How to search Rhode Island business entities online

What the search covers

The database covers domestic and foreign LLCs, business corporations (profit and benefit), professional corporations, nonprofit corporations, limited partnerships, LLPs, limited liability limited partnerships (LLLPs), and trade names registered with the Secretary of State.

Eight search modes

Rhode Island's search portal is among the most flexible in the country, offering eight distinct search modes, each with its own matching style (Begins With, Exact Match, Full Text, or Soundex):

• Entity Name — the business, corporation, LLC, LP, or LLP name
• Individual's Name — an officer, director, or other individual associated with the entity
• Identification Number — the 9-digit RI SOS entity number
• Filing Number — the 12-digit number assigned to each individual filing
• Agent's Name — the registered agent, individual or organization
• Business Address — the entity's principal office address
• Purpose — keyword search within purpose statements filed with formation documents
• NAICS Code — search by industry classification code

Each search can be limited to the active database or the inactive database; active is the default unless inactive status is selected.

Name search quirks

A few rules affect how name searches behave. The search function ignores the word "The" when it starts an entity name, so searching "The Providence Group" returns the same results as "Providence Group" — this does not extend to "A" or "An." Abbreviations are not automatically expanded: for example, "St." will not match "Saint," and "Jr." will not match "Junior." If a search returns no results, try both the abbreviated and spelled-out versions. Punctuation is ignored, so apostrophes and commas do not affect matching.

Annual report window

Rhode Island annual reports are due between February 1 and May 1 each year. This is a fixed seasonal window — not an anniversary-based deadline. All active entities with a calendar reporting year file in this same 90-day window, which means the Secretary of State's office handles a high filing volume during this period. Online filing is the most efficient option.

Rhode Island's revocation notice, and a real deadline on the entity's name

Rhode Island's status system starts with a Revocation Notice — a 60-day warning for a missed filing, unpaid fee or tax, or a lapsed registered agent or office. If that notice goes unanswered, the entity's status becomes Revoked. Separately, Rhode Island uses distinct labels for how an entity actually closed: Dissolved and Withdrawn for voluntary closures, Expired for a fixed-term entity that reached its stated end date, and Forfeited specifically for unpaid tax.

Reinstating from Revoked is a two-agency process. First, get a Letter of Good Standing from the RI Division of Taxation (a $50 check, with the box checked for 'Reinstatement of charter revoked by Secretary of State'). Then email the Department of State with that letter in hand — they'll send back the required forms and penalty amount, and everything has to be submitted together or the whole reinstatement gets rejected. There's a real time pressure to move quickly: an entity revoked more than a year can lose the right to its own name, and it still owes annual reports plus a $400 minimum tax to the Division of Taxation every year it stays revoked.

Frequently Asked Questions