Where new business records come from
What is being read right now
| Class of record | Read on the last run | New on that run | Feeds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business tax certificates and licences | 60,145 | 0 | 1 |
| Health permits | 516 | 0 | 1 |
The kinds of record, and what each one means
These are not interchangeable, and the difference between the first two is the difference between a mailable address and a piece of paperwork.
state filings
a business registering with the state; the address on it is often an agent or a home
city and county licences and tax certificates
a business registering to operate at a street address
health and liquor permits
a kitchen or a bar clearing inspection before it serves anyone
The six questions each record has to answer
- Which office publishes it.
- Where it is, or that nothing open is published.
- Which field carries the date the business started.
- Whether the street address is in it.
- How often it actually changed, read off the publisher’s own stamp.
- What it costs and under what terms.
A state needs 4 of six on at least one record before it gets a page. That is why the list below is 19 states and not fifty: a page that can only say “search the Secretary of State” is not worth a reader’s time.
By state
- California
4 records · 4 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- Florida
3 records · 3 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- New York
3 records · 3 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- Colorado
2 records · 2 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- North Carolina
2 records · 2 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- Ohio
2 records · 2 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- Texas
2 records · 2 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- Georgia
1 record · 1 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- Illinois
1 record · 1 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- Maryland
1 record · 1 published · 5 of six facts on the best documented one
- Massachusetts
1 record · 1 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- Michigan
1 record · 1 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- Minnesota
1 record · 0 published · 4 of six facts on the best documented one
- Nevada
1 record · 1 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- Oregon
1 record · 1 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- Pennsylvania
1 record · 1 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- Tennessee
1 record · 1 published · 5 of six facts on the best documented one
- the District of Columbia
1 record · 1 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
- Washington
1 record · 1 published · 6 of six facts on the best documented one
The states with no page, and why
Three of the states researched do not clear the floor. Naming them is more useful than quietly leaving them out, because the answer a reader needs there is that the record they are looking for is not published openly.
| State | Records checked | Facts on the best documented one |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 1 | 2 of six |
| Utah | 1 | 2 of six |
| Missouri | 1 | 2 of six |
These records are public, and mostly free
Nothing on these pages is held back. A reader who wants the list and nothing else can take the endpoints and read them on a schedule. What is sold is the part after the record: confirming the address against a live listing, dropping what cannot be mailed, working out what kind of business it is, matching it to the trades that sell to that kind, and getting a printed card into the mailbox the same week.
29 of the 30 records are published where anyone can read them, and 29 of those carry a date you can filter on.
See whether the records where you work are running.
Type a city, county or ZIP. If the area is running you can start now. If it is not, you go on the list and hear from us the week it is, and nothing is charged in the meantime.
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