When you check out Wisconsin’s economy, admittedly, it’s had slow growth, which makes it an easily overlooked state. However, the fact that it’s grown and not shrunk means it has lots of promise.
Its top industries are life insurance and annuities, health and medical insurance, dairy product production, and hospitals. Even if you’re not interested in any of these, there are still plenty of thriving industries in Wisconsin.
So if you’re searching for a place to put down business roots, then this is it. Make sure you do a Wisconsin business entity search first though, as this will tell you if your desired business name is available.
Read on to discover several methods you can use to be thorough in your search.
Use the State’s Official Website
In most cases, you’d perform a search with the Secretary of State since they’re responsible for all business records. However, this state’s a little different, so you won’t be doing a Wisconsin Secretary of State business entity search.
Instead, you’ll use the State of Wisconsin’s official site. They have a page for you to search corporate records, and it’s very straightforward. Just type your company name into the search bar and then click on “Search records.”
Using the Advanced Search Function
If you want a more targeted search, then click on “Advanced search.” This gives you more parameters to narrow things down.
First, you can find records with the exact phrase, using all of the words, or starting with those words. You can also search for the name of the entity or registered agent.
Next, you can pick the entity status (in existence, no longer in existence, or both), entity names (current names, old names, or both), and entity type. For the last category, you can select as many boxes as you want.
Lastly, you can choose the registration date range. After you’ve filled everything you want out, you can click on “Search records.”
For both the basic and advanced searches, the results page will display any hits, showing their ID, entity name/type, registered effective date, and status/status date. Click on any business name to see more information.
The next page will list the following:
- Entity ID
- Registered effective date
- Period fo existence
- Status
- Status date
- Entity type
- Annual report requirements
- Registered agent office address
- Principal office address
- Annual reports
- Certificates of newly-elected officers/directors
- Old names
- Chronology
If you’d like to, you can order a document copy at the end of the page.
Name Availability
On the original page, there’s also a link for “Name availability.” You can click on it, enter the company name, and then hit “Search records.”
This search will only give you exact matches. If there are none, then you can click on “Form an entity with this name” if you wish. This will bring you to a page to choose the entity type, and you can proceed from there.
Search Google
Google is a fantastic resource for a Wisconsin business search, but you can use any search engine. The concept is the same: you’ll type in the company name and “Wisconsin,” along with a city name for an extra check.
You’ll then go through the pages of results to see if there’s anything remotely similar. Of course, if you discover exact matches, you’ll have to think up another name. Try different city names to ensure you’re not missing anything.
If the name is available, then consider reserving domain names and social media handles too. This will make branding a lot easier in the future, as everything will match.
Use the Business Anywhere Search Tool
Here at Business Anywhere, we offer a free business registration service. You don’t pay anything except for the state fees, as well as any additional services you’d like for a custom package.
But before you use that service, utilize our business search tool first. It’s at the top of the page, and it’s also simple to use. Type in your company name, and then select LLC, corporation, or PLLC.
After you click on “Check availability,” the following page will notify you if the name is free. If so, then you can plug in your personal information in the form.
Of course, this isn’t mandatory; we have a free and no-obligations search tool, and you can leave it at that if you want. However, if you’re interested in our services, then filling out the form will trigger us to get in touch and discuss things further.
Carry Out a Wisconsin Business Entity Search
Before you register a company in the state, you should first do a Wisconsin business entity search. By using the methods we’ve provided, you’ll do your due diligence to scour records and ensure that you’re not treading on any toes.
Once you’re done with these searches, you can have peace of mind knowing that you won’t run into legal issues regarding your company name. And as a result, you’ll have a more pleasant experience with entrepreneurship.
Sign up with Business Anywhere now to use our free and convenient business registration service. You can also use us as a online notary or virtual mailbox provider too.
