How to search New Hampshire business entities online

What the search covers

The database covers all entity types registered with the Corporations Division: domestic and foreign business corporations (including benefit and professional corporations), LLCs, professional LLCs, limited partnerships, LLPs, nonprofit corporations and associations, investment trusts, foundations, cooperatives, and trade names. Trademarks and service marks registered under RSA 350-A are also searchable here.

Search options

New Hampshire's search is unusually flexible. The name search supports four match modes — Starts With, Exact Match, Contains, and All Words — along with a Soundex option that returns phonetically similar names, plus a separate similar-sounding search for a business's home state name if it was formed elsewhere. Beyond name, the portal supports:

• Business ID — the NH-assigned entity identifier
• Filing Number — for specific document lookups
• Business Creation Date — useful when you know approximately when an entity was formed
• Registered Agent Name — also supports a Soundex variant

Certificate verification

Certificates of Good Standing issued through QuickStart can be verified at no charge at quickstart.sos.nh.gov — Verify Certificate without creating an account. Ordering a new certificate requires a QuickStart login.

The $2 electronic surcharge

Every online filing in New Hampshire carries a $2.00 electronic handling surcharge under RSA 5:10-a (effective July 1, 2004). This applies in addition to every stated filing fee — LLC formation is $100 + $2 = $102 total when filed online, for example. The surcharge is not collected by the state; it funds the electronic filing infrastructure.

New Hampshire's official status glossary — and a quirk worth knowing

New Hampshire is unusually transparent about this: its Secretary of State publishes an official glossary defining close to 20 distinct status values. A few are worth knowing before you search. Administrative Dissolution and Administrative Suspension are two separate actions — not the same status — both triggered by a missed report, unpaid fee, or a registered agent problem; LLPs, consumer co-ops, and nonprofits get their own distinct Administrative Dissolution status rather than sharing the general one. Good Standing and Not in Good Standing are a separate pair from Active and Inactive entirely — Not in Good Standing specifically means the entity owes reports or fees, or its registered agent resigned.

The genuinely distinctive New Hampshire quirk: a cluster of statuses — Acceptance Inactive, Creation Inactive, and Transaction Inactive — all mean the same underlying thing, that a filing was submitted but the payment check bounced. After an administrative dissolution, the entity's name stays off-limits to other filers for 120 days, and the entity itself still legally exists during that time to wind up its affairs — it just can't take on new business.

Frequently Asked Questions