The Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations searchable database is available online:
In order to accommodate the volume of incoming calls to the bureau, the customer service representatives may search two entity names per call. The records may only be accessed by the correct entity name or entity number, not by officer or owner's name. Businesses are not indexed by type, tax or Federal I.D. Number, purpose or business address. Our records do not reflect officer's addresses, stock holders, business phone numbers, or any tax information.
Verbal
Information is provided on active companies unless the caller specifies otherwise. Our representatives can provide the entity number, the exact entity name, filing date, the effective date, if any, the business type, status and when available, officers, general partners or fictitious name owners. The business purpose may be given for fictitious names, professional corporations and the classification for trademarks. The purpose for other entities may or may not be listed.
A corporate entity, limited partnership or limited liability entity is considered to be in good standing if it has not been dissolved, canceled, merged, withdrawn, effected a name change or has an expired term. We do not have an "active" status for corporations. Fictitious names do not have good standing status but are in effect unless canceled.
Inquiries regarding recently submitted filings may also be addressed. If a filing is still in process, then the customer service representative may give the date the filing was received and, if accepted, the actual filing date and the date the documents were mailed. Inquiries concerning rejected filings should be directed to the Business Processing Section.
You may reach the bureau by telephone by calling (717) 787-1057. The telephone lines are available from 8:00 am to 4:45 pm.
Written
Written printouts of record searches are available for a $15 fee per entity number. Record searches will provide a complete filing history of an entity.
You may request a written search by submitting a letter to the bureau at: Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations, PO Box 8722, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8722. Your letter must contain the name and address of the entity to be searched.