How to search Tennessee business entities online
Official Resource
Tennessee Official SOS WebsiteTennessee business entity records are searchable through TNCaB, the Tennessee Secretary of State's Charity and Business filing system, at tncab.tnsos.gov. TNBear, the state's former search and filing portal at tnbear.tn.gov, was retired in February 2025; TNCaB now handles entity search, new business filings, and annual report filing in one place. No account is required to search; filing requires a free TNCaB account.
Updated August 2026
TNBear has been retired — TNCaB is now the single portal
Tennessee shut down its longtime TNBear search and filing system in February 2025 and replaced it with TNCaB at tncab.tnsos.gov, which now handles entity search, new business filings, and annual report filing together. Some older Secretary of State pages still link to the retired tnbear.tn.gov address, which no longer resolves — use tncab.tnsos.gov instead.
What the search covers
The database covers domestic and foreign LLCs, for-profit corporations, nonprofit corporations, limited partnerships, LLPs, general partnerships, professional corporations, and benefit corporations registered with the Secretary of State.
Search options
The Business Entity Search page offers:
- Name — full-text search across registered entity names
- Control Number — direct lookup by the Tennessee SOS-assigned control number
An "Active Entities Only" checkbox and a status filter narrow results, and results display entity type, registration date, and formation state. The search page also shows a running notice stating the date through which filings and annual reports have been processed, and requires passing a Cloudflare human-verification check before results load.
Tennessee's member-count LLC fee structure
Tennessee calculates LLC formation and annual report fees based on membership count — an unusual structure found in very few other states. The minimum fee is $300, which covers up to six members; each additional member beyond six adds $50, up to a $3,000 maximum. A single-member LLC pays the $300 minimum. A 20-member LLC pays $1,000. A 60-member LLC reaches the $3,000 cap. This applies both to the Articles of Organization (formation) and to the annual report each subsequent year.
Annual report due date
Annual reports are due on the first day of the fourth month following the end of the entity's fiscal year. For entities on a calendar fiscal year (ending December 31), the deadline is April 1.
Missing an annual report risks administrative dissolution. Tennessee's published fee schedule does not list a separate expedited-filing fee.
This guide is informational only and is not affiliated with the Tennessee Secretary of State's office. Verify current procedures at the official state website. Last verified: August 2026.