How to Find the Owner of a Business: 9 Free and Paid Methods

There's no single national register of business owners in the US. Ownership records sit with 50 separate state business registries and thousands of county offices, and since August 2026, FinCEN no longer collects beneficial ownership information from US companies at all, according to Morrison Foerster's summary of the final rule. Finding out who owns a business is still very doable, but you need to know where to look for each type of business.

This guide covers nine methods, from free state registry searches to data tools, explains what each one can and can't tell you, answers the common questions about LLC ownership, and shows how sales teams find business owners at scale.

The quick answer

To find the owner of a business, start with the official record and work outward:

Search the state business registry where the company is registered.
For sole proprietors, check county "doing business as" (DBA) records.
Use OpenCorporates to search registries across many states and countries at once.
For UK companies, check Companies House, including the register of people with significant control.
For public companies, read SEC filings.
Check business directories such as the Better Business Bureau.
Look at the company's website, Google Business Profile and LinkedIn.
Check licensing records for regulated trades and professions.
Use a data platform when you need owners and contact details for many businesses.

Where to find a business owner by business type: state registry, county DBA records, Companies House, SEC EDGAR, public sources or Spona — Where to look for a business owner, by type of business. Source: SPONA

1. Search the state business registry

Every corporation, LLC and limited partnership in the US registers with a state agency, usually the Secretary of State. Its online search shows the legal name, status, formation date, registered agent and, depending on the state and entity type, the officers, directors, managers or members listed in formation documents and annual reports.

Examples of free state searches include California's bizfile Online, New York's Department of State public inquiry, Florida's Sunbiz and the Texas Comptroller's taxable entity search.

Two things to keep in mind. First, the registered agent is often a service company or lawyer, not the owner. Second, not every state requires LLC owners to be listed. LLCs formed in New Mexico, Wyoming and Delaware don't need to include member information in their formation documents, as Northwest Registered Agent explains, which makes their owners harder to find.

2. Check county DBA records

Sole proprietors and partnerships often trade under a name that isn't their own, known as a "doing business as" (DBA), assumed name or fictitious business name. These are usually registered with the county clerk or the state, depending on where the business operates, and the records list the owner behind the name. The US Small Business Administration explains how DBA registration works in its guide to registering a business.

3. Use OpenCorporates

OpenCorporates collects company records from official registries in many jurisdictions into one searchable database. It's useful when you don't know where a company is registered, or when you want to see every company connected to a person. Always confirm details on the official registry, because aggregated records can lag behind the source.

4. For UK companies, use Companies House

UK companies must list their directors and their people with significant control, meaning individuals who own or control more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, among other conditions. Both are public on the Companies House search service, and the UK government explains the rules in its guidance on people with significant control. This makes the UK one of the easiest places to find out who owns and controls a company.

5. For public companies, read SEC filings

Publicly traded companies file detailed reports with the SEC, including names of executives and directors and, in many cases, major shareholders. You can search them for free on SEC EDGAR. For public companies, "owner" usually means the shareholders, so the people you're looking for are more often the executives.

6. Check business directories

Directories such as the Better Business Bureau often list a company's management or principal contacts, along with years in business and complaint history. Industry associations and chambers of commerce also publish member directories that sometimes name owners.

7. Look at the website, Google Business Profile and LinkedIn

Small businesses often name their owners openly. Check the "About" page, team page, press coverage and blog. On Google, owners frequently reply to reviews under their own name. On LinkedIn, search the company and filter for titles such as owner, founder, managing director or CEO.

8. Check licensing records

Many regulated businesses need licenses that are searchable online, such as contractors, restaurants, salons, healthcare practices and real estate firms. State licensing boards and local business license lookups often show the license holder, who is frequently the owner.

9. Use a data platform for scale

The methods above work well for one business. They don't scale to hundreds. If you're building a list of business owners for sales or partnerships, a data platform finds the businesses, identifies the right person and adds verified contact details in one step. That's the use case covered in the section on Spona below.

Are the owners of an LLC public record?

It depends on the state. Many states list LLC managers or members in formation documents or annual reports, which are public. Others only require a registered agent and an organizer, so the actual owners may not appear anywhere public. Some owners also use a lawyer or service company as a nominee to keep their names private.

Is an LLC lookup free?

Searching a state business registry is usually free. Ordering certified copies of documents, certificates of good standing or detailed filings can cost a fee, which varies by state.

What about FinCEN beneficial ownership data?

FinCEN's beneficial ownership database was never open to the public, and it no longer covers US companies. Under the final rule FinCEN announced on August 11, 2026, domestic companies and US persons are exempt from beneficial ownership reporting, and FinCEN said it will remove previously reported information about them. Only certain foreign companies registered to do business in the US still report.

How to find a business owner's contact information

Finding the owner's name is only half the job if you want to reach them. To get contact details:

Start with the business itself. Many small businesses list the owner's email on their website or respond through a contact form.
Check LinkedIn for the owner's profile and any public contact details.
Use an enrichment tool to find a verified business email or direct phone number.
Verify before you reach out. Business owners change, and old details bounce.

Use business contact details for business purposes, and follow the rules for outreach. In the US, commercial email must comply with CAN-SPAM, and in Europe, GDPR applies to the personal data of business owners, especially sole traders.

How sales teams find business owners at scale

For sales teams selling to small and local businesses, the owner is usually the decision-maker, and finding them one by one doesn't scale. A repeatable process looks like this:

Four steps for finding business owners at scale: define, build the list, find the owner and verify contact details — How sales teams find business owners at scale. Source: SPONA

Define the businesses you want, such as dental practices in Chicago or independent restaurants with more than ten years in business.
Build the business list from directories, maps or a data platform.
Identify the owner or decision-maker for each one.
Verify contact details and remove closed or duplicate businesses.
Reach out with something relevant to that business, such as a recent review, expansion or new location.

Our guides to Google Maps scrapers and local lead generation cover the list-building side in more depth.

How Spona finds business owners for you

Spona turns that process into a chat. Its brick-and-mortar data aims to cover every active local business, from retail and food service to trades, healthcare and tourism, and its AI finds the businesses and the people behind them across 40+ data sources.

Describe the businesses in plain words, such as "family-owned bakeries in Bavaria" or "restaurants more than 10 years in business", and Spona scores each lead against your criteria.
Verified contact details come with every lead, updated in real time.
No manual registry searches. Spona validates each lead across its digital footprint, so you don't have to cross-check registries, directories and websites yourself.
Clear pricing. Credits cost $0.008 to $0.01, so bulk leads come to about $0.01 to $0.09 each and qualified, scored leads about $0.32 to $4.00, with free samples before you buy.

Spona's customers report results on the phone: Qonto saw an 80% higher connect rate and Kaiko a 65% higher connect rate after switching to Spona data. For more on building local lists, see our guide to building a lead list.

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FAQ

How do you find out who is the owner of a company?

Search the official business registry where the company is registered, such as the Secretary of State in the US or Companies House in the UK. For sole proprietors, check county DBA records, and for public companies, check SEC filings.

Can you see the owners of an LLC?

Often, but not always. Many states list LLC managers or members in public filings, while states such as New Mexico, Wyoming and Delaware don't require member information in formation documents.

How do I find out who owns a business in California?

Search California's bizfile Online, which shows entity details and, for many entities, officers or managers from the statements of information they file.

How do I find out who owns a business in Florida?

Search Sunbiz, Florida's Division of Corporations website, which shows officers, managers and registered agents listed in annual reports.

How do I find out who owns a business in Texas?

Use the Texas Comptroller's taxable entity search for registration details and public information reports, or search Texas Secretary of State records for formation documents.