What is the official business register in Mississippi and how do I search it?

The official register is maintained by the Secretary of State's Business Services Division at corp.sos.ms.gov/corp/portal/c/page/corpBusinessIdSearch/portal.aspx. The search is free, requires no account, and allows lookups by entity name or business ID for domestic and foreign corporations, LLCs, nonprofit corporations, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships.

What is the primary identifier for entities in Mississippi's business register?

Mississippi assigns each entity a business ID at registration, which serves as the primary identifier across the register and is the key identifier for most lookups.

What management and officer information is public for Mississippi entities?

Corporations file officers and directors annually, LLCs file managers and members annually, and nonprofit corporations file directors and officers in their annual reports. All this management data becomes part of the public record and is refreshed each year through the required annual reports due by April 15 for corporations and LLCs, and May 15 for nonprofits.

Business Registers in Mississippi: Secretary of State

Q: Does Mississippi have a state-level beneficial ownership register?

No, Mississippi has no state-level beneficial ownership register. At the federal level, the Corporate Transparency Act created a BOI registry run by FinCEN, but a March 2025 interim final rule lifted the filing obligation for all U.S. companies and U.S. persons, with only foreign reporting companies remaining subject to it.

Overview

Mississippi business registration runs through the Secretary of State (SOS), specifically its Business Services Division, which keeps the official record of entities formed or registered to do business in the state. Filings and searches go through the SOS business portal at sos.ms.gov.

Mississippi is strict about online filing. Business documents, including formation papers and annual reports, are filed through the SOS portal rather than on paper. Its annual report fees also split sharply by where the entity is formed: a domestic LLC files its annual report for free, while a foreign LLC pays $250 for the same filing. That gap is one of the widest of any state and worth noting when assessing out-of-state entities registered in Mississippi.

The recurring filing is an annual report, due by April 15 for corporations and LLCs. Nonprofits file on a later schedule, due by May 15. The report keeps the registered agent, principal office, and the officers or managers current on the public record.

Mississippi 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, business ID, registered agent, principal office, and the officers, directors, or managers named in its filings. Mississippi collects management data for corporations and LLCs alike in the annual report, so it is refreshed each year and kept current on the public record.

Official Registers

Secretary of State (Business Search)

The SOS Business Services Division maintains the official register through its business search. It records domestic and foreign corporations, LLCs, nonprofit corporations, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships.

Search and access. The business search is free and needs no account. Search by entity name or business ID. Each record shows the entity name, business ID, type, status, registration date, registered agent name and address, principal office, and the officers, directors, or managers reported in the entity's filings.

Business ID. Mississippi assigns each entity a business ID at registration, which is the primary identifier across the register and the key most lookups run on.

Filings. Formation documents are filed online through the SOS portal. A Certificate of Formation for a domestic LLC and Articles of Incorporation for a domestic corporation each cost $50. Nonprofit Articles of Incorporation cost $50. Mississippi requires business filings to be submitted online rather than on paper.

Certificates. Certificates of Good Standing 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 a Mississippi address.

Annual report. Corporations file an annual report online, due by April 15. The fee is $25, and it applies to domestic and foreign corporations alike. Unlike LLCs, corporations face no domestic-versus-foreign split here: a foreign corporation pays the same $25 as a domestic one, not the $250 charged to foreign LLCs. The report carries the principal office, the registered agent, and the names of the officers and directors, 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 Mississippi. Domestic formation costs $50.

Annual report. LLCs file an annual report online, due by April 15. A domestic LLC pays no fee, while a foreign LLC pays $250 for the same report. The report confirms the managers or members and 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 $50 and file an annual report each year, due by May 15, a month later than the corporate and LLC deadline. 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 maintain a registered agent in Mississippi. Both file with the SOS to stay in good standing.

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.

Summary table

Entity type	Register with SOS	Annual report	Management data public
For-profit corporation (domestic or foreign)	Yes ($50)	Yes ($25, by April 15)	Officers and directors
Domestic LLC	Yes ($50)	Yes (free, by April 15)	Managers and members
Foreign LLC	Yes	Yes ($250, by April 15)	Managers and members
Nonprofit corporation	Yes ($50)	Yes (by May 15)	Directors and officers
LP / LLP	Yes	Yes	Partners on file
Sole proprietor / general partnership	No	No	No

With Topograph

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

Available Data

Company Profile

Mississippi business ID
Entity name
Entity type and state of formation
Current status
Registration date
Registered agent name and address
Principal office address

Officers and Management

Officers and directors as reported in the corporation's annual report
Managers and members as reported in the LLC's annual report

Available Documents

Document type	Comment
Trade Register Extract	A Topograph-generated extract of the entity's SOS record: business ID, entity name, type, state of formation, status, registered agent, principal office, and the officers, directors, or managers most recently reported.

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

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