Before you sign a contract, wire money, or partner with a company, you should verify they actually exist and are in good standing. Most people Google the company name and hope for the best. That's not due diligence.
Here are 5 free ways to verify a business using public records that most people don't think to check.
1. Secretary of State Business Filings
Every LLC and corporation must register with the Secretary of State in the state where they're formed. The filing is public and tells you:
- Whether the company is Active, Dissolved, or Suspended
- When it was formed
- Who the registered agent is
- Who the officers and directors are
If someone claims their company was "founded in 2015" but the state filing shows incorporation in 2024, that's a red flag.
Where to check: Each state has its own portal. Texas SOSDirect, New York DOS, California bizfileOnline. For multi-state searches, tools like US Business Entity Search can query several states at once.
2. SEC EDGAR (For Public Companies)
If the company claims to be publicly traded, you can verify it on SEC EDGAR. Every public company files quarterly (10-Q) and annual (10-K) reports. You can also check:
- Whether the company has been subject to SEC enforcement actions
- Insider trading activity
- The actual financial health (not just what they tell you)
Where to check: EDGAR Company Search or search programmatically.
3. IRS 990 (For Nonprofits)
If an organization claims nonprofit status, their Form 990 is public. It shows:
- Total revenue and expenses
- Executive compensation (if someone claims to run a "charity" but pays themselves $500K, you'll see it here)
- Board member names
- Program descriptions
Fraudulent nonprofits are surprisingly common. The 990 is how you spot them.
Where to check: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer or the IRS 990 search tool.
4. Federal Contract Awards (USASpending)
If a company claims to do government work, you can verify it on USASpending.gov. Every federal contract, grant, and loan is published with:
- Award amount
- Awarding agency
- Period of performance
- Contract description
This is useful for verifying government contractors before subcontracting to them.
Where to check: USASpending.gov or search federal spending data.
5. FDIC BankFind (For Financial Institutions)
If you're dealing with a bank or financial institution, verify they're FDIC-insured. BankFind shows:
- Whether the institution is active
- FDIC certificate number
- Assets and deposits
- Branch locations
- Regulatory history
If a "bank" isn't in BankFind, it's not FDIC-insured -- and that should concern you.
Where to check: FDIC BankFind or search programmatically.
Why This Matters
Fraud, misrepresentation, and shell companies are everywhere. But the US has surprisingly good public records infrastructure -- the data is there, most people just don't know where to look.
These five checks take 10-15 minutes manually. If you're doing them at scale -- vetting a list of vendors, screening potential partners, or building a compliance pipeline -- automated tools can reduce that to seconds per entity.
What verification steps do you include in your due diligence process?
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