South Dakota Secretary of State Business Entity Search

South Dakota is at the heart of the geographical centre of the United States of America. Its developed infrastructure and quick connectivity to all the major US regions make it one of the important business hubs in the USA. Are you planning to start your business in South Dakota? Then performing a South Dakota business entity search will be your foremost step. Business owners in South Dakota benefit from no corporate tax, personal income tax, no business inventory tax, and even no inheritance tax.

South Dakota Business Entity Search

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A Business Entity is an organization created by an individual or a group of individuals to partake in any business form or trade. A Business Entity Search is conducted to find a unique name for the business entity you plan to form. This is because you cannot choose a name that’s already registered by an active entity in the state. That’s why a South Dakota business entity search will help your business to stand out from the rest. To name your business in South Dakota, you can use the South Dakota Secretary of State business search tool which we will see further in the Article.

South Dakota LLC Naming Guidelines

The naming guideline of the South Dakota Secretary of State is as follows:-

  • The name selected should have the phrase Limited Liability Company, LLC, or L.L.C.
  • The name must be unique from other businesses in the state. This can be assured by doing a South Dakota business entity search which we will talk about further in the article.
  • Restricted words like an attorney, bank and university may need additional paperwork with a licensed person.
  • You cannot use words like agencies, FBI, South Dakota Police, State Department, Treasury, and commissions. as they can confuse your LLC with a government agency.

South Dakota Business Entity Search Method

The Business entity Search procedure varies from one state to another. Let’s see how to do a business entity search in South Dakota? In the state of South Dakota, there are 3 different ways to do South Dakota Business Entity Search. They are as follows:-

  • Business name availability check
  • Entity name search
  • Business ID search

Method 1: Search for business name availability

Once you land on the Division of business services webpage on the South Dakota SOS site, click on the “business name availability search“. This will lead you to their Name availability search page.

  • Here, you can search your desired business name and see whether the name is already occupied by another business in the state.
  • The result page will show all the businesses in the state that are using the searched term in their business name along with details like their business id, type of business, name type, etc. See the image below.

  • If the name is available to use then you will get a “No records found message”.

Method 2: Search By Entity Name

On the division of business services webpage, click on the “search for business information“. This will lead you to the South Dakota Secretary of State business search page.

Here you can enquire details of any existing business in the state of South Dakota by searching its name as shown in the image below.

The result page will include details like business ID, status, name type, etc as shown in the image below.

Method 3: Search By Business ID

You can also search the business ID of any registered business on the South Dakota SOS business search page. A business ID is a unique number assigned to all registered businesses by the SOS. Since this number is unique, it will show you the result of a single business associated with that number.

Reserve Your South Dakota LLC Name

Reserving the name of your South Dakkota LLC is a really good option in case you are not ready to start the business immediately. The South Dakota SOS allows reserving an LLC name for 120 days. For this, You need to file an Application for LLC Name Reservation with the South Dakota SOS. The reservation needs to be filed by mail with a filing fee of $25.

Register Your South Dakota LLC Name

If you’ve succeeded in finding a suitable LLC name after doing the South Dakota business entity search, then it’s time to make it yours by creating your LLC. You can file the Articles of Organization with the SOS. This document can be filed online or by mail. The online filing fee is $150 while filing through mail costs $165.

Domain and Trademark

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Your domain name is responsible for the online reachability of your business. That’s why we suggest you select a domain name that’s related to your business name. further, you can also secure your business by filing a South Dakota trademark. You can trademark your name, logo, or slogan. A trademark is not compulsory but will enable you to charge legal fines if someone tries to illegally use your business name.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the cost of forming an LLC in South Dakota?

The online filing of South Dakota Articles of Organization costs $150. While filing through the mail will cost you $165.

2. How do I know if a business name is available to use in South Dakota?

The first requirement is your business name should be distinguishable from other businesses in South Dakota. For this, you can conduct a free name search on the South Dakota SOS business search webpage.

3. What should I do after selecting a South Dakota LLC name?

The next step would be to register the LLC by filing the Articles of Organization with the South Dakota SOS. This officially forms your LLC in South Dakota.

4. For how long can I reserve a name for my LLC in South Dakota?

If you are not ready to start your LLC immediately, then the South Dakota SOS allows you to reserve it for 120 days.

5. How much does it cost to reserve an LLC name in South Dakota?

It costs a filing fee of $25 to reserve an LLC name in the state of South Dakota.

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