Arizona Business Entity Search

A business entity is a formal business structure such as a limited partnership, limited liability company (LLC) or corporation. Business entities are created by registering with the state. Sole proprietorships and general partnerships are not considered business entities.

Starting a Business in Arizona

To start a business entity in Arizona, you will need to register the business with the Arizona Corporation Commission. You can do this yourself or use a lawyer or third-party business registration service. If you have decided on an available name for your business but aren’t ready to file your business registration documents yet, you can submit a 120-day name reservation request through the Arizona Corporation Commission website. There is a $45 filing fee.

After registering the business with the Arizona Corporation Commission, you will need to obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for tax reporting purposes.

Forming an LLC in Arizona

As with other business entities, to form an LLC in Arizona, you must first confirm the name is available by conducting a business entity search. Then you will register the business with the Arizona Corporation Commission. When you register an LLC, it must include the words “Limited Liability Company” or “Limited Company,” or the abbreviations “LLC,” “L.C.,” “LC” or “L.L.C.”

Arizona LLCs can do business under a trade name—or DBA (doing business as) name—and you can register the trade name for an additional $10.

You will also need to appoint a statutory agent—also known as a registered agent—who is designated to receive state and federal legal documents on behalf of the LLC. The statutory agent must be a resident of Arizona with a physical address in the state, or a corporation or LLC authorized to do business in Arizona. If the statutory agent is outside of Arizona, they must have a business office in Arizona.

Finally, the LLC must file Articles of Organization and the Statutory Agent Acceptance form with the Arizona Corporation Commission. Articles of Organization can be filed online, or completed and mailed in. The filing fee is $50.

You can search for an Arizona Business Entity on the Arizona Corporation Commission’s website by entering the business entity’s name, entity number, statutory agent name or principal name. In addition, you can filter search results by entity type (domestic or foreign), entity status (active or inactive), name type (e.g., true name or DBA) and county of the business entity.

To search for a business entity, you can enter the business entity’s name in the search widget on the Arizona Corporation Commission’s website. You don’t need to enter LLC or Corp when entering the name. The name search can also be helpful if you are unsure of a name for your business entity. If, for instance, you are planning to open a pottery store, you could enter the word “pottery” in the name search to see what other business entities exist with that name.

If you enter a name in the search bar and click “Name Availability Check,” it will tell you instantly whether that name is available to use.

When a business entity is formed, it is assigned a unique number. If you know the entity number, you can enter it into the search widget on the Arizona Corporation Commission’s website.

Each Arizona business entity must name a statutory agent who can receive legal documents for the business. If you know the name of the business entity’s statutory agent, you can also search for the business by entering this name in the search widget.

Finally, you can search for an Arizona business entity by entering the principal’s name in the search widget on the Arizona Corporation Commission’s website. The principal is the person who is an owner of the business entity—as a shareholder if it is a corporation, a partner if it is a partnership or a member if it is an LLC. You’ll need to enter the person’s full name with correct spelling for results to generate.

Bottom Line

Before trying to register your Arizona business entity, you must make sure the name is available. By searching the business entity database, you can ensure that the name is available and, if not, come up with alternate names.