Business Registers in Nevada: Secretary of State (SilverFlume)

Overview

Nevada maintains its business registration system through the Nevada Secretary of State, with online services consolidated under the SilverFlume portal. Nevada's registry contains close to 1.8 million entity records and covers corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and nonprofit organizations.

For KYB (Know Your Business) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) professionals, the Nevada Secretary of State provides free online access to basic entity data. However, as with other US states, private companies are not required to file financial statements publicly, and beneficial ownership reporting is handled at the federal level through FinCEN rather than by the state. Nevada requires all registered entities to file an Annual List of Officers/Directors (the state's equivalent of an annual report) and maintain an active state business licence.

Official Registers

Nevada Secretary of State – SilverFlume Portal

The SilverFlume portal is Nevada's primary online business registry, operated by the Secretary of State's office, headquartered at 101 N Carson Street, Carson City. It is the official record for all entities formed or registered to do business in the state.

The registry covers domestic and foreign corporations (for-profit and nonprofit), limited liability companies (LLCs), limited partnerships (LPs), limited liability partnerships (LLPs), cooperative associations, professional associations, and business trusts. Sole proprietorships operating under a fictitious name are registered at the county level rather than with the Secretary of State.

The registry provides the following information per entity:

• Entity name and type
• Nevada Business ID (NV Business ID)
• Status (active, revoked, dissolved, etc.)
• Date of incorporation or registration
• Jurisdiction of formation (for foreign entities)
• Registered agent name, type, status, and address
• Officers and directors (viewable upon request through the entity detail page)

Basic entity searches are available free of charge through the SilverFlume portal. Certified copies and certificates of good standing can be obtained for a fee.

All active entities must file an Annual List of Officers/Directors and a Business License Application with the Secretary of State. Filing is due by the last day of the entity's anniversary month (the month in which the entity was originally formed or registered). Failure to file results in penalties, loss of good standing status, and ultimately administrative revocation or dissolution.

FinCEN – Beneficial Ownership Information (Federal)

Beneficial ownership reporting in the United States is handled at the federal level through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), certain companies are required to report information about their beneficial owners.

Following an interim final rule issued in March 2025, FinCEN exempted all U.S.-domestic entities and U.S. persons from BOI reporting. The obligation now applies only to certain foreign companies registered to do business in the U.S. that do not qualify for one of the enumerated exemptions (covering large operating companies, regulated financial institutions, tax-exempt entities, and others).

BOI data filed with FinCEN is not publicly accessible. Access is restricted to authorized government agencies and, under prescribed conditions, financial institutions performing customer due diligence. There is no public UBO register for Nevada entities equivalent to those found in EU member states.

Registration and Publication Requirements

Corporations

All domestic and foreign corporations (for-profit and nonprofit) must register with the Nevada Secretary of State by filing Articles of Incorporation. At the time of incorporation, an Initial List of Officers/Directors and Business License Application must also be filed. The filing fee for the Initial List is $150, plus $500 for the business licence.

Annual List: Corporations must file an Annual List of Officers/Directors and renew their Business License each year by the last day of their anniversary month. The filing fee is $150 for the Annual List and $500 for the business licence renewal.

Publication requirement: Nevada does not require domestic corporations to publish anything in a newspaper. A newspaper-publication requirement exists only for foreign corporations qualified to do business in Nevada (NRS 80.190), which must publish an annual statement in two issues of a Nevada newspaper each year; non-compliance carries a fine of $100 per month. Domestic corporations, LLCs, and partnerships have no such obligation.

Financial statements: Nevada does not require private corporations to file financial statements with the state. Financial records are accessible only to stockholders owning at least 15% of issued and outstanding shares, under NRS 78.257. Financial statements of private entities are not publicly available.

Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)

Domestic and foreign LLCs must register by filing Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State. LLCs must file an Annual List and maintain a state business licence, with filing due by the last day of the anniversary month. The business-licence fee for LLCs is $200, not the $500 that applies to corporations, so an LLC's total annual cost is $350 ($150 Annual List + $200 licence), versus $650 for a corporation ($150 + $500).

As with corporations, LLCs are not required to file financial statements publicly, and beneficial ownership reporting follows the federal FinCEN regime.

Partnerships

Limited partnerships (LPs) and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) must register with the Secretary of State. These entities are also subject to the Annual List filing requirement. General partnerships operating under a fictitious name register at the county level.

Sole Proprietorships

Sole proprietorships are not registered as formal entities with the Nevada Secretary of State. If a sole proprietor operates under a name other than their own legal name, they must file a Certificate of Assumed or Fictitious Name with the relevant county clerk's office (e.g., Clark County for the Las Vegas area). Sole proprietorships do not appear in the state-level commercial register.

Nevada does not impose a state income tax on sole proprietorships. These businesses are pass-through entities, with income reported on the owner's personal federal tax return.

Nonprofit Corporations and Associations

Nonprofit corporations must register with the Secretary of State and file an Annual List of Officers/Directors. The business licence fee does not apply to nonprofit entities. Cooperative associations file Articles of Association under NRS 81.170–81.270.

Certain organisations are exempt from state business licensing requirements, including government entities, religious organisations, fraternal organisations, and charitable organisations.

Summary Table

With Topograph

Topograph provides access to Nevada business entity data sourced from the Secretary of State's registry.

Company Profile

• Legal name
• Entity Number, the alphanumeric primary identifier
• NV Business ID, the numeric cross-agency identifier shared with the Department of Taxation
• Entity type / legal form
• Registration status
• Formation date
• Annual report (Annual List) due date
• Jurisdiction of formation (for foreign entities)
• Registered agent: name, type, status, and address
• Officers, directors, and managers: name, title, and address

Nevada publishes officers, directors, and managers on the free public detail page, so these are returned by the same lookup that resolves the company profile. Search supports both entity-name and Entity Number / NV Business ID lookups.

Shareholders, beneficial ownership data, activity codes, and financial information are not available; the Nevada registry does not collect or publish them.

Available Documents

Articles of Incorporation (or Articles of Organization for LLCs) are filed at formation but are not freely downloadable; certified copies and certificates of good standing may be ordered from the Secretary of State for a fee. Financial statements are not filed with the state. UBO data is not accessible through state records.

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