Research Guides: Public Records: Business Records

Frequently Used Resources

Better Business Bureau Reviews Search
Look up a company's rating and see any customer complaints.
Free Public Records Directory
Search by zip code, state, or by type of record. Note: the blue search bar at the top of this site redirects you to Intelius which will charge a fee for its report. But use the links below it to access wanted data.

Mergent Intellect This link opens in a new window
Look up company profiles to find linked annual reports.
To access First Research industry reports, click on First Research below the main search box and then, the orange Submit button on the left side of the page.
View the Company Searching tutorial for more insights.

EDGAR
Free public access to a company’s financial information and operations by reviewing registration statements, prospectuses and periodic reports filed on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. You also can find information about recent corporate events reported on Form 8-K but that a company does not have to disclose to investors.
ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
Summaries of 2.2 million tax returns from tax-exempt organizations.

Types of Business Records

There are all kinds of reasons the government would want to keep records for businesses:

Professional licenses
Trademark
Inspections
Liens
Bankruptcies
Violations
Incorporation records
"Doing business as" records
Lawsuits

Publicly traded companies are required to file a Form 10-K which gives financial information for the year. Non-profit companies must file Form 990 with their financial information.