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West Virginia · State Record Search Guide

West Virginia business search, June 30 or triple the bill.

West Virginia’s registry at the Secretary of State gives everyone half a year: the annual report window runs January 1 to June 30, $25. On July 1 the arithmetic turns unfriendly, a $75 penalty on a $25 filing, and continued silence walks the record toward dissolution or revocation. Six months of window, one expensive morning after.

Reads the West Virginia official record · free to start
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West Virginia entity searchWe run it on the official state record, and tell you what it means
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Checking a name for your new company? We search the state record properly, with the near-misses that cause rejections.

Doors into the same record

Search the way that matches what you already know

1 · By entity name

Drop the designator: "Acme Holdings" returns more than "Acme Holdings LLC". The state search matches from the start of the name, so lead with the first word, and remember sound-alike spellings are separate records. Have us run the name check →

2 · By organization number

West Virginia assigns a permanent organization number at registration. An exact-match search on it pulls one record with its report history, June by June. Verify an exact entity with us →

3 · Through the registered agent

Every West Virginia entity names a registered agent on the public record, which is how process servers, and the curious, find companies. It is also why founders who value privacy put a professional agent there instead of themselves. See how agents appear on the record →

4 · What the record shows you

Status, principal address, registered agent, and the filing history, including the original formation documents. Public, free, and current, which is exactly why counterparties will read yours before they sign.

Half a year of window

Twenty-five in June, a hundred in July

IN GOOD STANDINGCurrent on the annual report, filed inside the January-to-June window at $25.
LATE / PENALTYJuly 1 arrived unfiled and a $75 penalty tripled the cost of a $25 report. The record shows the slip until it is cured.
ADMIN DISSOLVED / REVOKEDThe silence continued and the state acted, dissolving domestic entities and revoking foreign authority. Reinstatement settles the owed reports and late fees first.
VOL. DISSOLVEDClosed on purpose, history preserved on the record for exactly this kind of reading.
TRADE NAMEWest Virginia trade names register with the same office, so one company is often one entity plus several names. Match the legal name on the contract.

The annual report is $25 inside a six-month window, January 1 to June 30. From July 1 a $75 late penalty attaches, and continued nonfiling ends in administrative dissolution or revocation, with reinstatement costing the application, every owed report, and $50 per delinquent year. The window is generous. The morning after is not.

The search is step one

What you found decides what you do next

Your name is taken

Clear so far is not the same as available. Run a proper availability check covering West Virginia entities and trade names, then file the West Virginia LLC while it is clean.

Your company missed June 30

File the report with the penalty before the state moves toward dissolution, then put the six-month window on a calendar that watches itself.

You are vetting a counterparty

Match the legal name on your contract to the record exactly, confirm standing the day you sign, and read the filing history. For anything with money on it, order a certificate of standing, the state-sealed version of "they are real."

The window that felt infinite until July

Six months to file, and they used none of them

A Charleston owner organizing state filings and receipts after a busy first half of the year
January said there was plenty of time, April said the same, and June said nothing at all because we were flat out on a job. July 1 said one hundred dollars, please, for a twenty-five dollar report. The math finally got our attention. A six-month window is not a deadline in month six. It is a deadline in month one, ignored five times.
Excavation company owner, CharlestonFiles in January now, while the window is young
January filerPenalty era overWindow respected

Representative composite drawn from customer outcomes.

BosAI reads the record with you

Ask what the record means for you

BosAIYour workspace · West Virginia records connected

Is "Mountain State Machining" taken in West Virginia?

One active match in Morgantown and a trade name registered to a Wheeling shop. West Virginia checks distinguishability against both, so a proper availability check reads the whole record before you commit. Trademark screening included.

When is my West Virginia report due?

Any time from January 1 through June 30, $25. On July 1 a $75 penalty attaches, quadrupling the cost, and continued silence risks dissolution. Mine files in January on your behalf, while the window is six months wide and nobody is busy. It is on the calendar already.

The company I am vetting shows Revoked. What is their road back?

Reinstatement: the $25 application, every owed annual report, and $50 for each delinquent year. Affordable, but it takes real days, and until it is done they have no authority to do business here. Make the restored record your precondition, and I will confirm it the day the status flips.
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Every state's record, one guide per state

 Name Availability

Distinguishable is not the same as safe, check properly

 Registered Agent

A West Virginia address that never misses a service of process

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Your deadlines tracked, so the record stays boring

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Frequently asked

West Virginia Business Search questions.

What is the West Virginia Secretary of State business search?

It is the public West Virginia database where anyone can look up a registered entity’s name, status, registered agent, and filing history. You use it to check name availability, confirm standing, or research a company. We run West Virginia searches for you and interpret what the results mean for your plans.

How do I search for a business in West Virginia?

You search the West Virginia record online by name or by the entity’s organization number. Results show status and basic details but not everything, ownership is often private. We run the West Virginia search and explain what it does and does not reveal about a given entity.

Can I check if a business name is available in West Virginia?

Yes, the search is the first step: you look for existing West Virginia entities and trade names that are the same or confusingly close, though availability finally depends on the state’s naming rules, so a quick search is not a guarantee. We do a proper West Virginia availability check before you commit to a name and branding.

How do I confirm a company is in good standing in West Virginia?

The record shows a status, and for official confirmation third parties want a Certificate of Good Standing. We can pull the West Virginia status and order that certificate when you need authoritative proof for a deal or lender.

When is the West Virginia annual report due?

Inside the window from January 1 to June 30, every year, $25. From July 1 a $75 penalty attaches, and continued nonfiling ends in dissolution or revocation, with reinstatement costing the application plus owed reports and $50 per delinquent year. We file in January so the window never closes on you.

Why can’t I find my own business in the West Virginia search?

Common reasons: it was just filed and not yet indexed, the name is slightly different, or missed reports ended in dissolution or revocation and the entity dropped from default results. We check the West Virginia record, confirm your status, and fix anything, like a lapse needing reinstatement, that is keeping you from appearing correctly.

How do I find out who owns an LLC in West Virginia?

Sometimes you can, sometimes you cannot. West Virginia filings list a registered agent and whoever signs the documents, but members of an LLC do not have to appear, so true owners can stay off the public record. If privacy matters for your own filing, that structure plus identity & privacy is how founders stay unlisted.

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