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How to Find Business Records in Missouri
Searching for Business Records in Missouri
In the State of Missouri, the duty of maintaining important business
documents falls to the Missouri Secretary of State. Some of these
documents include records of corporate formation, as well as security
interest filings. Below are some tips on accessing these documents over
the internet.
What Records Are Maintained by the Missouri Secretary of State?
When a corporation is formed, certain documents must be filed with the
Secretary of State in order for the corporate formation to be official.
In Missouri, such documents are received and maintained by the Missouri
Secretary of State.
Additionally, the Missouri Secretary of State maintained UCC filings.
UCC filings, or Uniform Commercial Code filings, give notice of the
security interest a lending party has in a debtor�s collateral. In
Missouri, these documents are easily accessed by the public via the
internet.
Why Would a Business Not Have Documents On File?
If a business has not incorporated, the business will not have filed
documents of incorporation giving notice of the formation of a new
corporation.
Additionally, sometimes corporations are formed in different states than
where their offices sit or even where they do business. Oftentimes,
businesses elect to incorporate in a state in order to take advantage of
the laws of that state. Therefore, even if the Missouri Secretary of
State has no record of the incorporation of a business, it should not be
immediately assumed that the business has not incorporated in any state.
How Can I Search for Records Maintained by the Missouri Secretary of
State?
To search for business records maintained by the Missouri Secretary of
State, first visit the Missouri Secretary of State website, at http://www.sos.mo.gov/.
Select the option at the top, marked �Business.�
To view information about corporations, from the Business page, select
the �Corporations� option. Then select the option �Search for a
Business.� On the search page, you will be able to select whether you
wish to search by a business name, charter number, registered agent, or
search for a new corporation. When using the name search function, you
can select whether to search for words with the same beginning, the same
sound, all words in the search window, or an exact match. You can also
select whether you are searching for name availability. A clickable box
permits you to determine whether the returned results will include all
matching corporations or only active ones.
After entering your search criteria and selecting �Search,� the results
will be returned in the form of a list. The listed information will
include the business entity name, the charter number, the type, the
status and the creation date. The entity names appear as blue links that
can be clicked for additional information. Selecting the business name
will take you to a page including the business type, state of
incorporation, the date of the last annual report, the annual report
month, and information about the registered agent. Additionally, a link
at the top of the screen will take you to a list of documents that have
been filed in conjunction with the business entity. Clicking on the
Adobe or Netscape icons next to each item will permit you to view a
scanned image of the document.
To search for UCC filings, from the Business page, select the option
marked �UCC.� On the next page, select �Research UCC Filings.� This will
take you to a search page where you can select �Standard RA9 Search,�
�Non-Standard RA9 Search,� or, if you know the file number, �File Number
Search.� The non-standard RA9 search allows you to search for names with
similar beginnings or sound-alike names. The standard RA9 search only
permits you to input an individual or organization name.
Results will be returned in list form, including file number, filing
date, name and address. Clicking on the file number will take you to a
page bearing additional information, including identifying the debtor
and secured party and naming the documents filed in conjunction. Next to
each file number is a small picture of a folder. Clicking on these
folders will display a scanned image of the document in question.
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