How to check an agency's company in public registers
An agency's brand name and the company you sign with are often two different things. Public business registers let you see the company itself: its exact name, where and when it was formed, and whether it is still active. It takes a few minutes and costs nothing in most places. This guide shows where to look, what a register record tells you, and what it cannot tell you.
Brand name vs legal entity
A brand is the name on the website and on social media. A legal entity is the company that signs contracts, sends invoices and can be held to its promises: an LLC, an Inc., a Ltd, a GmbH and so on. One company can run several brands, and a brand can move from one company to another. Your agreement will be with the entity, so that is the name worth checking.
Step 1: Find the entity name on the site
Look in these places, in this order:
- The website footer, often next to the copyright line.
- The terms of service and the privacy policy, which usually name the company responsible.
- A legal notice, imprint or "company information" page, common on European sites.
- The contact page, which sometimes lists a registered address.
Write down the exact name, including the ending (LLC, Ltd, GmbH), and the state or country if the site gives one. If the site names no company, ask the agency for the legal name and the register number before you go further.
Step 2: Search the right register
Registers are run by each jurisdiction, so start with the place the site names.
United States
Each state keeps its own business entity search, usually run by the Secretary of State's office. Search the state the site names; if it names none, Wyoming, Delaware, Florida, New York, California and Texas are common places to start. Results usually show the exact name, a filing number, the formation date, the status and a registered agent. Some states show limited details for free and charge a small fee for more.
United Kingdom
Companies House has a free search covering every UK company. Records show the company number, incorporation date, status, registered office and the filing history.
European Union and Switzerland
Each country runs its own register, for example the Unternehmensregister and Handelsregister in Germany, the KvK in the Netherlands, the e-Business Register in Estonia, and Zefix and the UID register in Switzerland. The EU's e-Justice portal has a "find a company" search that links national registers.
Elsewhere
Many other countries have searchable registers, sometimes split by region or by business zone. In the UAE, for example, mainland companies and each free zone keep separate records. Aggregators such as OpenCorporates can help you find a match across countries, but confirm what you find on the register itself.
What a register record tells you
- The exact legal name and entity type.
- A register or filing number that identifies the company uniquely.
- The formation date.
- The status: active, inactive, dissolved, or a state-specific term. An inactive or dissolved status is worth a direct question.
- A registered agent or registered office, which is the address for legal documents.
Registered agent addresses are often shared by thousands of companies. That is normal and tells you nothing about where a team works. Fan Fusion LLC, the publisher of this site, uses a registered agent address in Wyoming too. Some states, Wyoming among them, do not list owners at all, and OF Agency Rankings does not publish personal names from any register.
What a register record cannot tell you
A register entry shows that a company exists and how it is filed. It says nothing about how well the agency manages accounts, how it treats creators, or whether its results claims are accurate. Treat it as one dated fact, not a rating.
When you cannot find a match
No match is a question, not a conclusion. Common reasons:
- Name variants: "LLC" vs "L.L.C.", "Ltd" vs "Limited", punctuation or spacing. Try a shorter search term.
- Trade names: in the US, a brand may be filed as an assumed name or "doing business as" name, sometimes at county level.
- A different jurisdiction: the company may be registered in another state or country than the one you searched.
- A recent filing that has not reached the search index yet.
Ask the agency for the register number and jurisdiction, then search again.
Step 3: Compare the stated start with public records
Agencies often say how long they have been operating. Three public records give you dates to set beside that statement:
- Company formation date, from the register.
- Domain creation date, from a WHOIS or RDAP lookup. ICANN offers a free lookup tool. Note that a domain may have been registered by someone else before the agency bought it, and a domain that lapsed and was registered again shows the newer date.
- The oldest archived copy of the website, from a web archive such as the Wayback Machine.
A gap between the stated start and the earliest record has ordinary explanations: an agency may have worked before forming a company, operated under another name, or changed domains. It is a reasonable thing to ask about.
The two-minute version
- Find the legal name and jurisdiction in the footer or terms.
- Search that jurisdiction's register for the exact name.
- Note the filing number, formation date and status.
- Check the name matches the one in the contract you are offered.
How OF Agency Rankings scores this
Under rubric v1.0, Company behind the brand gives 10 points when the site publishes both the legal entity name and its jurisdiction, 5 points when it publishes only one of the two, and 0 points when no legal entity is named on its public pages. We also record whether we found a matching register entry, with the register ID and the date we looked.
Dated history gives 10 points when a start date is stated and the earliest public record we found is within 12 months of it, 5 points when the earliest record is more than 12 months later (we show both dates side by side, without comment), and 0 points when no start date is stated. Our own agency is scored by the same rule.
Only records of the agency itself count. An archived copy of a different website or of a domain-for-sale page is not a record of the agency, and neither is a register date we could not see ourselves, for example one shown only after a login. The note on how we apply Dated history has the details.
FAQ
Is a Wyoming or Delaware company a bad sign?
No. Both are common choices for online businesses, including ours. What matters is that the company is named, can be found, and matches the contract.
Does a register entry mean an agency is good to work with?
No. It shows that a company exists. Use it alongside the published terms, the contract and your own questions.
Why does OF Agency Rankings not show owner names?
We publish no personal names on this site, for any agency. We show the entity, the jurisdiction, the register ID and a link to the register so you can look for yourself.