West Virginia: business records and regulators
Where to look a business up in West 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
West Virginia records and regulators
Business search
Look a business up in the state's register of businesses.
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.
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 West Virginia
Official lists of the lenders that work in West Virginia. Each opens on its own site, filtered to West 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 West Virginia on our route pages
- Business line of credit: No interest limit applies to a loan taken out mainly for a business, though a loan to an individual rather than a company must be $20,000 or more, and farming does not count as a business for this rule. Otherwise the general limit on a written contract is 8% a year, though other laws allow some lenders more. West Virginia's regulated consumer lender license is needed only for loans above 18% a year to individuals for personal, family, household or farming purposes, of $45,000 or less or secured by land. Other business loans need none. (West Virginia Code 47-6-11: certain business debts exempt from usury laws; West Virginia Code 47-6-5: legal rate of interest; agreements in writing; West Virginia Code 46A-1-102: definitions (consumer loan, regulated consumer loan); West Virginia Code 46A-4-101: authority to make loans)
- Equipment loans and finance agreements: No interest limit applies to a loan taken out mainly for a business, though a loan to an individual rather than a company must be $20,000 or more, and farming does not count as a business for this rule. Otherwise the general limit on a written contract is 8% a year, though other laws allow some lenders more. West Virginia's regulated consumer lender license is needed only for loans above 18% a year to individuals for personal, family, household or farming purposes, of $45,000 or less or secured by land. Other business loans need none. (West Virginia Code 47-6-11: certain business debts exempt from usury laws; West Virginia Code 47-6-5: legal rate of interest; agreements in writing; West Virginia Code 46A-1-102: definitions (consumer loan, regulated consumer loan); West Virginia Code 46A-4-101: authority to make loans)
- Online business loans: No interest limit applies to a loan taken out mainly for a business, though a loan to an individual rather than a company must be $20,000 or more, and farming does not count as a business for this rule. Otherwise the general limit on a written contract is 8% a year, though other laws allow some lenders more. West Virginia's regulated consumer lender license is needed only for loans above 18% a year to individuals for personal, family, household or farming purposes, of $45,000 or less or secured by land. Other business loans need none. (West Virginia Code 47-6-11: certain business debts exempt from usury laws; West Virginia Code 47-6-5: legal rate of interest; agreements in writing; West Virginia Code 46A-1-102: definitions (consumer loan, regulated consumer loan); West Virginia Code 46A-4-101: authority to make loans)
Sources
- West Virginia Secretary of State: Business (Search Business Organizations) · checked October 20, 2026
- West Virginia Secretary of State: UCC Online Filing, Search & Retrieval System · checked October 20, 2026
- WV Division of Financial Institutions: home page · checked October 20, 2026
- West Virginia State Auditor's Office: Securities (the Securities Commission administers the West Virginia Uniform Securities Act) · checked November 1, 2026