Maine had a gross state product (GSP) of $76.6 billion last year, with a growth of 2.9% from 2019-2024. The average annual employment growth over the past five years is 0.6% as well, which shows a positive increase in the local economy.
This makes Maine an interesting place to be an entrepreneur, especially if you have an interest in its top sectors. Even outside of those, you’d have a fighting chance since the state’s economy is doing well.
So what do you need first to do to start your company? Perform a Maine business entity search. This search will tell you if your desired business name is available.
In this article, we’ll give you three ways to perform a Maine business search so you’re thorough in your queries.
Maine Secretary of State Business Entity Search
No matter which state you’re interested in starting a business in, going to the Secretary of State is most likely the best bet for name searches. This is because they’re the ones responsible for all business filings, which means they have an extensive record on file.
To look through their files, go to the Interactive Corporate Services page and navigate to the corporate name search. This will give you two blanks: “Keyword from name to be searched” and “Charter number.” For the purposes of this article, you should just input your potential company name into the first blank, and then hit the button “Click here to search.”
The next page will display results if there are any. The list will show the entities, name types, and information summaries. If you’re not happy with the results, then scroll down and you can type in something else under “New search.”
Otherwise, if you’re interested in finding out more details about a certain company, click on its “Information summary” link. This will pull up other information, such as its:
- Legal name
- Charter number
- Filing type
- Status
- Filing date
- Expiration date
- Jurisdiction
- Other names (assumed and former)
- Principal home office address (both physical and mailing)
- Clerk/registered agent address (both physical and mailing)
At the bottom, you can view a list of its filings too.
What’s great is these searches are free to do. So you can try different variations of your company name for more extensive results.
Search Engine Queries
Search engines are a perfectly good way to do a state of Maine business entity search, and it’s free too. Just bring up your favorite search engine and type your desired business name into the search bar. If it’s relevant, you can add city names as well.
This search may be a little more time-consuming since you’ll have to go through pages of results on your own. But it can give you a good idea of what similar or identical names are already out there.
Not to mention, it’s also the ideal time to check out social media handles and domain names, as these will appear in the search results. If you find any that match your potential business name, then it may be wise to reserve these while you still can. This can make future branding efforts more cohesive and you’ll run into fewer roadblocks.
Business Anywhere Search Tool
We have a free business registration service since we want to help out entrepreneurs like you. You’re only responsible for the state fees, which makes company formation very affordable.
If you’d like, you can add more of our services before checking out. Just browse the page to see what’s available and how much each service costs. It’s that simple; there aren’t any hidden fees.
But before you do this, go to the top of the page to utilize our tool that allows you to do an ME business entity search. Enter the potential name of your company, then select a choice from the dropdown menu (LLC, PLLC, or corporation).
Next, we’ll tell you whether or not the name’s available. If it isn’t, feel free to keep trying until you get the perfect name.
Once you’re satisfied with your business search in ME, you can leave it at that. It’s a no-obligations search, but if you’re interested in using our services, you can scroll down and fill out your contact information. We’ll then reach out to you to move things along.
Make Sure to Do a Maine Business Entity Search
The first step of creating a company is to ensure no one else has taken your desired name. If you don’t do your due diligence, then you might hit legal hot water later on.
So if you want to become an entrepreneur in the state, do a Maine business entity search before anything else. Once you find out that your desired business name is truly available, then you’ll have peace of mind proceeding.
Sign up with Business Anywhere to use our free business formation service. A free year’s worth of our registered agent service is included.
