Louisiana business entity information, including entity name, type, Charter Number, and registration and file dates, is available through the CORAWeb Commercial Search portal. The database is free, requires no account, and gives you the key details you need for onboarding, compliance, or business transactions. This guide walks through searching the database, locating your Charter Number, identifying your entity type, and reading the dates on your record.

One point of frequent confusion: Louisiana runs two separate systems. CORAWeb handles public entity lookups, while geauxBIZ is an account-required portal used for filing formation documents, annual reports, amendments, reinstatements, and dissolutions. You search on CORAWeb; you file on geauxBIZ.

Summary table: finding your Louisiana entity information

Most of what a filing recipient asks for sits on one CORAWeb detail page, though Louisiana labels two of the fields differently than you might expect.

How to search for Louisiana business entities

Access the Louisiana business entity search on CORAWeb to look up any registered business. The portal offers three search types: entity name; Charter Number, trade registration number, or name reservation number; and officer name or agent name.

Name searches let you enter just the first few letters of the entity name and ignore punctuation, special characters, and specified entity endings such as Incorporated, Corporation, Company, Limited, Limited Liability Company, and Limited Liability Partnership, along with their abbreviations. Charter Number searches work differently: you must enter all 9 characters (8 digits plus 1 letter) to get a result.

Enter your criteria, complete the reCAPTCHA verification, and click "Search." Results display the business name, type, and city, with a Detail button for each match. Click "Detail" to open the full entity profile.

The forms and fee schedule covers processing for filing acceptance: Priority Expedite adds $50, and Expedite adds $30 (current as of August 2026). No official timeline is published for how quickly the public search database reflects a new filing. If you need confirmation that a recent filing appears, contact the SOS Commercial Division at (225) 925-4704. If you don't find your expected entity, try alternate spellings, partial names, or an officer or agent name search.

What you'll see on the entity details page

• Legal entity name, including previous names where applicable

• Entity type (labels observed on CORAWeb include Business Corporation, Limited Liability Company, and Non-Profit Religious Corporation, among others)

• Charter Number (9-character format)

• Registration Date and File Date

How to find your entity number in Louisiana

Your Louisiana entity number, officially called your Charter Number, is a 9-character code (8 digits followed by 1 letter) assigned by the Louisiana Secretary of State. The state's Commercial API Guide defines it as the unique identifier for a charter, with examples like 12345678D.

Where to locate your Louisiana Charter Number

1. Louisiana business search shows it on the entity details page under the label "Charter Number."

2. geauxBIZ annual report filings typically ask for the Charter Number to identify your entity.

3. Certificate validation through the SOS system returns the Charter Number tied to any issued certificate.

4. Your formation certificate and most SOS correspondence carry the same number, so a filed certificate or a notice from the Commercial Division is a valid offline source.

Louisiana entity number format

The Charter Number follows a consistent pattern, with a separate format reserved for trade names.

• Format: 8 digits followed by 1 letter, 9 characters total

• Example: 12345678D

• Note: Trade names, trademarks, and service marks use a different format, 2 digits, a hyphen, and 4 more digits (for example, 50-0001)

How to find your entity type in Louisiana

Louisiana registers several entity types, and CORAWeb prints the state's own label rather than a generic one. Labels observed on live CORAWeb records include Business Corporation, Limited Liability Company, and Non-Profit Religious Corporation, though the full list is longer.

Where to find your Louisiana entity type

1. Louisiana business search shows it in the search results table and on the detail page under "Type," with observed labels including "Business Corporation" and "Limited Liability Company."

2. The certificate of formation, organization, or incorporation names the entity type on the document the Secretary of State issues when the filing is accepted.

3. Annual reports filed through geauxBIZ key each filing to the entity's existing record and type.

How to find your formation date in Louisiana

CORAWeb has no field labeled "formation date." The entity details page shows two dates instead, "Registration Date" and "File Date," so check which one your filing recipient wants.

Where your Louisiana formation date appears

1. Louisiana business search lists "Registration Date" and "File Date" in the basic information section of the entity details page.

2. The certificate of formation, organization, or incorporation typically shows the file date on the certificate itself.

3. Annual report deadlines track the anniversary of formation, not simply the file date on your certificate. Louisiana sets these deadlines by statute: LLCs must file "on or before the anniversary date of organization" under RS 12:1308.1, and corporations must file on or before the anniversary of incorporation under RS 12:1-1621. Discern's Louisiana annual report guide covers the filing process in more detail.

Formation date vs. effective date

Louisiana allows delayed effectiveness, so the file date and the effective date can differ, and the rules depend on entity type. For-profit corporations may specify a delayed effective date up to 90 days after the Secretary of State receives the document, under RS 12:1-123(C). LLCs work differently: under RS 12:1304, articles of organization may be delivered in advance for filing as of a specified date up to 30 days after delivery.

Onboard your entity to Discern

Once you've pulled your business name, entity type, Charter Number, and formation date from CORAWeb, Discern puts them to work. The platform tracks your anniversary-based annual report deadline, pre-fills and submits your Louisiana annual report, and provides registered agent service so state correspondence reaches you.

For teams managing entities beyond Louisiana, Discern combines registered agent coverage, automated annual report filings, and entity management for multi-state portfolios in one platform, so a company with registrations in dozens of states works from a single deadline calendar instead of a spreadsheet per state.

Book a demo with Discern.

Frequently asked questions

Here are answers to the questions that come up most often when looking up Louisiana entity information.

Is the Louisiana business entity search free?

Yes. CORAWeb is free to search and requires no account. You only need an account, through geauxBIZ, if you're filing a document rather than looking one up.

Do I need an account to look up an entity on CORAWeb?

No. CORAWeb searches and entity detail pages are open to the public without registration or login. An account is only required on the separate geauxBIZ portal for filing documents like annual reports or amendments.

What's the difference between "Registration Date" and "File Date" on my entity's record?

CORAWeb displays both, and Louisiana does not use a field labeled "formation date." In most cases these two dates refer to the same filing event, but if your entity specified a delayed effective date, the dates on your certificate may not match your search results exactly, so check both fields against your certificate.

Can I look up an entity through geauxBIZ instead of CORAWeb?

No. geauxBIZ is built for filings, account management, and ongoing compliance actions, not public record lookups. Public entity searches run through CORAWeb only.