Arkansas Business Entity Search
Find a registered business through Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division. Use the official link below, then check the search options and name rules for Arkansas.
Official website: www.sos.arkansas.gov · Opens in a new tab
Arkansas search options and record coverage
The Arkansas SOS links its business-entity name and filing-number search from Business and Commercial Services. Users can search by entity name or filing number and then inspect public entity status and filing history. Separate franchise-tax filing is routed through the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration/Arkansas online services. The registry is a public index; use a certified record request when an official copy is needed.
Checking a business name in Arkansas
Arkansas requires an entity name to be distinguishable from existing and reserved names and requires the appropriate LLC or corporate designator. Generic changes in punctuation, capitalization, spacing, and designator wording should not be assumed to create distinguishability. Regulated words may require agency approval. The search and reservation are preliminary; the BCS examiner's acceptance controls, and a fictitious name is not a substitute for legal-name approval.
Arkansas name reservations
$22.50 online or $25.00 paper for an Arkansas LLC or corporation name reservation. A reserved name is used to protect the proposed name while formation or qualification is prepared; the reservation is not itself an entity and does not authorize business. The statutory reservation period and any renewal rules should be confirmed on the current RN-06 instructions because the public fee page focuses on the fee rather than repeating every duration rule.
DBA, trade names, and fictitious names
Arkansas calls a DBA a fictitious name. A domestic LLC or corporation fictitious-name application costs $22.50 online or $25.00 paper; cancellation and transfer are generally $25.00 paper. The filing is handled at state level through the SOS BCS forms portal: https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/business-commercial-services-bcs/forms-fees. A fictitious name is an operating name and does not change the legal name or registered-agent record.
What do you need after the search?
- Official proof of standing — find certificate fees and ordering instructions.
- A missed report or inactive registration — check deadlines and reinstatement rules.
- A new business registration — compare Arkansas formation and filing fees.