Understanding the Data
Organization Types
Searching the Database
About Data Screens
Field Name Index
Code Index
Feedback
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| Important
Basic Information |
| Background:
The Corporations database was originally created from paper
records and microfilm in 1985. At that time, only
corporations, limited partnerships, business trusts and
voluntary associations filed with the Secretary of State.
The mainframe database was designed around the data needed for
those company types.
As the laws
changed for these companies and other company types were
authorized, some necessary modifications were made. For
minor changes in law, additional data was added to fields
intended for other uses. As a result, the process of
conversion to a new database has been complicated. Also,
data has been imported from other databases (dissolution status,
unincorporated non-profit associations).
Please understand
that old data (entered before January 16, 2000) may not conform
exactly to the design of the new database. The description
of each of the screens will give more details.
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Reliability:
The only official, certifiable records of a company filed
with the Secretary of State are the actual documents filed with
the Secretary of State. No database is a perfectly
accurate representation of data gathered through paper
documents. Typographical errors, omissions, and misplaced data
occur through human error. The Secretary of State and staff are
committed to creating and maintaining the most accurate records
possible. We encourage users to notify us by e-mail of any
information which appears to be incorrect. However, please
remember that company names, officers, agents, and other records
can only be changed to match original filings of the company
signed by an authorized person. (See below for issues
relating to conversion.)
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Updates:
The data accessible to users through the Internet is a copy
of the original data which is created once every 24 hours.
Records added to the system one day will appear the following
day.
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Database:
The data is stored in a MS SQL database.
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Data
Conversion: The mainframe data was downloaded for
conversion on January 15, 2000. Information from all
documents filed with the Secretary of State after that date were
entered into the new database.
Data from other sources, including a dissolutions status
database, unincorporated non-profit associations, trademarks and credit
service organizations,
have also been converted.
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Ongoing
Resolution of Conversion Problems: It is possible that some
problems with conversion have not been completely
resolved. Therefore,
we encourage users who expect to find a record of a
company formed before January 16, 2000 and do not locate that record to
report any
missing records identified to us via e-mail to pbarker@wvsos.com
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INCLUDED:
The following types of business organizations authorized by West
Virginia Code file with the Secretary of State and are included
in the Business Organizations Database. All types include
both domestic companies (organized in WV) and foreign companies
(organized in another state or country) which are authorized to
do business in West Virginia.
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| Corporations |
For-profit
and non-profit corporations authorized. |
| Limited
Liability Companies |
For-profit
only; also includes Professional Limited Liability Companies for
specific authorized professions. First authorized in 1993,
with major change in basic requirements effective July 1, 1996. |
| Limited
Partnerships |
For-profit
only. |
| Limited
Liability Partnerships |
For-profit
only; first authorized July 1, 1996. |
| Business
Trusts |
For-profit
only. |
| Voluntary
Associations |
For-profit
or non-profit. |
| Unincorporated
Nonprofit Associations |
Non-profit
only; first authorized July 1, 1997. Companies are only
required to register an agent for process. |
For
more information about company types, see Business
Startup.
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| ALSO
INCLUDED: Other specific registrations required for
conducting certain types of business or pertain to the use of a
company name but do not represent the basic company structure,
are included in the database. For more information, see
Other Filings. |
| Credit
Service Organizations |
Individuals
or companies arranging first mortgage loans or making other
offers to arrange credit. |
| Insurance
Companies |
Insurance
companies register with the West Virginia Insurance Commission,
which files the principal office and agent of process
information with the Secretary of State. |
| Purchasers
of Future Payments |
Individuals
or companies offering to purchase the right to future income,
such as from structured court settlements or lottery winnings. |
| Trade
Names |
Names
under which any of the authorized company types do business in
West Virginia. No company registered with the Secretary of
State is allowed to do business under any name not registered as
a trade name. |
| Trademarks |
Some
trademarks or service marks consisting of words are included in
the database to assist in preventing new companies from
registering using a trademarked word or phrase. A separate
database indexing registered trademarks is maintained by the
Secretary of State. |
| Name
Reservations |
Names
reserved for future use for a 120-day period, renewable one time
only. |
| Name
Registrations |
Names
of companies currently chartered in another state but not yet
authorized to do business in WV. One-year, renewable
registrations protect the company name for future use in WV. |
| For
more information, see
Other Filings. |
| NOT
INCLUDED: Some company types are not required to register
with the Secretary of State. |
| Sole
Proprietorships |
Businesses
owned entirely by one individual may become authorized to do
business in the state by obtaining a business franchise license
with the Department of Tax and
Revenue. |
| General
Partnerships |
General
partnerships may register only with Tax and Revenue, although
they may elect to register with the Secretary of State and some
general partnership records are included in the database. |
| Private
Investigators & Security Guards |
The
Secretary of State licenses private investigators and security
guard and companies performing those services. However,
license information is maintained separately. Call (304)
558-6000 for more information. |
| Charitable
Organizations & Professional Fundraisers |
The
Secretary of State registers charitable organizations and
professional fundraisers. However, this registration
information is maintained separately. For more
information, see Charitable
Organizations. |
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| SEARCHING
BY COMPANY NAME |
The only search available through the Internet program is using
part of the company name. Try these examples to get used
to different ways of entering searches.
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From
beginning |
If you
know the company name you are seeking, the quickest way to
search is to type at least the first part of that name and click
Search. Remember, this will only find records for which the
text matches exactly, including spacing and punctuation.
Examples:
- Typing FIRST
locates nearly 500 companies beginning with that word.
It is better to narrow your search by adding the next word.
- Typing FIRST
AMERICAN locates over twenty different companies which
begin with those words.
- Typing H&G
locates one company, but H & G locates five others, and
H. & G. three more.
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From
key word |
If you
know a distinctive word which is in the name, but not the whole
name, start by typing %, then the distinctive word. In
searching, the % stands for "anything."
Examples:
- Typing in %WILDERNESS
locates six records which have that word in the middle and
another 32 which start with that word.
- Typing %OSTEOPATHIC
locates 16 records, only two of which start with that term.
- Be sure not to
use too short or too common a word. Typing %AUTO
would produce over 2000 records and the program will force
you to narrow your search.
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| SEARCHING
BY OFFICER NAME |
Secretary
of State staff can prepare an officer name search report by
performing special queries on the main database. The fee
for an officer search is $5, plus $.50 per page for all pages
over 5. Payment is required before search results can be
given.
If you want the
name searched in several ways, such as Harold E. Vast, Harold
Vast, and Harry Vast, please specify that in your request.
Persons
requesting an officer search should remember that the Tax
Department accepts annual reports which do not report corporate
officers required by law. Many companies do not include
listings of officers.
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| OTHER
SPECIAL SEARCHES |
Other
specially designed searches which will require some programming
may be requested. If staff can perform those searches, the
fee will be $25.
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| ENTER |
From
the initial screen, click "Enter" to begin searching
for a company.
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| SEARCH |
Enter the name or portion of a business name on which you wish
to search. (See "Searching the Database" for
instructions.) Click "Submit" to start the
search. Click "Reset" to erase the previous
search name and enter a new name.
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| RESULTS |
The
names of the companies resulting from your search will come up
in the results screen. After you locate the appropriate
name, double click to review the record details.
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COMPANY
RECORD & RECORD DETAIL SCREENS |
Each
company record consists of a group of detail screens. When
you select a company from the Search Results screen, the record
will come up first at the Main screen. At the center of the
screen is a menu box where you can select the specific type of
information you are seeking. These buttons will take you
to other screens containing that information. CAUTION:
PLEASE READ BELOW FOR DETAILS BEFORE INTERPRETING THE SCREEN
DATA.
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FIELD
NAMES AND CODES |
See
the Alphabetical Index of Field Names if you are uncertain what
a field name means. See the Index of Field Codes if you
don't know what the data for the company means.
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| MAIN |
The
main screen contains basic information about the company,
including its type and class, formation date and other
information. Records entered before 1/16/2000 will usually
not contain a charter county or control number because those
fields did not exist on the old database.
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| ADDRESSES |
Different
types of companies are required to provide different types of
addresses. Our old database only had room for certain
ones, so most of the mailing addresses will be blank.
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| OFFICERS |
Again,
different company types will have different officer
titles. The officers are usually updated annually on the
annual report. However, many companies do not properly
report officers so many are blank. Incorporator or
Organizer names are part of the permanent company record and
cannot be changed. Other officers may be updated using the
Officer and Agent Change form. See Keeping
the Company Record Curent for more information.
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| DBAs |
If
a company is authorized to operate under a trade name or foreign
DBA, that name will be listed here. If you click from a
trade name (TN) in the search results screen, the name of the
company you will get on the main screen will not be the trade
name but the official legal name of the company. The
screen shows the first date the company was allowed to use the
trade name.
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| NAMES |
This
screen will contain a record of each name change occurring after
1/16/2000. The record here is generated during the process
of creating the name change record. However, on older name
changes the record of name changes will appear in the AMENDMENTS
section.
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| MERGERS |
This
screen will contain a record of each merger occurring after
1/16/2000. the record here is generated during the process
of creating the merger record. However, on older mergers,
the record of the merger will appear in the AMENDMENTS section.
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| AMENDMENTS |
This
screen contains all amendments to the company charter, including
name changes and mergers.
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| ANNUAL
REPORTS |
This
screen is a new feature to record and reflect the years for
which the company has filed an annual report. Only corporations,
limited partnerships and limited liability companies are
required to file annual reports. For converted data,
including 1999 LLC reports and 2000 corporation reports, an
attempt was made to move annual report years to this table from
other fields where the date had previously been stored.
Action on a corporation record for failure to file the annual
report is handled by the Tax Department and will not be based on
this data. Action on an LLC for failure to file the annual
report will be based on a combination of records from this and
from the original database.
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| DISSOLUTIONS |
This
screen is a new feature which was separately maintained in an
unrelated database. It show the status of an application
for dissolution or withdrawal, primarily by corporations, for
which a process of approvals by other state agencies is
required. No records will be found here for corporations
which completed the dissolution process prior to 3/15/00, when
this data was converted.
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| RESULTS |
Clicking
this button will return the user to the list of companies
resulting from the original search.
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| NEW
SEARCH |
Clicking
this button will return the user to the search page and the
cursor to the box where the new search criteria may be entered.
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| LOGOFF |
Click
this button to log off. Please log off when you do not
intend to search for an extended period. In order to allow
efficient use of the system, users who cease activity in the
database for over fifteen minutes will have to reenter the
database. |
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REPORTING
PROBLEMS |
DATA:
If you identify data which appears to be incorrect, please report
the detail to pbarker@wvsos.com
and be sure to give the company name and the specifics of the
problem with the data.
SYSTEM
ACCESS: If you have difficulty accessing
records, see Troubleshooting
for possible answers to the problem and how
to report problems.
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QUESTIONS
ABOUT BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS DATA |
You
may find the answers to many of your questions on our main
Business Organizations page. To ask a specific question,
write business@wvsos.com.
For questions about the data system, email
webmaster@wvsos.com.
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QUESTIONS ABOUT
SERVICE OF PROCESS DATA |
You
may find the answers to many of your questions on our main
Service of Process page. To ask a specific question, write
process@wvsos.com.
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COMMENTS |
Forward
your questions or comments by email to pbarker@wvsos.com
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