How to Find Business Records in Indiana
Beginning your Search for Indiana Business Records
In the State of Indiana, certain business records, such as
documentation of incorporation, trademark records and UCC filings, are
maintained by the Indiana Secretary of State, Since these documents are
matters of public record, they can be accessed both in person and over
the internet.
What Records Are Maintained by the Indiana Secretary of State?
When certain business entities are formed such as corporations,
documentation must be filed with the Indiana Secretary of State so that
Indiana has evidence of which businesses have incorporated. This is
important since certain business entities are treated differently under
the law.
Additionally, the Indiana Secretary of State maintains UCC, or Uniform
Commercial Code, forms, which memorialize the security interest that a
secured party has in a debtor�s collateral in exchange for value.
Finally, the State of Indiana maintains a state trademark registry that
records trademarks claimed by parties in Indiana. It must be remembered
that this registry is not the same as the national registry maintained
by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Why Would a Business Not Have Documents On File?
Sometimes businesses choose not to incorporate at all. IN that case,
there may be no documents on file with the Secretary of State.
Additionally, businesses sometimes elect to incorporate in a different
state to take advantage of laws that would be advantageous to the
business. In that instance, the documentation of incorporation would
have been filed in that state rather than Indiana.
How Can I Search for Records Maintained by the Indiana Secretary of
State?
If you know that a business has been incorporated in the State of
Indiana, you may access the records both online and in person. To visit
the office of the Secretary of State in person, the address is
Statehouse 201, Indianapolis, Indiana.
To access the business records online, begin by visiting the website for
the Indiana Secretary of State, located at www.in.gov/sos/. From the
home page, click on the option at the top right of the screen, marked
�Online Services.�
To search the database of corporations in Indiana, from the Online
Services screen, select �Business Entity Name Search.� This will take
you to a screen where you can search for a business by name. The results
will be returned in list form, showing the name and type of each entity
matching the search term. The entity names are all clickable links;
clicking on these will take you to a page displaying additional
information about the entity, including the control number, address,
status, creation date, and other names used by the entity. Additionally,
the bottom of the screen provides links that will allow you to view
additional information and order documents for a fee. If the Business
Entity Name Search does not provide you with the information you need,
you can also select from the Online Services Screen the �Business Entity
Database Custom Search� option, which will take you to a page where you
can request a more sophisticated search for a fee.
The Online Services page also has a link for a Business Name
Availability Search. Like the database search, this search will return a
results list including clickable links to view additional information
about the entity.
To search UCC filings in Indiana, from the Online Services screen,
select �UCC Database Browse.� From this page, you can select �Browse the
UCC database by debtor name or filing number� to search for UCC
information based upon the filing number or information about the
debtor. You can also select �UCC Search Certificate,� which will allow
you to order information and printed images of UCC filings for a fee.
To search trademarks that have been registered with Indiana�s state
registry, from the Online Services screen, select �Trademark Search.�
This will take you to a screen where you can search by trademark,
description of trademark, or owner of trademark. The results will be
returned in list form with clickable links that will allow you to view
the certificate, the application, and a sample of the trademark.
Remember that this state registry is not the same as the national
registry maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
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