waste a lot of time.

If you’ve done searches in other states before, then it’s slightly different here, as you won’t use the Secretary of State’s website. Instead, you’ll use LARA. Otherwise, it’s a straightforward process. Input the name you want, and the database will show you what close matches there are.
Sign up with Business Anywhere now to take advantage of our fast business registration services. We’ll do all your paperwork so you won’t have to stress out.