Ohio: business records and regulators
Where to look a business up in Ohio, where to search the UCC filings against it, and the offices that regulate banks, lenders and securities there.
Each link opens the state's own site in a new tab, so what you type there goes to that site, not to us. Some state searches charge a fee or ask you to make an account. Privacy
Ohio records and regulators
Business search
Look a business up in the state's register of businesses.
Ohio Secretary of State: Business Search (opens in a new tab)
The search takes a business name and can be limited to active, cancelled, dead or fraudulent names.
UCC search
Find the UCC filings against a business: the financing statements lenders file to record a lien on its assets, such as a blanket lien.
Ohio Secretary of State: Search UCC Records (opens in a new tab)
The UCC online service searches liens and takes orders for official search certificates.
Banking and lending regulator
Oversees the banks the state charters. Check its site for the lender and broker licenses the state requires.
Securities regulator
The state office for securities offerings, brokers and investment advisers.
Find a lender in Ohio
Official lists of the lenders that work in Ohio. Each opens on its own site, filtered to Ohio where the list allows it.
SBA 504 lenders (Certified Development Companies) (opens in a new tab)
The nonprofit lenders that make SBA 504 loans for property and big equipment, from the SBA's own list, filtered to the state.
SBA microloan lenders (opens in a new tab)
Nonprofit lenders that make SBA microloans of up to $50,000, from the SBA's own list, filtered to the state.
SBA Lender Match (opens in a new tab)
The SBA's own matching tool: you answer a few questions about your business on its site, and two business days later it gives you a list of the lenders interested; some may contact you. It is not a loan application. What you type goes to the SBA and those lenders, not to us.
Certified CDFIs (community lenders) (opens in a new tab)
The CDFI Fund's list of every certified community development financial institution (CDFI): loan funds, banks and credit unions. Download the list and sort it by the State column.
The FDIC's BankFind: search for the banks with offices in the state.
Credit unions (opens in a new tab)
The NCUA's credit union locator. Credit unions lend to their members, so check who can join.
Before you sign with any lender, check it is licensed: see the banking and lending regulator above, and Check a lender or platform. A few national lenders and platforms are named, with how they were chosen, in the provider directory.
State rules for Ohio on our route pages
- Business line of credit: Ohio's general limit is 8% a year, but the parties can agree any rate on a loan of more than $100,000, or on a business loan to a company, partnership, sole proprietor or other business owner, unless it is secured by the borrower's wages or household goods. A lender that is not a bank, savings bank, trust company, savings and loan association or credit union needs a license from the state (a small loan license or one of Ohio's other lender licenses) to be in the business of lending $5,000 or less, whatever the loan is for; so does anyone paid to arrange such a loan. Ohio's credit services organization law, which bars fees for getting someone credit until the credit is extended, leaves out people seeking a business loan, so it does not reach these loans. (Ohio Revised Code 1343.01: maximum rate of interest; Ohio Revised Code 1321.02: license required (Ohio Small Loan Act); Ohio Revised Code 4712.01: Ohio Credit Services Organization Act, definitions)
- Equipment loans and finance agreements: Ohio's general limit is 8% a year, but the parties can agree any rate on a loan of more than $100,000, or on a business loan to a company, partnership, sole proprietor or other business owner, unless it is secured by the borrower's wages or household goods. A lender that is not a bank, savings bank, trust company, savings and loan association or credit union needs a license from the state (a small loan license or one of Ohio's other lender licenses) to be in the business of lending $5,000 or less, whatever the loan is for; so does anyone paid to arrange such a loan. Ohio's credit services organization law, which bars fees for getting someone credit until the credit is extended, leaves out people seeking a business loan, so it does not reach these loans. (Ohio Revised Code 1343.01: maximum rate of interest; Ohio Revised Code 1321.02: license required (Ohio Small Loan Act); Ohio Revised Code 4712.01: Ohio Credit Services Organization Act, definitions)
- Online business loans: Ohio's general limit is 8% a year, but the parties can agree any rate on a loan of more than $100,000, or on a business loan to a company, partnership, sole proprietor or other business owner, unless it is secured by the borrower's wages or household goods. A lender that is not a bank, savings bank, trust company, savings and loan association or credit union needs a license from the state (a small loan license or one of Ohio's other lender licenses) to be in the business of lending $5,000 or less, whatever the loan is for; so does anyone paid to arrange such a loan. Ohio's credit services organization law, which bars fees for getting someone credit until the credit is extended, leaves out people seeking a business loan, so it does not reach these loans. (Ohio Revised Code 1343.01: maximum rate of interest; Ohio Revised Code 1321.02: license required (Ohio Small Loan Act); Ohio Revised Code 4712.01: Ohio Credit Services Organization Act, definitions)
Sources
- Ohio Secretary of State: Business Services (Business Search) · checked November 1, 2026
- Ohio Secretary of State: Business Search · checked November 1, 2026
- Ohio Secretary of State: UCC Online Services (file and search UCC records) · checked November 1, 2026
- Ohio Department of Commerce: Financial Institutions (DFI) · checked October 20, 2026
- Ohio Department of Commerce: Securities · checked October 20, 2026