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How to Find Business Records in West Virginia
Searching for Business Records in West Virginia
In the State of West Virginia, the Secretary of State is charged with
maintaining business records for public viewing. Some of this
information is available online to be searched. Here are a few tips on
accessing this information over the internet.
What Records Are Maintained by the West Virginia Secretary of State?
When a corporation or limited liability company is formed under the laws
of West Virginia, it is required to file documentation of its formation
with the Secretary of State, as well as periodic updates and
notification of changes. The Secretary of State also maintains records
of �old organizations� that have changed name or experienced some other
substantive change, which can be searched simultaneously online. The
Secretary of State also keeps records of reserved names (names reserved
for future use by a business entity) and DBAs (names other than the
entity�s official name under which the entity does business).
Additionally, the Secretary of State maintains a state registry of
trademarks used by West Virginia entities. It should be noted that this
registry is not the same as the federal registry maintained by the
United States Patent and Trademark Office.
How Can I Search for Records Maintained by the West Virginia Secretary
of State?
To begin searching for business records in the State of West Virginia,
visit the Secretary of State�s website, located at
http://www.wvsos.com/ . Then scroll
down to the heading entitled �Points of Interest,� and select the option
marked �Business Organizations Database.� This will take you to a search
page in which you can enter the organization name in question, then
click the button marked �Search.� Note that if you are not certain about
the name of the business entity, it is sufficient to input only the
first few letters of the word in order to find the desired business
entity.
The search results will be returned in the form of a list, divided into
type. The first type will include corporations and similar entities,
including the organization name, type, effective date, termination date,
termination reason, charter and class. The second class is DBA (which
stands for �Doing Business As�), and includes the DBA name, type and
effective date. The third class is for old organizations, and includes
name, change type and change date. The final class is for name
reservations or registrations and include name, type and effective date.
Clicking on any of the names will give you additional information.
Clicking on an organization name, DBA or old organization name will take
you to a page dedicated to that organization and will include a number
of buttons to click to access addresses, information about officers, any
other names un which the organization does business (identified as DBAs),
names (pertaining to name changes), mergers, subsidiaries, amendments,
annual reports, and dissolutions. Clicking on a reserved or registered
name from the results list will take you to a page that provides
information about the registrant, including name and address.
To search for trademark information, from the Secretary of State home
page, scroll over the option �Search for Information� from the left of
the screen, then scroll over �Search On-Line Databases� and finally
select �Trademark Search.� This will take you to a page where you can
select whether you wish to search all trademark data, or to search by
serial number, applicant name, words in the trademark, shapes, figures
or description. If you aren�t certain exactly what you are looking for,
�All Trademark Data� is the most comprehensive option. Then you may
enter your search terms and click �Search.� Alternatively, under these
search options is an advanced search section in which you may input
multiple search terms in order to narrowly define your search.
The search results will be returned in a list including the serial
number, status, applicant, city and state, as well as a button marked
�View� to the left of each item. Clicking �View� will permit you to view
additional information about the trademark, including the application
date, date of original registration, date of last registration, date of
expiration, date of first use, the location in hard copy (West Virginia
Book Page), whether the mark pertains to goods or services, the items or
services to which the mark applies, and a description of the trademark.
While conducting this search, bear in mind that the United State Patent
and Trademark Office maintains a more comprehensive trademark registry
with federal scope that you may also wish to search.
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