The Mississippi Secretary of State runs business filings from its Business Services and External Affairs division, whose page leads to the business search, the trademark and service mark search, UCC filing and search, and registration of nonprofits and registered agents. Every company on the register carries a Mississippi business ID number, and that number is what the office asks for at almost every step after the search, from filing an annual report to ordering a certificate, so it is worth writing down when a record is found.
The office notes on its frequently asked questions that a company FEIN and telephone number are redacted from the forms shown on its website and that Social Security numbers are never requested, while each record carries an NAICS industry code so that people researching a company can see what it sells. For Mississippi businesses by place, see the Mississippi county pages.
- April 15: the annual report deadline for corporations and LLCs, with nonprofits due May 15.
- Zero dollars: a domestic LLC annual report, against two hundred fifty for a foreign LLC.
- 2026 law: an administrative process now dissolves company filings confirmed as fraudulent.
- Online only: every annual report must be filed through the online portal.
Written by SearchSystems.net from Mississippi's own systems: the Mississippi Secretary of State Business Services and External Affairs page, the Secretary of State page on the Business Filing Fraud Prevention Act, the Declaration of Wrongful Business Filing form, the Secretary of State annual reports page, the business documents filing fee schedule, the page on ordering certificates and copies, the business services frequently asked questions, the BizSchemeSOS tips sheet, the Start Your Business in Mississippi guide, each read on October 15, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
When your name is on a company you never formed
The office says the most common complaint it receives is that a person home address and other information has been used for a newly formed entity they know nothing about. Its answer, the Business Filing Fraud Prevention Act passed in the 2026 session, creates an administrative process for dissolving businesses that have been confirmed fraudulent. The victim completes the Declaration of Wrongful Business Filing in full, signs it, has it notarized and certifies under penalty of perjury that its statements are true.
For a researcher, the law changes how to read a Mississippi record. A company that appears at a residential address with an individual named as organizer may be exactly what it looks like, or it may be one of the fakes the act was written for, and a later administrative dissolution on the record can be the trace of a successful declaration. The FAQ adds that filing documents on a company without authority is a misdemeanor under sections 79-4-1.29 and 79-11-123 of the Mississippi Code, enforced by the Attorney General, and that the office keeps a record of the filer who submitted any document.
Annual reports and their deadlines
Under Mississippi law, all profit corporations, nonprofit corporations and LLCs operating in the state must file an annual report, and the annual reports page sets the calendar. Reports open on January 1. Corporations and LLCs must file by April 15, and nonprofits by May 15, a requirement that a 2024 law extended to every nonprofit. All reports must be filed online using the business ID number, and the form comes pre-filled with what the system already holds. A corporation that fails to file is administratively dissolved, and for the other types the office says failure may lead to it.
The fee schedule holds an odd price gap. A domestic corporation annual report costs twenty five dollars and a nonprofit status report twenty five, a Mississippi LLC annual report costs nothing at all, and a foreign LLC annual report costs two hundred fifty dollars. The office notes that business filing fees are set in statute by the legislature and are not under its control.
Coming back from administrative dissolution
The FAQ explains that choosing reinstatement in the online system brings a notice that all corporations and certain LLCs must first obtain a tax clearance letter from the Mississippi Department of Revenue. The letter is requested through the Department of Revenue site with the company taxpayer information, arrives by email, and is attached electronically to the reinstatement filing with the business ID of the dissolved company.
Reinstatement costs fifty dollars for a domestic corporation or LLC and one hundred for a foreign corporation or foreign LLC, so a reinstated corporation on the record has had to produce that tax clearance first.
Certificates and copies
Certificates of fact, certificates of good standing or existence and certified copies of any business filing are ordered online, after logging in and choosing order documents, according to the order documents page, and most are available immediately upon payment. For anything that cannot be found, the office takes calls at 601-359-1633 or 1-800-256-3494. Payment online can be by card, e-check or an ACH account set up with a form mailed or emailed to the office.
Out of state companies registering in Mississippi must attach a certificate of good standing from their home state, dated within the last six months according to the office start up guide.
The price list for forming and changing a company
Articles of incorporation and an LLC certificate of formation each cost fifty dollars, as do articles of amendment and correction. A name reservation costs twenty five, and so does a fictitious business name registration, amendment, withdrawal or assignment. A foreign corporation pays five hundred dollars for a certificate of authority if it is a profit company and one hundred if it is a nonprofit, while a foreign LLC registers for two hundred fifty.
A registered agent change of address is ten dollars per company, and the FAQ explains that one change by the agent updates every company profile naming that agent. A resignation of registered agent is free. The office start up guide adds that a foreign company must register if any of its employees will be in the state for a total of thirty days in any given year.
Letters dressed as state forms
The office BizSchemeSOS tips sheet, written with the National Association of Secretaries of State, counts more than 260,000 small businesses in Mississippi, more than 33,000 formed in the past year, and says one of the most frequent and successful schemes is the misleading solicitation mailed to new businesses. Such letters look like a government form, demand a fee, cite specific Mississippi statutes, set a response date, carry a customer ID number no agency issued, and may quote the company real business ID and formation date from the public record, with fine print saying the sender is not affiliated with any government agency.
A letter that appears to come from the office but asks for payment to a third party is likely a scheme, and owners can check first with CustomerService@sos.ms.gov or 601-359-1633.
The FAQ adds the built in defense. Every filing on a company triggers an email to the company address and to every other email tied to the profile, so an owner hears when someone else files against the record. All filed or rejected documents come back by email, normally within twenty four hours when a filing needs staff review.
Questions about looking up a Mississippi business
Related Mississippi records
On this site, the Mississippi public records law guide covers the state records act, the Mississippi court records guide covers suits involving a company, the Mississippi property records guide covers the chancery clerks, and the Mississippi county pages list each county office.