Alabama Secretary of State Business Search: How to look up Alabama business entities in 2026

According to a report by the US Small Business Administration, there are around 34.7 million businesses in the country, as of July 2024. This number has grown from 33.2 million from last year and shows how easy it is for businesses to form and be registered in the US.

While this ease of access is a good thing for willing founders, it also poses a bit of an issue. You see, not all businesses are legitimately formed and have a clear organizational structure. Even when they do, many aspects of a business’ identity need to be verified when you and your business interact with them. This helps your business with any due diligence requirements that may arise, as well as reducing any liability that may fall on it if a business attracts any litigation.

This is where the Secretary of State’s business search can help you and your business verify the identity of any entity that you interact with. So let’s see how the SOS platform works.

Secretary of State Business Search

The Secretary of State is a government official appointed by the state governments in the US. Their function is to handle business entities, professional and vehicle licensing, and vehicle registration.

The SOS is a reliable data source that can help you verify the identity of businesses you interact with. This verification can help maintain security for both your business and your clientele, ensuring the legitimacy of entities and avoiding any bad actors.

Among the many states in the US, Alabama has been the center of attention for creating startups. This is because the state has favorable tax laws and other litigatory factors that support the establishment of new businesses.

Take their property tax for instance. Alabama has the third-lowest property tax rate in the US at just 0.33%. This makes establishing new offices, factories, or other ventures in the state very lucrative.

So, if you are an owner of a business in Alabama, or interact with businesses in the state, the SOS Business Search becomes a vital part of your operations. However, as useful and reliable as the platform may be, there are still ways to optimize its integration with your business.

How to Perform an Alabama Business Entity Search (Step-by-Step)

Follow these steps to search for any business entity registered in Alabama:

Step 1: Visit the Official SOS Portal

Go to the Alabama Secretary of State Business Entity Records page at: sos.alabama.gov/government-records/business-entity-records

Step 2: Choose Your Search Method

The Alabama SOS portal offers four search options:

1. Entity Name

Looking up a business by its registered name (full or partial)

2. Entity Number

Searching with the unique Entity ID if you have it

3. Officer / Agent / Incorporator

Finding businesses associated with a specific person

4. Reservation / Registration by ID

Checking the status of a name reservation

Step 3: Enter Your Search Query and Apply Filters

Type your search term into the appropriate field. For entity name searches, you can refine results using optional filters:

• Business Type — LLC, Corporation, LP, etc.
• Place of Formation — Alabama or foreign (out-of-state) entities
• Principal City — Filter by the city of the business's principal address
• Status — Active, Inactive, Dissolved, etc.

💡 Tip: Use partial name searches for broader results. For example, searching "Gulf" will return all entities containing that word. Try alternate spellings and abbreviations if your initial search returns no results.

Step 4: Review the Results

The search results list shows matching entities with their Entity ID, name, type, and status. Click on any Entity ID or Entity Name to view the full details page.

Step 5: View Full Entity Details

The entity details page provides comprehensive information:

• Entity Information — ID number, type, principal and mailing addresses, status, formation date, registered agent, and nature of business
• Organizers — Names and addresses of the entity's organizers
• Annual Reports — Filing history organized by year
• Transactions — Filing dates and miscellaneous transaction history
• Scanned Documents — Available for purchase from the SOS

Step 6: Order Documents (Optional)

For official documents like a Certificate of Existence (Alabama's equivalent of a Good Standing certificate) or certified copies of formation documents, you can order them through the SOS portal or by contacting the office directly.

Alabama SOS Business Search vs Signzy’s Business Verification API

While the Alabama Secretary of State has its database of information that can help with verifying the identity of a business, it also has a few drawbacks. You see, accessing the data with the Alabama SOS can be a time-consuming process. On top of this, it is difficult to integrate the identity lookup and verification process from the SOS website.

Thankfully, with Signzy’s Business Verification API, both of these problems no longer need to hinder your business. Plus, Signzy also has more ways than the Alabama Secretary of State website to lookup a business, which can ease the identity verification process. Let’s take a look at the differences between Signzy’s Business Verification API and the Alabama Secretary of State business search. Business verification with Signzy goes beyond just the above information that is provided by the SOS platform. The additional information provided by Signzy includes:

• Entity Verification: Signzy’s API can provide you with the information of the business you’re looking into as well as verify the legitimacy of the entity as well.
• Watchlist Screenings: Our API also scans multiple records to see if the concerned business is on any watchlist.
• Business Website Verification: Signzy’s API finds and brings up the business website that you’re looking for.
• Social Presence: This helps you find the business’s social media presence to better understand its branding and marketing strategies.
• Liens and UCC Filing: This information helps gauge the company’s liabilities and any charges it may have on its assets.
• Bankruptcies: Signzy’s API looks up and fetches any bankruptcy filings that the concerned business may have made in the past. This can help you gauge the company’s financial history.
• Address Classification: Signzy’s API can even fetch information on the USPS address classification to know the type of location the business is operating out of.

On top of this, Signzy’s API gives you access to all of the SOS data and additional information on a single platform through its API. This ensures that the business you are looking for is not just registered with the government for the sake of it, but also has operations and a history.

Conclusion

Business identity verification is an important process for your business and can even help with staying compliant with AML and CFT regulations. Verifying a business’ identity helps in steering clear of any entities that might be associated with bad actors or engaged in illegal activities. By teaming up with Signzy, your business can integrate this process into its operations and enhance the security of your business.