How to Look Up an LLC in Texas (2026)

Published by Jon Morgan | Co-Founder & Chief Editor

Last updated: September 2, 2026

FACT CHECKED by Jon Tobin, Business Attorney

Methodology
We meticulously research and verify the information presented in our articles. By consulting reliable sources and ensuring factual accuracy, we are committed to providing readers with well-informed, trustworthy content.

To look up an LLC in Texas, use the Comptroller's free search for a quick result, or the Secretary of State's paid SOSDirect system for the fuller official record. SOSDirect needs a free account and charges $1.00 per search, while the Comptroller's tool needs neither.

The Secretary of State has also announced a coming system upgrade that will eventually retire SOSDirect. Today's steps below still apply, since that upgrade hasn't landed yet.

This guide covers both tools. It also walks through checking a name against state and federal trademarks, plus what it costs to search or file in Texas.

Quick Summary

• The Comptroller's Franchise Tax Account Status Search is free and needs no account.
• SOSDirect, the Secretary of State's own system, needs a free account and charges per search.
• No annual report goes to the Secretary of State. Franchise tax paperwork is a separate, Comptroller-only filing.

Texas Business Organizations Code

Overview of the Texas Business Organizations Code

The Texas Business Organizations Code (BOC) sets the rules for forming, running and closing an LLC in the state [1].

The Corporations Section keeps the official record every search pulls from. It's part of the Secretary of State's Business and Public Filings Division, and it tracks a company's filed name, status and whether it's still active.

Search before you settle on a name. The BOC requires a new filing's name to be distinguishable from one already on file, and clearing that first saves you a rejected filing later.

Once the name clears, you're ready to file, or you can lock it in first for $40 through Form 501, good for 120 days. Our review of the best LLC formation services in Texas covers providers who can handle the rest of the paperwork, plus registered agent services in Texas for the agent every LLC has to keep on file.

Ways to Look Up an LLC in Texas

Texas offers a few ways to look up an LLC, starting with the two main systems above and a couple of narrower follow-ups below.

1. Texas Business Entity Search on SOSDirect

SOSDirect lets you search by entity name or file number, once you've logged into your account. Leave off suffixes like "LLC" when you enter the name, since a bare-word entry is the broadest way to search. You can also call the Corporations Section at 512-463-5555, though staff can't tell you whether a name will clear.

2. Comptroller's Franchise Tax Account Status Search

The Comptroller's tool works well as a first check before you spend anything on SOSDirect. Older guides still call it by its former name, "Taxable Entity Search," but the Comptroller's site has since renamed it.

Search by the LLC's Texas taxpayer number, its Secretary of State file number or its name. A match confirms the entity is on record with the state.

This tool won't tell you whether a NEW name you're considering is available, since it only looks up entities already on file. For that, run your candidate name through SOSDirect instead.

3. Search by File Number

Once you find a match, note its file number. Entering that number on a later search pulls up the exact record instead of a list of similar matches.

If nothing turns up in either search, the name is likely open, though only the Corporations Section can confirm that for certain.

4. Check Domain Name Availability

Once a name clears the state search, check whether the matching web domain is still open through a registrar like Namecheap, trying .com, .net and .org.

An open domain isn't required to form the LLC, but a taken one can mean a competing business worth knowing about first.

How to Check If a Business Name Is Trademarked in Texas

Clearing the entity search only means no other Texas entity has that name. It doesn't rule out a trademark conflict, so run a federal and a state check too.

1. Search Federal Trademarks Through the USPTO

The USPTO's trademark search system covers marks registered or pending nationwide, and it replaced the older TESS tool. Run a plain word search first, then try close spellings, since a name doesn't need to match exactly to infringe.

2. Search Texas's State Trademark Registry

Texas trademark rights are set out in Chapter 16 of the Business and Commerce Code [2]. The Secretary of State keeps its own trademark and service mark registry under that chapter, separate from the federal one.

To register a Texas mark, file Form 901, but check that registry first so you're not paying to register a name that's already taken.

Reasons to Perform an LLC Search in Texas

A search comes in handy for more than just picking a name:

• Due diligence: Confirm a partner or investment target actually exists and is in good standing.
• Legal compliance: Verify your chosen name doesn't collide with one already on file.
• Market research: See who else in your industry uses a similar name.
• Serving legal documents: Look up a registered agent and address for service of process.
• Acquisitions: Check a target company's filing status before you close a deal.
• Reusing a closed name: Confirm the old LLC was properly closed, using our guide to dissolving an LLC in Texas if it wasn't.

Maintaining an LLC in Texas

Texas skips the annual report other states file. Instead, LLCs file a yearly Franchise Tax Report and Public Information Report with the Comptroller of Public Accounts, due each May 15.

Most small LLCs owe nothing under the no-tax-due threshold, but the report still has to go in. A $50 penalty applies if late.

Keep your registered agent and address current too. Our guide to starting an LLC in Texas covers the formation filing itself, and our general guide to looking up an LLC covers other states.

FAQs

References:

1. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BO/htm/BO.101.htm
2. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.16.htm