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Maine Business Entity Search

Maine’s Corporate Name Search lets you search legal, former, assumed and fictitious names together, or look up a charter number. Viewing an Information Summary is free, according to the state’s official help. This guide rests on the live form and that help. We did not run a search, because the site warns against automated use and is protected by reCAPTCHA.

Official agency: Maine Department of the Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC & Commissions

Open Official Government SearchOpens apps3.web.maine.gov in a new tab. This is the official government site, not EntityLocator.

Direct links on the official site

Search methods offered

  • Keyword from name to be searchedSearches legal names, former names, assumed names and fictitious names together. It also searches registered mark text, descriptors and features. The help recommends specific words and allows a percent-sign wildcard.
  • Charter numberAccepts a charter or mark number of 10 or 11 digits.

How to search

  1. Open the Maine Corporate Name Search using the button above and read the notice about automated use.
  2. Enter a distinctive business-name keyword, or the charter number if you know it. The official tips recommend narrow wording and describe % wildcards.
  3. Select Click Here to Search. If a CAPTCHA challenge appears, complete it yourself.
  4. According to the official help, you then select the link for the entity you want to open its Information Summary.
  5. Select View List of Filings to see the filings list.
  6. Keep in mind that viewing the summary is free but filing images, certified copies and certificates are purchased.

What you can expect to find

  • We did not see results or a summary, so none of the following was confirmed by a sample search. The official help describes business results as including legal name, former names, assumed or fictitious names, charter number, filing date, filing type, jurisdiction, status, clerk or registered agent name and address, and principal home-office address.
  • For registered marks, the help describes the owner’s name and address, mark number, filing and expiration dates, owner type and mark status. Those mark fields differ from the company fields.
  • The form has only the keyword and charter number fields. We saw no officer, agent, address, status or date filters.

Limitations, fees and notices

  • The help says viewing and printing an Information Summary is free. It lists filing images at $3 each, certification at an additional $5 per certified order request, and existence or good-standing certificates at $30 for for-profit entities or $10 for nonprofit corporations. These are published help-page prices that we didn’t test at checkout.
  • The application warns against data mining, excessive repeated searches and automated tools, which may lead to suspended access. Use the search manually and don’t script or repeat searches.
  • The page is protected by reCAPTCHA, so a challenge may appear.
  • The system covers domestic and foreign corporations, LLCs, LPs, LLPs, marks, and reserved or registered names. A reserved or registered name is not authority to operate a business.
  • Former names are covered, but we did not verify a historical date range. We also did not confirm that annual reports, original formation papers and historical images all appear in one filing list. The help directs users to the division when a filing has no image.
  • We did not verify a binding name availability determination or any fee for one.

Sources and research notes

Sources reviewed: . Official sites change; always confirm current details on the government site.

Research for this guide used the official Maine sites in a web browser. The search form and the official help were read. No search was submitted, so no results or summaries were reviewed, and the result fields come from the official help.

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