Business Registers in Idaho: Secretary of State

Overview

Idaho business registration runs through the Secretary of State (SOS), which keeps the official record of entities formed or registered to do business in the state. Filings and searches go through the SOS online system, SOSBiz.

Idaho is one of the few states that charges nothing for the annual report. Corporations, LLCs, and nonprofits all file an annual report, due by the end of the entity's anniversary month, at no fee. The filing is still mandatory: Idaho administratively dissolves entities that miss it, even though there is no charge. Because the report is free and tied to the formation month, compliance is high and the registered agent and management details on the public record tend to stay current.

Idaho has no state-level beneficial ownership register. At the federal level, the Corporate Transparency Act (2021) created a BOI registry run by FinCEN, but a March 2025 interim final rule lifted the obligation for all U.S. companies and U.S. persons. Only foreign reporting companies remain subject to it.

For KYB and AML work, the free SOS search returns an entity's status, filing number, registered agent, mailing and principal address, and the governors, meaning the directors, managers, or members named in its filings. Idaho collects this management data for corporations and LLCs alike and refreshes it through the annual report.

Official Registers

Secretary of State (SOSBiz Business Search)

The SOS maintains the official register through the SOSBiz business search. It records domestic and foreign corporations, LLCs, nonprofit corporations, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships, along with assumed business names.

Search and access. The business search is free and needs no account. Search by entity name or filing number. Each record shows the entity name, filing number, type, status, registration date, registered agent name and address, mailing and principal address, and the governors reported in the entity's filings.

Filing number. Idaho assigns each entity a filing number at registration, which is the primary identifier across the register and the key most lookups run on.

Filings. Formation documents go in online through SOSBiz or by mail. A Certificate of Organization for a domestic LLC and Articles of Incorporation for a domestic corporation each cost $100 when filed online or as a typed form. Nonprofit Articles of Incorporation cost $30. A handwritten paper form adds a $20 manual processing fee, so Idaho effectively prices in a discount for typed and online filings.

Certificates. Certificates of Existence and certified copies of filed documents are available from the SOS for a fee.

Registration and Publication Requirements

Corporations

All domestic and foreign for-profit corporations must register with the SOS and maintain a registered agent at an Idaho address.

Annual report. Corporations file an annual report, due by the end of the anniversary month of registration, at no charge. The report confirms the principal and mailing address, the registered agent, and the directors and officers, all of which become part of the public record.

Failing to file leads the SOS to administratively dissolve a domestic corporation or revoke a foreign corporation's authority to do business. The entity must then be reinstated to return to good standing.

Financial statements. There is no public financial disclosure requirement.

LLCs

All domestic and foreign LLCs must register with the SOS and maintain a registered agent in Idaho. Domestic formation costs $100.

Annual report. LLCs file a free annual report on the same anniversary-month schedule as corporations. The report confirms the managers or members, listed as the entity's governors, along with the registered agent, so LLC management data is part of the public record and refreshed each year.

Nonprofit corporations

Nonprofits file Articles of Incorporation with the SOS at $30 and file a free annual report each year, on the same anniversary-month schedule. Directors and officers appear on the public record. Federal 501(c) status comes from the IRS; the state filing does not grant it.

Limited partnerships and LLPs

Limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships register with the SOS and file annual reports on the anniversary-month schedule. Both must maintain a registered agent in Idaho.

Sole proprietors and general partnerships

Sole proprietors and general partnerships do not register as entities with the SOS and do not appear as registered entities in the business search. A business operating under a name other than the owner's may register an assumed business name, which is held on file separately.

Summary table

With Topograph

Topograph queries Idaho's Secretary of State system to return structured company data for entities registered in the state.

Available Data

Company Profile

• Idaho filing number
• Entity name
• Entity type and state of formation
• Current status
• Registration date
• Registered agent name and address
• Mailing and principal address

Officers and Management

• Officers and directors as reported in the corporation's filings
• Managers and members, listed as governors, as reported in the LLC's filings

Available Documents

Financial statements aren't filed publicly in Idaho. Domestic companies are also exempt from federal BOI reporting following the March 2025 FinCEN rule.

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