Michigan Business Search

How to read the official business-entity file, and a way to have the search run for you.

Michigan Business Search

Michigan business search

Quick answer. A Michigan business search uses the Corporations Division in the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. The live system is the MiBusiness Registry Portal. Corporations file annual reports. LLCs file annual statements. Both are online only.

Official office

Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

Open the official search

Steps

  1. Open MiBusiness, not a legacy bookmark

    Start at the portal linked from michigan.gov/corporations. Create a MiLogin for Business account if you are filing. Searching the public record is available from the Division’s search flow.

  2. Search the entity name or ID

    Copy the file number from the detail before you interpret status.

  3. Match the form to the type

    Annual report for corporations. Annual statement for LLCs. Do not demand an annual report from an LP that the Division says does not file one.

  4. File annuals online

    The Division says paper annuals stopped with the new portal. Follow the on-screen File Annual Report/Statement path.

  5. Certificates are ordered in the portal

    The Division said certificate orders by telephone were discontinued. Use the portal’s order path.

LARA keeps the file, not the Secretary of State

LARA launched MiBusiness on June 23, 2025, and told filers the older platform was replaced. Search, formation, annual filings, and certificate orders belong there: mibusinessregistry.lara.state.mi.us. A michigan secretary of state business search is the wrong brand. Corporations are at LARA.

Every LLC and PLLC files an annual statement starting the year after formation. If the company was formed or qualified after September 30, it does not file the February 15 statement in the immediately following year. Limited partnerships and LLPs do not file that annual statement. Sole proprietors do not register with the Division at all.

The Division’s FAQ gives 517-241-6470, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and LARA-MAB-Correspondence@michigan.gov for annual-statement questions. Paper annual reports and statements are no longer accepted.

Common mistakes

  • Looking up a Michigan corporation at the Secretary of State’s election site.
  • Telling an LP it missed an LLC annual statement.
  • Mailing a paper annual statement after June 23, 2025.
  • Ignoring the September 30 formation exception and marking a new LLC late in February.

Questions

Where is the LARA business entity search?

In the MiBusiness Registry Portal, linked from the Corporations Division at michigan.gov/lara.

Do Michigan LLCs file an annual report?

They file an annual statement. Corporations file an annual report. The Division’s roadmap spells out the difference.

What is the phone number for Corporations?

The Division’s annual-statement FAQ lists 517-241-6470, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Sources reviewed

Guides on this site