Virginia: business records and regulators
Where to look a business up in Virginia, 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
Virginia records and regulators
Business search
Look a business up in the state's register of businesses.
Virginia State Corporation Commission: Clerk's Information System (CIS) (opens in a new tab)
CIS asks visitors to accept its cookies before it opens.
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.
CIS can be searched by debtor name or file number, with images of filings since October 1, 2003. A search by the Clerk's Office on its Information Request Form (UCC11) costs $7, and $6 more to certify it.
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 Virginia
Official lists of the lenders that work in Virginia. Each opens on its own site, filtered to Virginia 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 Virginia on our route pages
- Business line of credit: The general limit on interest is 12% a year, but a business that borrows $5,000 or more cannot use the usury laws to avoid paying, so the interest and fees agreed in the contract stand. Virginia's consumer finance license covers only loans to individuals for personal, family, household or other nonbusiness purposes, not business loans. (Code of Virginia 6.2-303: contracts for more than the legal rate of interest; Code of Virginia 6.2-317: loans of $5,000 or more for business or investment purposes; Code of Virginia 6.2-1501: license required (consumer finance companies))
- E-commerce and payment platform finance: Providers and brokers of sales-based financing, which includes financing repaid as a percentage of revenue, must register with the State Corporation Commission. For a business based in Virginia, a provider must disclose, with each offer of $500,000 or less, the amount, the finance charge, the total repayment, the estimated number of payments, other fees, any collateral or security interest, and any payment to a broker. Confessions of judgment are not allowed. (Code of Virginia, Chapter 22.1: Sales-Based Financing Providers (sections 6.2-2228 to 6.2-2238))
- Equipment loans and finance agreements: The general limit on interest is 12% a year, but a business that borrows $5,000 or more cannot use the usury laws to avoid paying, so the interest and fees agreed in the contract stand. Virginia's consumer finance license covers only loans to individuals for personal, family, household or other nonbusiness purposes, not business loans. (Code of Virginia 6.2-303: contracts for more than the legal rate of interest; Code of Virginia 6.2-317: loans of $5,000 or more for business or investment purposes; Code of Virginia 6.2-1501: license required (consumer finance companies))
- Merchant cash advance: Providers and brokers of sales-based financing must register with the State Corporation Commission. For a business based in Virginia, a provider must disclose, with each offer of $500,000 or less, the amount, the finance charge, the total repayment, the estimated number of payments, other fees, any collateral or security interest, and any payment to a broker. Confessions of judgment are not allowed, and court cases must be brought in Virginia. (Code of Virginia, Chapter 22.1: Sales-Based Financing Providers (sections 6.2-2228 to 6.2-2238))
- Online business loans: The general limit on interest is 12% a year, but a business that borrows $5,000 or more cannot use the usury laws to avoid paying, so the interest and fees agreed in the contract stand. Virginia's consumer finance license covers only loans to individuals for personal, family, household or other nonbusiness purposes, not business loans. (Code of Virginia 6.2-303: contracts for more than the legal rate of interest; Code of Virginia 6.2-317: loans of $5,000 or more for business or investment purposes; Code of Virginia 6.2-1501: license required (consumer finance companies))
- Revenue-based finance: Providers and brokers of sales-based financing, which includes financing repaid as a percentage of revenue, must register with the State Corporation Commission. For a business based in Virginia, a provider must disclose, with each offer of $500,000 or less, the amount, the finance charge, the total repayment, the estimated number of payments, other fees, any collateral or security interest, and any payment to a broker. Confessions of judgment are not allowed. (Code of Virginia, Chapter 22.1: Sales-Based Financing Providers (sections 6.2-2228 to 6.2-2238))
Sources
- Virginia State Corporation Commission: Business Home (Clerk's Information System) · checked November 1, 2026
- Virginia State Corporation Commission: Uniform Commercial Code (UCC / federal tax lien search) · checked November 1, 2026
- Virginia State Corporation Commission: UCC/Tax Lien Searches, Copies & Certificates (fees) · checked November 1, 2026
- Virginia State Corporation Commission: Bureau of Financial Institutions (state-chartered banks, consumer finance companies and other licensed lenders) · checked November 1, 2026
- Virginia State Corporation Commission: Securities & Retail Franchising (registration, and a data search of registered firms and securities) · checked November 1, 2026