To find who owns an LLC in Texas, start with two free or low-cost state databases: the Texas Comptroller’s Taxable Entity Search and the Secretary of State’s SOSDirect portal. Between them, you can usually identify the people the LLC has named as its members, managers, or officers. When those come up short, county filings, licensing records, and, in some cases, formal legal process can fill in the rest.
One thing to know before you start. Texas doesn’t require an LLC to publish a full ownership breakdown anywhere in the public record. What you’ll find are the names the LLC itself has filed with the state, and those names may reflect managers rather than owners. A manager runs the company. A member owns it. The two overlap often, but not always.
Start With the Texas Comptroller’s Taxable Entity Search
This is the most current source of names for most Texas LLCs, and it’s free. Every LLC that owes franchise tax has to file a Public Information Report with the Comptroller each year. Domestic LLCs must list all managers on that report, plus any officers, and if the company is member-managed, all members.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Public Information and Owner Information Reports Because those filings are annual, the names tend to be much fresher than anything in the LLC’s original formation paperwork.
Search the Comptroller’s site by entity name, 11-digit taxpayer number, federal EIN, or Secretary of State file number.2Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Franchise Tax Account Status Search If you need a full copy of the Public Information Report beyond what appears on the search results page, you can request one through the Comptroller’s Open Records section at open.records@cpa.texas.gov.3Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Franchise Tax Public Information Report Filing Requirements
There’s one limitation worth flagging. The Comptroller also collects Ownership Information Reports covering parent companies and subsidiaries, but the ownership information on those reports is confidential and not shown on the website.3Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Franchise Tax Public Information Report Filing Requirements You’ll see who manages and staffs the LLC, but not necessarily who holds the largest financial interest if that person isn’t also a listed manager or officer.
Check the Secretary of State’s SOSDirect Filings
The Texas Secretary of State keeps a searchable database of every LLC registered in the state. Through the SOSDirect portal, you can look up any company by name or file number and see its registered agent, registered office address, formation date, and status.4Office of the Texas Secretary of State. SOSDirect – Online Searching and Filing More useful for your purposes: you can pull the LLC’s Certificate of Formation, the document filed when the company was created.
Every Texas LLC has to state on the Certificate of Formation whether it’s manager-managed or member-managed. If manager-managed, the certificate lists each initial manager’s name and address. If member-managed, it lists each initial member’s name and address instead.5Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Instructions for Certificate of Formation – Limited Liability Company So a member-managed LLC’s certificate names actual owners, while a manager-managed one may only name the person authorized to run things.
The certificate reflects the LLC as it existed at formation. Members can sell out, new ones can join, and managers change. Names from a filing several years old may no longer be accurate, which is why the Comptroller’s annual reports are often more useful. SOSDirect charges $1.00 per search.4Office of the Texas Secretary of State. SOSDirect – Online Searching and Filing Certified copies of filed documents cost $15.00 for the certificate plus $1.00 per page.6Texas Fiscal Management. Fees for Copies or Filing of Records
Search County Assumed Name and Property Records
If you know a business only by the name on its storefront, that name may not be the LLC’s legal name. When a Texas LLC operates under a different trade name, it has to file an assumed name certificate (a DBA) with the county clerk in every county where it maintains a business premises. The filing links the trade name to the LLC’s legal name and typically includes the name and address of a representative. Many county clerks, including Dallas County, offer free online search portals for these certificates.
Property records are the other county-level angle. If the LLC owns Texas real estate, the county appraisal district will show it as the property owner, searchable by address or account number in most counties. The appraisal record itself usually just names the LLC, but related documents like warranty deeds sometimes name the person who signed on behalf of the company, which gives you another name to run through the state databases.
Look for Licensing Records if the LLC Is in a Regulated Trade
Texas requires license applicants in many industries to name responsible individuals, and most agencies publish that information online. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation covers electricians, plumbers, HVAC contractors, and similar trades. The Texas Department of Insurance handles insurance licenses. The Texas Real Estate Commission, the Texas Medical Board, and other agencies keep their own searchable databases.
Search by the LLC’s name or by any license number you already have. The results typically show the individual license holder, their status, and sometimes an address. That won’t tell you ownership percentages, but a license held in a person’s name and tied to the LLC is solid evidence of who’s involved in the business.
If You’re a Member, You Have Statutory Access to Internal Records
The document that actually spells out who owns what percentage of a Texas LLC is the operating agreement, and it’s never filed with the state. The LLC keeps it internally.
Texas law requires every LLC to maintain specific records at its principal U.S. office, including a current list of members with each member’s ownership percentage, the names of members in each class of membership interest, the written operating agreement, and the certificate of formation.7State of Texas. Texas Business Organizations Code BUS ORG 101-501
Members and assignees of membership interests have a statutory right to examine and copy those records. Your written demand has to state a “proper purpose,” and you can only access records reasonably related to that purpose. Members are also entitled to free copies of the certificate of formation and written operating agreement on request.8Texas Public Law. Texas Business Organizations Code 101-502 Right to Examine Records Non-members have no equivalent right and generally can’t force the LLC to hand these documents over informally.
When the Public Record Isn’t Enough
If the LLC’s ownership sits behind holding companies, nominee managers, or aggressive privacy structuring, you have three escalating options.
Commercial databases and social media platforms often surface names the state records won’t. LinkedIn profiles frequently identify people as founders, managing members, or principals of a specific LLC. Business intelligence services like Dun & Bradstreet and ZoomInfo aggregate company data and sometimes list executives. Legal research platforms like LexisNexis and Westlaw index court filings statewide, and if the LLC has ever been in litigation, court records may name members or managers who signed documents or were sued personally. None of these are authoritative legal records, but they give you leads to verify through the official channels.
A licensed private investigator with corporate research experience becomes worth the cost when public filings clearly show nominees rather than real owners, or when you’re trying to connect entities that share addresses, registered agents, or officers. Investigators use proprietary databases that pull from multiple jurisdictions. Hourly rates typically run from $125 to $300 or more, depending on complexity.
The most powerful option, available only if you’re in active litigation, is a subpoena duces tecum. It can compel the LLC or a third party like a bank to produce operating agreements, membership lists, or records of distributions. Courts can also order production of internal records when there’s a legitimate legal basis such as a breach of contract claim or a fraud investigation. This is not a do-it-yourself tool. You’ll need an attorney to draft the subpoena, handle service, and respond to any motions to quash. But when someone has genuinely worked to keep an LLC’s ownership hidden, formal legal process is often the only thing that gets to the truth.
The Federal Beneficial Ownership Database Isn’t an Option
The Corporate Transparency Act was supposed to require LLCs to report their beneficial owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, creating a federal registry of ownership information. In March 2025, FinCEN issued a rule exempting all entities created in the United States from that requirement.9FinCEN. Removes Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements for US Companies and US Persons No federal database of Texas LLC owners exists to search. The state records above are what you have to work with.