How to search Iowa business entities online

Iowa's business entity database holds records for more than 600,000 active and inactive entities, all searchable at sos.iowa.gov/search/business/search.aspx, operated by the Iowa Secretary of State. The search covers domestic and foreign LLCs, profit corporations, nonprofit corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, cooperative associations, and unincorporated nonprofit associations.

Searching by name

Iowa's name search has a few behaviors worth knowing before you start. The system automatically strips common leading words — "THE," "AN" — and trailing designators before matching. Searching for "AN ORIGINAL DESIGN INC." and "ORIGINAL DESIGN" will reach the same records. Results are listed alphabetically up to a cap of 1,000 matches; if you exceed that cap, narrow the search by adding more of the name.

A "Modified?" flag in results means the entity's legal name contains special characters that can't be typed in a standard search field — a tilde, a degree symbol, or similar. These are displayed in the system only, not in the search input.

Searching by entity number

Every entity receives a unique numeric ID from the Iowa SOS at the time of formation or registration. Entering that number directly in the search field bypasses the 1,000-result cap and returns the single matching record. Numbers should be entered without formatting — digits only.

Entity detail page

The Business Entity Summary for each record includes the entity number, all registered name types (legal name, reserved names, fictitious names, foreign fictitious names, former names — up to 14 codes are defined under Iowa Code), the entity type and applicable Iowa Code chapter, formation date, current status, registered agent name and address, officer and director information, and links to all filed document images. Social Security Numbers are redacted from all document images before they are published online.

Accessing filed documents

Filed documents are publicly accessible and viewable at no charge directly from the entity summary page. Online filings are accepted through Iowa's Fast Track Filing system at filings.sos.iowa.gov.

This guide is informational only and is not affiliated with the Iowa Secretary of State's office. Verify current procedures at sos.iowa.gov — Forms and Fees. Source: Iowa Secretary of State, verified May 2026.