Michigan moved its entity search to the MiBusiness Registry. Learn how to look up a business name there, read the results, and lock in a name before filing.
Trying to confirm if a Michigan business is legit, or check if your dream company name is still open?
A quick search tells you everything you need before you commit: its formation date, current status, resident agent, and whether that name is actually available. Michigan runs this through the MiBusiness Registry, and once you know your way around it, getting an answer takes just a few minutes.
This is why we bring you this blog with step-by-step instructions to do a business entity and name availability search. Keep reading the blog to know more.
Key Takeaways
Michigan's business entity search moved to a new system, the MiBusiness Registry Portal, which replaced the state's older CorpSearch database [1].
Search by entity name or ID number to confirm a company’s formation date, status, and resident agent.
Checking name availability for a new business works differently in Michigan than in most states: reservations last a full 6 months but cannot be renewed at all once they expire.
What Is the Michigan Business Entity Search Tool
The Michigan business entity search is a free, public lookup tool run by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Corporations, Securities & Commercial Licensing Bureau (CSCL). Use it to confirm an entity’s ID number, formation or registration date, current status, and resident agent name and address. You can search by entity name or by the entity’s assigned ID number.
The tool covers every entity type Michigan allows people to form or register, including:
- Domestic and foreign profit corporations, including S Corps electing at the federal level
- Nonprofit corporations
- Limited liability companies (LLCs)
- Limited partnerships (LPs) and limited liability partnerships (LLPs)
General partnerships and sole proprietorships are not required to register with LARA, so they generally will not appear in this search. Sole proprietors instead file an assumed name at the county level.
How to Conduct a Michigan Business Entity Search
Step 1. Go to the Official Michigan Portal
Go directly to the MiBusiness Registry Business Search, the Corporations Division’s free official search tool. No account or login is required to run a basic search.
Step 2. Enter the Entity Name or ID Number
Type the company’s exact name, or its LARA-assigned ID number if you already have it. An ID-number search is faster and more precise because it avoids confusion caused by similarly named businesses.
If you only have a partial name, search on the most distinctive word rather than common terms like "group" or "holdings," which return too many matches.
Step 3. Read Your Results
Once results load, you will see the entity’s legal name, ID number, entity type, formation or registration date, current status, and the name and address of the resident agent.
For LLCs, Michigan’s annual statement filing requires only the resident agent name and address and member and manager names are not part of the public record, unlike in some other states.
Note: A result showing "Active" status is informational, not an official Certificate of Good Standing. For certified proof, order that certificate separately for a $10 state fee.
What the Michigan Business Search Does Not Show
The Michigan business entity search does not display:
- Member or manager names for LLCs, since Michigan’s annual statement only requires the resident agent on file
- Financial records, revenue figures, or bank account information
- Assumed names (DBAs) filed at the county level by sole proprietorships and general partnerships
- A full certified filing history for free. You need to order a certified copy or Certificate of Good Standing for that
- Real-time tax standing with the Michigan Department of Treasury
One Michigan-specific detail worth knowing: Certificates of Assumed Name for entities that are already registered with LARA (an LLC or corporation operating under a trade name) do show up in the state system, since they are filed with LARA directly (Form CSCL/CD 541) rather than at the county level [2]. County-level assumed names apply only to unregistered sole proprietors and general partnerships.
Checking Name Availability for a New Business
If you are forming a brand-new Michigan business rather than researching an existing one, search the same database yourself first, then file for an official name reservation if you want a binding determination before you submit formation paperwork.
How to Check Michigan Business Name Availability: Step-by-Step
Step 1. Search the Business Database Yourself
Run your desired name through the MiBusiness Registry Business Search described above. The portal lets you search by name or filing number, individual name, resident agent name, or corporation card file, and offers a "Name Availability" filter specifically for checking whether a name is open, separate from a general "Contains" or "Starts With" search.
Look for exact matches and close variants. Michigan generally does not treat plural or singular versions of the same word as distinguishable from one another.
Step 2. Apply Michigan’s Distinguishability Standard
Michigan law requires a proposed corporation or LLC name to be distinguishable from every other domestic or foreign corporation, limited partnership, or LLC already on file [3]. Adding a meaningfully different word usually clears this bar; small punctuation, spacing, or plural/singular changes generally do not.
Step 3. Check Beyond the State Database
A name that clears LARA's system isn't automatically safe to use everywhere. Before you commit to it, also check:
- County-level assumed names (DBAs): Sole proprietors and general partnerships file locally, so their names won't show up in a LARA search. Check with the county clerk where you plan to operate.
- Federal trademark records: A name can be open in Michigan and still infringe an existing trademark. Search the USPTO's trademark database before you build a brand around it.
- Domain name availability: Confirm the matching domain is open if you plan to build a website under the same name.
Step 4. File an Application for Reservation of Name
For a binding determination before you file formation paperwork, submit the Application for Reservation of Name (Form CSCL/CD 540) online through the MiBusiness Registry Portal, by mail, or by fax. The fee is $10 for corporations and limited partnerships, or $25 for LLCs [4]. This fee is non-refundable, so complete your search first.
Step 5. Note the 6-Month, No-Renewal Window
LLC and corporation reservations run 6 months with no renewal option. Limited partnership reservations run a shorter 4 months, but LARA may grant up to two 2-month extensions for good cause, potentially stretching an LP reservation to 8 months total. [5].
Michigan’s Business Name Conventions
Michigan sets naming rules under the Business Corporation Act and Limited Liability Company Act. The core standard: a proposed name must be distinguishable from every other domestic or foreign corporation, limited partnership, or LLC on file with LARA, and it may not contain a word or phrase indicating a purpose different from the one stated in the entity's formation documents [3].
Along with the distinguishability standard, Michigan law sets a few specific naming restrictions:
- Entity identifier required: LLC and corporation names must include the proper identifier, such as "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," "Incorporated," or "Corporation."
- No implied government affiliation: A name cannot suggest the business is connected to a government agency.
- Restricted financial terms: Words like "bank," "trust," or "banking" are restricted and generally require showing the business doesn't actually conduct banking activity, or separate approval.
Assumed Names Must Also Be Distinguishable
If a registered entity wants to operate under a trade name different from its legal name, it files a Certificate of Assumed Name (Form CSCL/CD 541). That assumed name is held to the same distinguishability standard as a formation name. It cannot duplicate an existing active entity or assumed name on file [2].
Naming Guidance Tip
Have a backup name ready when you submit a reservation or formation filing in case your first choice is rejected
Michigan Business Entity Search Costs
Service | Fee | What You Need |
Business entity search (MiBusiness Registry) | Free | Entity name or ID number |
Name Reservation, corporations/LPs (6 months, Form 540) | $10 | Proposed name and entity type |
Name Reservation, LLCs (6 months, Form 540) | $25 | Proposed name |
Certificate of Assumed Name, corporations (Form 541) | $10 | Assumed name and entity ID |
Certificate of Assumed Name, LLCs (Form 541) | $25 | Assumed name and entity ID |
Certificate of Good Standing / Status | $10 | Entity name or ID number |
24-hour expedited service (formation/qualification docs) | $50 | Filing plus expedited service request |
Same-day expedited service (formation/qualification docs) | $100 | Filing plus expedited service request |
1-hour expedited service | $1,000 | Filing plus expedited service request |
When to Consider an Assumed Name (DBA) in Michigan
If you plan to operate under a name different from your legal business name, Michigan splits the process in two, depending on whether you already have a registered entity:
- Registered LLCs and corporations file a Certificate of Assumed Name (Form CSCL/CD 541) directly with LARA.
- Unregistered sole proprietorships and general partnerships file an assumed name certificate with the county clerk in the county where the business operates. Fees and forms vary by county [6].
Neither type of assumed name filing creates a new legal entity, and filing one does not by itself change your tax obligations.
Let Us File Your Michigan Business
Once your entity and name search is complete, the next step is filing your formation paperwork. Swyft Filings has helped more than 600,000 businesses get started since 2015. We can handle your Michigan LLC formation, resident agent service, and ongoing compliance so you do not have to track deadlines yourself. Let us handle your filing from name to formation.
Bibliography
[1] Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Michigan Launches New MiBusiness Registry Portal. Accessed July 20, 2026.
[2] Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Naming a Corporation. Accessed July 20, 2026.
[3] Michigan Legislature. MCL Section 450.4207. Accessed July 20, 2026.
[4] Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Corporations Division Filing Fees. Accessed July 20, 2026.
[5] Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Application for Reservation of Name, Form CSCL/CD 540. Accessed July 20, 2026.
[6] Genesee County, Michigan. Apply for a DBA (Assumed Name). Accessed July 20, 2026.
Other Important Resources
- MiBusiness Registry Business Search — the official free entity lookup tool
- Michigan Department of Treasury, Business Taxes — resolving state tax standing issues
- IRS, Apply for an EIN Online — free federal tax ID for a new entity
- USPTO — Trademark basics
