Editorial Policy

1. Our Editorial Mission

U.S. business entity records are administered by 51 separate jurisdictions (50 states plus DC, plus a handful of territories), each with its own portal, fee schedule, document-order system, and quirks. The information is public — every Secretary of State publishes it — but it’s spread across 51 inconsistent websites and finding the right one is its own minor research project.

Our editorial mission is to consolidate that into one consistent format, in plain English, kept up to date, and always linked back to the state’s own portal so readers can verify and act. We are an editorial layer that makes the official information easier to find and use.

2. Quality Standards Every State Page Meets

• The state name and agency name match the official agency homepage (Secretary of State, or the alternate agency where applicable — Arizona Corporation Commission, Maryland SDAT, etc.)
• The official business entity search portal URL is verified live and points to the actual search tool
• Search options listed (by name, by ID, by registered agent, by individual where supported) match what the portal actually offers
• Document-order procedure and current fee match the state’s payment page on the date of the last review
• Annual report cadence (annual, biennial, or none) is correct for that state
• UCC search link points to the official UCC search where the SoS administers it (some states delegate UCC administration to other offices)
• “Last reviewed” date appears on every page
• Apostille service link is included where the SoS provides it

3. Source Hierarchy

Not all sources are equal. We rank them and start at the top:

Full hierarchy with named sources, URLs, and how each is used is on the Sources & Methodology page.

4. Verification — Our Seven-Step Process

1. Identify the right state portal. We use the state’s official “Business Entity Search” page as the entry point — not a generic SoS homepage that may have moved.
2. Confirm the agency name. Most states use “Secretary of State”; we cross-check the alternates (Arizona Corporation Commission, Maryland SDAT, Hawaii BREG, etc.) against the agency homepage.
3. Read the portal page in full. Quick scans miss exceptions — we read the actual portal page, including any “system maintenance” or migration banners.
4. Test searches live. We perform sample searches (by entity name and by entity ID) to confirm the portal actually works.
5. Cross-check fees. Where the state page references a fee, we verify against the current fee schedule.
6. Verify external links. Every link to a state portal, statute, or other external source is clicked and confirmed.
7. Editor sign-off. A second editor reviews the page before it goes live.

5. Update Cycles

6. Corrections Process

1. You report it. Email info@sosbusiness-search.org with subject “Correction” and the page URL.
2. We acknowledge. Response within seven business days confirms receipt.
3. We verify. An editor goes back to the state’s official page and confirms the current position.
4. We correct. If confirmed, the page is updated. Substantive corrections — wrong portal URL, wrong fee, wrong annual report cadence — trigger a published correction note dated and described in plain English.
5. We tell you. The reporter is notified that the correction is live, with a link to the updated page.

7. AI Tools and Authorship

• AI tools may be used for first drafts, summarization of state portal pages, formatting consistency, and language polish
• Every state page is reviewed line by line by a human editor before publication
• Portal URLs, fee figures, contact details, and annual-report cadence are confirmed against the state’s own page by a human — never trusted to an AI summary alone
• AI-generated text that turns out to misstate a state’s procedure is corrected through the standard corrections process
• We do not allow AI to invent state-specific filing details, fabricate links, or describe procedures that aren’t in the source

8. Editorial Independence

We do not take payment from any state agency in exchange for editorial coverage. We do not take payment from corporate-formation services, registered-agent providers, UCC filing services, or law firms in exchange for being mentioned, recommended, or omitted on state pages. The site is funded by display advertising on the principle that advertising and editorial are separate functions.

If a formation service or registered-agent provider asked us to remove a critical observation we’d published — for example, that the state’s own filing process is straightforward enough not to require a paid intermediary — we would only do so if the observation was inaccurate.

9. Advertising and Disclosure

• Display advertisements are visually distinct from editorial content and labeled where required
• Affiliate links — where we earn a commission for a referral to a formation, registered-agent, or related service — are disclosed in context per FTC endorsement guidance
• Sponsored content, if it ever appears, is clearly identified as paid-for
• We do not insert affiliate links into the editorial portion of state pages; the official state link always comes first

FTC endorsement guidance: ftc.gov.

10. Conflicts of Interest

• The editorial team is not employed by, contracted to, or financially connected to any U.S. Secretary of State, state agency, or commercial business-data reseller
• The editorial team is not employed by, contracted to, or financially connected to any corporate-formation service, registered-agent provider, or UCC filing service
• We don’t accept gifts, hospitality, or considerations from these organizations in exchange for coverage

11. Sensitive Topics

State business records intersect with several sensitive topics — registered agent privacy concerns, beneficial ownership transparency under the Corporate Transparency Act, name disputes, and small-business accessibility. We try to handle these fairly:

• We don’t moralize about jurisdiction shopping (Delaware vs Wyoming vs home state) — we describe the trade-offs and link the official sources
• Where state portals expose registered agent home addresses, we don’t republish them; we explain the structural fix (use a commercial registered agent) and link the state’s process for changing the agent
• We treat the Corporate Transparency Act / FinCEN BOI regime as separate from state SoS records, because it is — and we link the federal source rather than guess

12. Reader Feedback

Substantive feedback — corrections, suggestions, broken-link reports — is logged and addressed within seven business days. Feedback that is abusive, threatening, or harassing toward our team or other readers is not engaged with and may be reported under our Terms of Service or to relevant authorities.

13. Language, Tone, and Accessibility

• State pages are written in plain English at a level intended to be accessible to a general adult audience
• We spell out acronyms (SoS, LLC, LP, LLP, UCC, BOI, CTA, EIN) on first use in any page
• Where Spanish is the dominant language for a substantial portion of a state’s residents (California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, Puerto Rico), we link the state’s Spanish-language pages where they exist
• We follow our Accessibility Statement, including WCAG 2.1 AA targets