The official search
The registry is run by the Connecticut Secretary of the State, Business Services Division — note the office's real name, Secretary of the State. Searches and filings run through the state's business portal, business.ct.gov.
- Search page: https://service.ct.gov/business/s/onlinebusinesssearch
- Cost: Free
- Login: None required for searching; filings and copy requests use a business.ct.gov account
The search covers all domestic (Connecticut-formed) and foreign entities on record. Search by business name, by the business's ALEI — its Authoritative Legal Entity Identifier, Connecticut's unique business ID, not a tax number — or by filing number.
There is no separate "name availability" tool giving a yes or no. You judge availability from the results; the Secretary of the State decides when your Certificate of Organization or name reservation is reviewed.
Clicking a business name shows the Business ID (ALEI), principal, agent, date formed, entity type, and street address, city, state, and ZIP code, plus the filing history — documents filed electronically are viewable for free. The record does not include an operating agreement, ownership percentages, or federal EIN.
Step by step
- Open the Business Records Search through business.ct.gov, or go directly to the service.ct.gov search tool linked above.
- Search your full proposed name, without "LLC." Then search again on the most distinctive word or words alone, so near-matches that start differently still surface.
- Check every close match, not just LLCs. Your name is tested against corporations, partnerships, and other entities on file, plus names registered to do business in Connecticut — a conflict can come from any of them.
- Open close matches and note their status. A name whose holder has been administratively dissolved, or has filed a certificate of dissolution, is treated differently from an active name — but only the Secretary's review settles whether you can use it.
- Run the separate trade name check. Trade names are filed with town clerks and searched in the statewide Trade Name Search — a different tool. A name can be clear in one search and taken in the other.
- If nothing conflicting appears in either search, the name is probably available — but the Secretary of the State's review of your actual filing is the only definitive answer.
Connecticut's name rules
The rules are in Conn. Gen. Stat. §34-243k of the Connecticut Uniform Limited Liability Company Act.
Designator. The name must contain "limited liability company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC." "Limited" may be abbreviated as "Ltd.," and "company" may be abbreviated as "Co."
Distinguishable. The name must be distinguishable on the records of the Secretary of the State from:
- The name of an existing entity on file that has not been administratively dissolved and has not filed a certificate of dissolution
- The name under which a person is registered to do business in Connecticut
- A name reserved under §34-243l
- A name registered under §34-243m
Differences that do not count. Words that only indicate the type of entity — such as "corporation," "corp.," "incorporated," "Inc.," "Limited," "Ltd.," "limited partnership," "P.L.L.C.," and "L.L.P." — may not be taken into account when the state decides whether two names are distinguishable. The name also may not imply the LLC is organized for a purpose the law does not permit. With the existing holder's consent in a record, or a court judgment establishing your right to the name, an otherwise blocked name can sometimes be used.
Reserving a name. Connecticut allows name reservations under §34-243l: $60 for 120 days of exclusive use, filed with the Secretary of the State through business.ct.gov. A reservation is optional — it does not form an LLC — and it can be transferred to another person by a signed notice.
What the search can't tell you
- Trade names. DBAs are filed with the town clerk where the business is principally transacted, and since January 1, 2025 they are valid for five years. They live in the separate Trade Name Search.
- A final verdict. Approval happens only when the Secretary of the State reviews your filing.
- Trademarks and domains. The search says nothing about federal trademark rights or .com availability.
- Who really owns a company. The record shows a principal and the member or manager named in filings — not ownership percentages.
If the name looks available
File a Certificate of Organization (Conn. Gen. Stat. §34-247) with the Secretary of the State, online through business.ct.gov, or by mail on the paper form.
- Cost: $120.
Ongoing: the annual report.
- Fee: $80 per year, filed online — Connecticut requires the report to be delivered electronically, through business.ct.gov.
- Due date — the same window for every LLC: after January 1 and before April 1 each year. It is not tied to your formation anniversary. Your first report is due in that window in the year after your formation year, so an LLC formed in December faces its first deadline only weeks into the next year.
- What it asks for: your name, principal-office addresses, at least one member or manager, your registered agent, a business email address, and a six-digit NAICS industry code — have the NAICS code ready, because first-time filers often stall on it.
- Late filing: Connecticut's published fee listings do not show a simple dollar late fee for an LLC annual report — check the current schedule on business.ct.gov before relying on any figure you see elsewhere. The serious consequence is forfeiture: state law provides a process under which an LLC more than a year in default can be dissolved by forfeiture, after notice and a chance to cure. Reinstating a domestic LLC uses a combined reinstatement and annual report filing, listed at $120.
FAQ
Is the Connecticut LLC name search free? Yes. The Business Records Search is free, and documents filed electronically can be viewed from a record's filing history for free as well.
Are Connecticut trade names (DBAs) in the Business Records Search? No. Trade names are filed with the town clerk where the business is principally transacted and are checked in the Secretary of the State's separate statewide Trade Name Search. Since 2025, a trade name certificate is valid for five years.
How much does it cost to form a Connecticut LLC? The Certificate of Organization filing fee is $120. Reserving a name first is optional and costs $60 for 120 days.
When is the Connecticut LLC annual report due? After January 1 and before April 1 every year — the same fixed window for every LLC, starting with the year after formation. The fee is $80, and the report must be filed electronically.
What is an ALEI? The Authoritative Legal Entity Identifier — the unique Business ID Connecticut assigns to an entity. You can search by it, but it is not a tax ID number.
Sources
- Connecticut Secretary of the State — Business Records Search: https://service.ct.gov/business/s/onlinebusinesssearch
- Connecticut Secretary of the State — Business Records Search explained: https://business.ct.gov/knowledge-base/articles/sots/download-results
- Connecticut Secretary of the State — Domestic Limited Liability Company forms and fees: https://business.ct.gov/knowledge-base/articles/domestic-limited-liability-companies-forms-and-fees
- Connecticut Secretary of the State — Forms and Fees: https://business.ct.gov/business-services/business-forms-and-fees
- Conn. Gen. Stat. §34-243k (LLC name rules, ch. 613a): https://www.cga.ct.gov/2023/pub/chap_613a.htm
- Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 620 (trade names, §§35-1a–35-1e): https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/PUB/chap_620.htm