CONSUMER GUIDE TO CHOOSING YOUR AUCTIONEER WISELY:

3.  VISIT THE LOUISIANA SECRETARY OF STATE'S
 CORPORATION DATABASE

 

3.  Visit the Louisiana Secretary of State's Corporation Search Webpage

Two primary benefits exist from looking up a company on the Louisiana Secretary of State's Corporation Database.

First, it enables you to see how long the company has been in business and whether or not it is in good standing withe the Secretary of State's Office.  The only requirement for remaining in good standing is an annual submission of an up-to-date listing of physical address and company executives, all of which is done online after the Secretary of State's Office mails a postcard providing a Username and Password.  The cost to remain in good standing is a mere $27 a year (including the online filing fee).  If a company isn't willing to spend $27 (or take the minimal initiative) to ensure its OWN listing is up to date on the central database in which all Louisiana companies should be registered, how much less likely is that company to be concerned about YOUR business affairs? 

 

The second benefit to looking up information on the LA Secretary of State's corporation database is that you can run searches for individuals' names (3rd search option on above link).  Doing so may uncover companies which may be the REAL entity through which an entity runs its operations.  An auction company's name may merely serve as a d/b/a (doing business as) and the primary name of the company is actually different from the d/b/a company name.  Obtaining the primary company name is MUCH more likely to yield a productive search of the courthouse background search discussed previously.

 

 

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