The New Hampshire Secretary of State’s business search runs through the Corporation Division’s free NH QuickStart portal at quickstart.sos.nh.gov. The database covers corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, trade names, and foreign entities registered to do business in the state. A few clicks will tell you whether a company is real, whether it is current on its filings, who its registered agent is, and what documents it has on file.
Running a Search on QuickStart
On the Corporation Division’s QuickStart page, open “Business Inquiry.” You can search by any of four identifiers:
- Business Name, with filters for “Starts With,” “Exact Match,” “Contains,” or “All Words.”
- Business ID, the six- or seven-digit number assigned at registration. Because no two entities share one, this is the fastest route to the exact record.
- Filing Number, tied to a specific document submission rather than the entity itself.
- Registered Agent, which pulls every entity listing a given person or service company as its agent for legal documents.
If you aren’t sure of the exact name, the “Contains” filter is the most forgiving. A search for “granite” will return “Granite State Builders LLC,” “New England Granite Works, Inc.,” and anything else containing the word. The registered agent search is useful when you want to see every entity connected to a particular individual or formation service.
Submit the search and you’ll get a results list showing each matching entity’s name, Business ID, status, and entity type. Click the entity name to open its profile, which lays out the principal office address, the registered agent’s contact information, and the filing history. Most charter documents can be viewed and downloaded from the profile page at no charge.1New Hampshire Secretary of State. Business FAQs
What the Status Label Tells You
Every entity in the database carries a status, and the labels have specific definitions published by the Secretary of State.2New Hampshire Secretary of State. Business Status Definitions If you are vetting a company before signing a contract, this is the field to read first.
- Good Standing means the entity has filed all required reports and paid all fees. This is the clean bill of health for a corporation or LLC.
- Active applies to trade names and other entity types that don’t file annual reports. An “Active” trade name is current and registered, but it isn’t on the same annual compliance cycle as a corporation or LLC.
- Not in Good Standing means the entity missed its April 1 annual report deadline. It’s still registered, but it’s out of compliance, and that’s a warning sign if you’re deciding whether to do business with it.
- Dissolved means the corporation filed Articles of Dissolution or was dissolved administratively. It no longer has authority to transact business in New Hampshire.
- Inactive covers a dissolved or expired entity that no longer has to file reports, or a trade name that has expired.
The distinction between “Good Standing” and “Active” trips people up. Seeing “Active” on a corporation or LLC rather than “Good Standing” would be unusual and worth a closer look at the entity profile.
Checking Whether a Name Is Available
The QuickStart search is also the practical first step for anyone forming a new business in New Hampshire. If your proposed name returns no results, that is encouraging, but it isn’t the whole picture. State law requires that a new entity’s name be “distinguishable” from any name already on file, and the standard is stricter than most people expect.3New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 293-A 4.01 – Corporate Name
Your proposed name is not distinguishable if the only difference from an existing name is:
- An article like “The,” “A,” or “An”
- A plural form of the same word
- A phonetic spelling that sounds the same
- An abbreviation in place of the full spelling, such as “Co.” for “Company”
- A suffix, prefix, or other minor word variation
- A change in entity-type wording, such as swapping “LLC” for “Inc.”
- A number added to an otherwise identical name
- Differences in punctuation, special characters, or spacing
The name must also be distinguishable from entities formed under several New Hampshire chapters, including RSA 293-A for business corporations and RSA 304-C for limited liability companies, along with trade names, limited partnerships, and nonprofit entities.3New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 293-A 4.01 – Corporate Name Running several QuickStart searches with different spellings and abbreviations is the best way to catch potential conflicts before you submit formation paperwork.
Getting Certificates and Certified Copies
The free downloads on the entity profile are enough for most research. Some transactions, though, require an official document from the state.
A Certificate of Existence, sometimes called a Certificate of Good Standing, is the formal proof that a business is legally registered and compliant. Banks, lenders, and other states’ filing offices often require one when a company opens accounts or registers to do business in a new jurisdiction. The Secretary of State issues these for a fee, which has historically been around $30.
Certified copies of specific filings run $5 for the certification plus $1 per page. Expedited processing adds $25. Orders can be placed by phone or by email to corporate@sos.nh.gov, and the office sends an invoice with the completed request.1New Hampshire Secretary of State. Business FAQs Standard processing for New Hampshire business filings takes roughly 14 business days; expedited requests are typically handled within about two business days.