An Arizona business entity search confirms name availability and shows the public record of any LLC or corporation registered in the state.
Arizona differs from most states in two ways worth knowing up front. Business entities are handled by the Corporation Commission rather than the Secretary of State, and LLCs file no annual report at all.
Where the official Arizona business search lives
https://arizonabusinesscenter.azcc.gov/businesssearch
Run by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), Corporations Division. Free, no login. Search by entity name, entity ID, or agent name.
If you go looking on the Arizona Secretary of State site you will not find business entity records there. That office handles trade names and trademarks instead, which is a common point of confusion.
What the official search will not tell you
- Trade name registrations. Those sit with the Arizona Secretary of State, separately from the ACC.
- Trademark clearance. Separate again.
- Tax standing. Arizona Department of Revenue standing is tracked separately.
- Full ownership. Members and managers appear on some filings but the search result is not a complete ownership record.
Key Arizona business search terms
| Term | What it means in Arizona |
|---|---|
| Active | Registered and in good standing. |
| Administratively Dissolved | The ACC dissolved the entity, usually for losing its statutory agent. |
| Entity ID | The ACC identifier assigned at registration. Not an EIN. |
| Statutory Agent | Arizona's term for the registered agent. Required, with an Arizona street address. |
| Articles of Organization | The document that forms an Arizona LLC. $50. |
| Annual Report | Not required for Arizona LLCs. No annual fee. |
| Publication Requirement | Newspaper publication is required in most counties, but not in Maricopa or Pima. |
| Certificate of Good Standing | Official confirmation the entity is active and current. |
Step by step
Step 1. Open the ACC business search
Go to arizonabusinesscenter.azcc.gov/businesssearch. No account is needed.
Step 2. Search by entity name or ID
For a name check, search the distinctive words rather than the full legal string.
Step 3. Try variants
Singular, plural and common alternative spellings.
Step 4. Read the result
Each result shows entity name, entity ID, status, formation date and statutory agent.
Step 5. Open the document history
The entity page lists filings and lets you view the underlying documents.
Arizona entity status decoder
- Active. Registered and in good standing.
- Administratively Dissolved. The ACC dissolved the entity. Since there is no annual report to miss, this most often follows losing the statutory agent or failing to respond to ACC correspondence.
- Terminated. Permanently closed.
- Pending. A filing is submitted but not yet processed.
Arizona's two unusual features
No annual report. Arizona LLCs file nothing yearly and pay nothing yearly to the ACC. Corporations do file annual reports, but LLCs do not.
A publication requirement, with exceptions. Most Arizona LLCs must publish a notice of formation in an approved newspaper in the county of their statutory agent's address. Entities whose statutory agent address is in Maricopa County or Pima County are exempt, because the ACC publishes those on its own website instead. Since those two counties cover Phoenix and Tucson, most Arizona LLCs in practice avoid the cost.
| Arizona | Wyoming | Ohio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing fee | $50 | $100 | $99 |
| Annual fee | $0 | $60 | $0 |
| Annual report required | No | Yes | No |
| Publication | Only outside Maricopa and Pima | None | None |
| 5-year state cost | about $50 | about $340 | $99 |
If the name is available, or taken
Available. Reserve it for 120 days, or file and secure it at registration.
Taken. Check whether the existing entity is Administratively Dissolved. Otherwise change a distinctive word.
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Arizona business entity search for non-US founders
The ACC search is public and free worldwide, and non-residents can form and own an Arizona LLC without visiting the US.
Arizona is genuinely competitive on cost: $50 once and nothing recurring. Two caveats against Wyoming. Arizona does not offer the same owner privacy, and banks reviewing non-resident applications see far more Wyoming entities, which tends to mean a smoother onboarding.
You need a statutory agent with an Arizona street address, which you cannot be from abroad. Choosing an agent in Maricopa or Pima County also avoids the publication cost.
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Next steps
Forming a new company:
- Confirm the name on the ACC search.
- Appoint a statutory agent with an Arizona street address, ideally in Maricopa or Pima County.
- File the Articles of Organization, $50.
- Publish if your statutory agent address is outside Maricopa and Pima.
- Get your EIN. There is no annual report to schedule.
Researching an existing business:
- Confirm status is Active.
- Note the entity ID and statutory agent.
- Review the document history.
- Order a Certificate of Good Standing if you need official proof.