Which Business Records Are Public in the US

A local contractor can show up in nine kinds of government records. This note lists each one, who keeps it, what it can tell you and what it cannot. The examples are from Florida.

Florida law says all state, county and city records are open to inspection and copying by any person.¹ Some parts are kept back by specific laws, and this page notes where that matters. Most of the records below can be searched online for free.

State Professional License Boards

In Florida, the Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB) licenses plumbing contractors, along with general, roofing, air conditioning and other trades.² The board belongs to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR).

The DBPR licensee search lets you look up a license by name, license number, city or county, or license type.³ A code starting with C means a certified contractor who may work anywhere in the state. A code starting with R means a registered contractor limited to certain local areas.² Our note on Florida contractor licenses decodes the letters.

A license record does not show every complaint. Florida keeps a complaint and its investigation confidential until 10 days after probable cause is found.⁴ A clean record can still have a case in progress.

The license number should also appear in other places. Florida requires it on each permit application, on each permit, and in every advertisement, bid and contract.⁵

Secretary of State and Sunbiz

Florida's Division of Corporations runs Sunbiz. Its search covers corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, fictitious names, general partnerships, judgment liens and federal lien registrations.⁶ You can search by name, officer or registered agent, FEI/EIN, ZIP code or street address.⁶

A Florida corporation's annual report lists its principal office, mailing address, and the names and business addresses of its directors and principal officers.⁷ The report is due between January 1 and May 1 each year.⁷ A corporation that has not filed by the third Friday in September can be dissolved administratively.⁸ That is why an "inactive" status on Sunbiz often follows a missed report.

A Sunbiz entry proves a company exists on paper. It says nothing about a trade license. A company and its licensed qualifier are separate records, and you check them in separate places.

Fictitious Name Registrations

A fictitious name is the trade name a business uses instead of its legal name. Florida registers these under the Fictitious Name Act.⁹ A registration lasts 5 years and can be renewed.⁹

The law is plain about what registration means. It is "for public notice only" and does not reserve the name or prove a right to use it.⁹ Its value to you is the link it creates: trade name on one side, legal owner on the other.

County and City Building Permits

Building permits are issued locally, so the record sits with whichever office covers the address. In Pinellas County, the county portal serves unincorporated areas and six cities: Belleair Beach, Belleair Shore, Indian Rocks Beach, Kenneth City, Safety Harbor and Oldsmar.¹⁰ Other cities run their own permit offices. Hillsborough County handles permits, licensing and inspections through HillsGovHub.¹¹

A permit record shows real jobs at real addresses. It can confirm that a contractor pulls permits in your area. Our note on reading a building permit walks through the fields.

Code Enforcement

Code enforcement cases are about a property, not a contractor. In Florida, a certified copy of an order imposing a code fine can be recorded and then becomes a lien on the land.¹² Hillsborough County lists code compliance records among its searchable development records.¹³ These records help most when you are buying a property or checking work done at one.

Court Dockets and Liens

The county clerk of court keeps both court cases and the official records book. The Pinellas Clerk offers a public court records search and a separate official records search.¹⁴ Lawsuits show up in the first. Recorded liens, deeds and notices show up in the second.

One construction document lives there too. Before most improvements start, Florida requires the owner to record a notice of commencement in the clerk's office.¹⁵ Searching official records by a contractor's name can also turn up construction liens filed against or by them.

OSHA Inspection Records

Florida has no OSHA-approved state plan, so federal OSHA covers most private employers there.¹⁷ The OSHA Establishment Search shows inspections by company name, ZIP code, date range and case status.¹⁶

Read these records with care. OSHA warns that entries for open cases can change, especially citation items, after settlements or contests.¹⁶ It also warns that different companies may have similar names, so check the address.¹⁶ No result means no inspection, not a clean safety history.

SAM.gov Exclusions

The federal System for Award Management, run by GSA, holds exclusion records.¹⁸ An exclusion record names entities that are debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, voluntarily excluded or declared ineligible for federal contracts.¹⁸ The public search is on SAM.gov.¹⁹ Few home plumbers hold federal contracts, so a listing is rare. When one appears, it is a serious signal.

The BBB Is Not a Government Record

Better Business Bureau profiles look official, but they are not public records. The BBB states that it "is not a government agency and holds no regulatory power."²⁰ It is a nonprofit, and its ratings and complaint files are its own.²⁰ Treat a BBB page as one private opinion, next to the government records above.

A Short Order for Checking

• Look up the license number in the DBPR search and confirm the name and status.³
• Find the company on Sunbiz and check its status and last annual report.⁶
• If the business uses a trade name, find the fictitious name registration and its owner.⁹
• Search the local permit portal by the contractor's license number for recent jobs.
• Search the county clerk's court and official records by company name.¹⁴
• Note which name appears where, and keep the license number as the common key.

More on hiring steps is in Before You Hire. Terms used here are defined in the contractor glossary.