Delaware Business Search

How to read the official business-entity file, and a way to have the search run for you.

Delaware Business Search

Delaware LLC lookup

Quick answer. Search the LLC name or file number in the Division of Corporations name search. The free Delaware LLC lookup shows formation date and registered agent, not members. The LLC does not file an annual report. It pays an annual tax, listed at $400 on the Division’s tax page, due June 1.

Official office

Delaware Department of State, Division of Corporations

Open the official search

Phone: (302) 739-3073

John G. Townsend Building, 401 Federal Street, Suite 4, Dover, DE 19901

General information is (302) 739-3073 option 2. Franchise tax is option 3. In-person visits are by appointment at (302) 739-3077.

Steps

  1. Search the exact legal name in quotes if you need an exact hit

    The name-search form says the field is not case sensitive and that quotation marks force an exact search. Without quotes you will see similarly worded LLCs. Open only the row whose file number you recognize.

  2. Write down the file number immediately

    Tax payment starts by entering that number at the tax login. If you skip this step you will be hunting the name again in June.

  3. Read the agent block literally

    The free page includes the agent’s name, address, phone, and residency. That is the public face of a delaware llc search. A commercial agent with a Dover address is normal and does not tell you where the business operates.

  4. Plan for June 1, not March 1

    March 1 is the corporate franchise-tax and annual-report deadline. LLCs are on the June 1 tax. The franchise tax page keeps those calendars apart.

Formation cost is not the annual tax

People searching “delaware llc cost” are often mixing the fee to form the company with the tax due every year after. Formation fees are on the Division’s fee schedule at the time you file. The annual tax is the figure on the franchise-tax page, currently $400, with a $200 penalty for late payment and interest at 1.5 percent per month. Those penalty terms are stated on that page.

What a lookup cannot settle

It cannot tell you the members, the series structure, or whether a bank should accept a signature. Those questions need the LLC agreement and a certificate of status if the bank asked for one. The free lookup only stops you from chasing a name that was never formed, or from confusing two LLCs that share a word.

Common mistakes

  • Filing a corporate annual report for an LLC because a reminder service said every Delaware entity files one. LLCs do not.
  • Assuming “inactive” because the name list looked gray. Open the information page and, if status matters, order a certificate.
  • Paying the tax to a lookalike website. The Division’s pay link is on corp.delaware.gov.

Questions

Does a Delaware LLC file an annual report?

No. The Division says limited partnerships, LLCs, and general partnerships do not file an annual report. They pay an annual tax instead.

What is the Delaware LLC annual tax due date?

June 1. The Division’s tax page lists $400, a $200 late penalty, and 1.5 percent monthly interest. Older pages that still say $300 are out of date relative to that official page.

Can I see the members on a delaware llc lookup?

Not in the free search. The published fields are name, file number, formation date, and registered-agent details.

Sources reviewed