# Arkansas Secretary of State Business Search Scraper (`crawlerbros/arkansas-sos-business-search-scraper`) Actor Search Arkansas's free public business entity database by corporation name, fictitious name, registered agent, or exact filing number. Get entity type, status, filed date, registered agent, addresses, and officers. - **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/arkansas-sos-business-search-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community) - **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, Integrations - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $3.00 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Arkansas Secretary of State Business Search Scraper Search the **Arkansas Secretary of State's** free public business entity database (`sos-corp-search.ark.org`). Look up a business by corporation name, fictitious (assumed/DBA) name, registered agent, or exact filing number, and get entity type, status, date filed, principal/registered-agent address, officers, and — for foreign (out-of-state) entities — their home-state address and state of origin. HTTP-only via the public search form — no login required. ### Data Source & Usage Notes **Read this before running a large job.** - **No login, no CAPTCHA under normal use.** The source is a modern server-rendered search application with no account wall observed on GET requests. - **AWS WAF rate-based challenge under sustained heavy traffic.** Arkansas's site sits behind CloudFront + AWS WAF. Confirmed live: dozens of rapid requests within a short window (as happens during intensive QA/testing, not during normal single-search actor runs) can trigger AWS WAF's rate-based rule, which responds with `202 Accepted` + `x-amzn-waf-action: challenge` and an empty body for a few minutes before clearing on its own. This actor paces requests (~0.6s between the search and each detail fetch), automatically retries with a fresh Apify AUTO-proxy session and exponential backoff (up to 4 escalations) on any blocked/challenged response, and fails soft with a clear `Actor.set_status_message` if the challenge persists through every retry. If 3 consecutive detail lookups fail even after full retry, the actor falls back to search-row-only fields for the remaining records (rather than aborting the run) and keeps going until every requested record is delivered. A normal job (one search + its detail fetches) does not generate enough traffic to trigger this rule. - **Conservative by design.** The actor only ever uses Apify's free datacenter (AUTO) proxy group — never a paid residential proxy. - **Not affiliated with the State of Arkansas.** This is an independent third-party tool using the source's own public, no-login search form. #### Why Arkansas instead of California? This actor was originally scoped as a California SOS (`bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov`) business search. Live verification (including from Apify's own cloud infrastructure, with and without the AUTO proxy group, using httpx and a Chrome-TLS-impersonated client) showed the site's underlying `POST /api/Records/businesssearch` search endpoint consistently returns an application-level `403` with no body — while the same infrastructure could load the static SPA shell and a separate detail-by-ID endpoint just fine. Every payload variation tried failed identically, indicating the search endpoint specifically blocks non-browser/datacenter traffic. Per this project's zero-cost reliability policy, the target was replaced with Arkansas's SOS business search — a real, free, no-login, no-CAPTCHA state business registry confirmed live and returning real search results from Apify's cloud infrastructure. ### What this actor does - **4 search modes**, matching every reliable axis Arkansas's own search form exposes: - `byName` — corporation/business name (matches anywhere in the name) - `byFictitiousName` — fictitious/assumed (DBA) name - `byAgent` — registered agent name, optionally narrowed by agent city/state - `byFilingNumber` — exact Arkansas filing number - **Entity type filter** (`corpTypeId`) — all 35 finite entity/filing types the site's own dropdown exposes (corporation, LLC, LP, cooperative, bank, name reservation, etc.), usable on every mode - **Full entity detail** — automatically follows through from search results to each entity's detail record for filing type, dates, addresses, registered agent, and officers - **Officers list** — every listed officer/incorporator with their title - **Foreign-entity home address** — for entities formed outside Arkansas, the out-of-state name/address and state of origin - **Empty fields are omitted** ### What's NOT included (and why) - **Principal address** — Arkansas's own detail record leaves this blank (shown as a dash) for the large majority of entities on file; when populated it is included, otherwise omitted rather than emitted as an empty/sentinel value. - **Filing history** (list of individual filed documents/dates) — the source's public detail view exposes only the current filing snapshot, not a historical timeline. - **Certificate of Good Standing / Franchise Tax payment** — these require a paid transaction on the state's own payment portal; this actor includes the direct informational/payment links (`certificateOfGoodStandingUrl`, `franchiseTaxPaymentUrl`) the source provides, but does not purchase or pay anything. ### Output per entity - `corporationName` - `filingNumber` — Arkansas filing number - `filingType` — e.g. `Domestic Limited Liability Company`, `Foreign For Profit Corporation` - `status` — e.g. `Good Standing`, `Withdrawn`, `Forfeited Charter` - `filedUnderAct` — statutory act reference on file - `fictitiousNames` — list of DBA/assumed names, when on file - `principalAddress` — when on file - `registeredAgentName`, `registeredAgentAddress` - `registeredAgentCity`, `registeredAgentState` — from the search index - `dateFiled` — `YYYY-MM-DD` - `officers` — list of `{name, title}` - `foreignName`, `foreignAddress`, `stateOfOrigin` — for entities formed outside Arkansas - `certificateOfGoodStandingUrl`, `franchiseTaxPaymentUrl` - `sourceUrl` - `recordType: "entity"`, `scrapedAt` ### Input | Field | Type | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | `mode` | string | `byName` | One of the 4 search modes | | `corpName` | string | `GOOGLE` | mode=byName | | `fictitiousName` | string | – | mode=byFictitiousName | | `agentName` | string | – | mode=byAgent | | `agentCity` | string | – | mode=byAgent (optional narrowing) | | `agentState` | string | – | mode=byAgent (optional narrowing; 2-letter US state) | | `filingNumber` | string | – | mode=byFilingNumber | | `corpTypeId` | string | `All Types` | Optional entity-type filter, all modes | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | AUTO proxy | Apify proxy config; always datacenter (AUTO), never residential | | `maxItems` | int | `25` | Hard cap (1–200) | #### Example: search by corporation name ```json { "mode": "byName", "corpName": "GOOGLE", "maxItems": 10 } ```` #### Example: search by fictitious/DBA name ```json { "mode": "byFictitiousName", "fictitiousName": "GOOGLE FI", "maxItems": 10 } ``` #### Example: search by registered agent ```json { "mode": "byAgent", "agentName": "Corporation Service Company", "agentState": "AR", "maxItems": 25 } ``` #### Example: lookup by exact filing number ```json { "mode": "byFilingNumber", "filingNumber": "811066819" } ``` #### Example: entity-type-filtered search ```json { "mode": "byName", "corpName": "WALMART", "corpTypeId": "7", "maxItems": 25 } ``` ### Use cases - **Due diligence** — confirm a counterparty's Arkansas filing date, entity type, and registered agent before contracting - **Compliance & KYC** — cross-check a business's legal entity name and filing number, and its officers - **Registered agent research** — find every entity a specific agent represents in Arkansas - **Foreign-qualification research** — identify out-of-state entities registered to do business in Arkansas and their home jurisdiction - **Company name availability checks** — see what similarly-named entities already exist before choosing a new name ### FAQ **What's the data source?** The Arkansas Secretary of State's own free public business entity search at `sos-corp-search.ark.org`. This actor is an independent third-party tool and is not affiliated with the State of Arkansas. **Is this data official / legally binding?** No. For an official Certificate of Good Standing or certified copies, use the state's paid ordering channels (see the `certificateOfGoodStandingUrl` on each record). This actor returns the same free-tier informational data the public search page shows. **Why did my run return 0 results?** The query genuinely has no match. Arkansas's name search matches anywhere within the name, so try a shorter/broader fragment. **What's `stateOfOrigin`?** For entities formed outside Arkansas ("foreign" entities), this is the two-letter state/country code of their home jurisdiction, e.g. `DE` for a Delaware-incorporated company registered to do business in Arkansas. **How fresh is the data?** Real-time — the search reflects the Secretary of State's database as of the moment of the search. # Actor input Schema ## `mode` (type: `string`): Which search axis to use. ## `corpName` (type: `string`): Business/corporation name to search for, e.g. `GOOGLE`. Matches anywhere in the name. ## `fictitiousName` (type: `string`): Fictitious (DBA/assumed) name to search for, e.g. `GOOGLE FI`. ## `agentName` (type: `string`): Registered agent name to search for, e.g. `CORPORATION SERVICE COMPANY`. ## `agentCity` (type: `string`): Narrow the registered-agent search to a specific city, e.g. `LITTLE ROCK`. ## `agentState` (type: `string`): Narrow the registered-agent search to a specific US state. ## `filingNumber` (type: `string`): Exact Arkansas filing number, e.g. `811066819`. ## `corpTypeId` (type: `string`): Restrict results to a specific entity/filing type. Leave as "All Types" to search every type. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Uses Apify's free datacenter (AUTO) proxy group to get a fresh IP if a request is temporarily rate-limited. Residential proxy is never used by this actor. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Hard cap on emitted records. ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "byName", "corpName": "GOOGLE", "agentState": "", "corpTypeId": "", "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true }, "maxItems": 10 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `entities` (type: `string`): Dataset containing all scraped Arkansas business entity records. # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "mode": "byName", "corpName": "GOOGLE", "agentState": "", "corpTypeId": "", "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true }, "maxItems": 10 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/arkansas-sos-business-search-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "mode": "byName", "corpName": "GOOGLE", "agentState": "", "corpTypeId": "", "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True }, "maxItems": 10, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("crawlerbros/arkansas-sos-business-search-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "mode": "byName", "corpName": "GOOGLE", "agentState": "", "corpTypeId": "", "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true }, "maxItems": 10 }' | apify call crawlerbros/arkansas-sos-business-search-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawlerbros/arkansas-sos-business-search-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Arkansas Secretary of State Business Search Scraper", "description": "Search Arkansas's free public business entity database by corporation name, fictitious name, registered agent, or exact filing number. Get entity type, status, filed date, registered agent, addresses, and officers.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "xFJpgfzTBmxcIMMVU" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/crawlerbros~arkansas-sos-business-search-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-crawlerbros-arkansas-sos-business-search-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~arkansas-sos-business-search-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-crawlerbros-arkansas-sos-business-search-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~arkansas-sos-business-search-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-crawlerbros-arkansas-sos-business-search-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "mode", "proxyConfiguration" ], "properties": { "mode": { "title": "Search mode", "enum": [ "byName", "byFictitiousName", "byAgent", "byFilingNumber" ], "type": "string", "description": "Which search axis to use.", "default": "byName" }, "corpName": { "title": "Corporation name (mode=byName)", "type": "string", "description": "Business/corporation name to search for, e.g. `GOOGLE`. Matches anywhere in the name.", "default": "GOOGLE" }, "fictitiousName": { "title": "Fictitious / assumed name (mode=byFictitiousName)", "type": "string", "description": "Fictitious (DBA/assumed) name to search for, e.g. `GOOGLE FI`." }, "agentName": { "title": "Registered agent name (mode=byAgent)", "type": "string", "description": "Registered agent name to search for, e.g. `CORPORATION SERVICE COMPANY`." }, "agentCity": { "title": "Registered agent city (mode=byAgent, optional)", "type": "string", "description": "Narrow the registered-agent search to a specific city, e.g. `LITTLE ROCK`." }, "agentState": { "title": "Registered agent state (mode=byAgent, optional)", "enum": [ "", "AK", "AL", "AR", "AZ", "CA", "CO", "CT", "DC", "DE", "FL", "GA", "HI", "IA", "ID", "IL", "IN", "KS", "KY", "LA", "MA", "MD", "ME", "MI", "MN", "MO", "MS", "MT", "NC", "ND", "NE", "NH", "NJ", "NM", "NV", "NY", "OH", "OK", "OR", "PA", "RI", "SC", "SD", "TN", "TX", "UT", "VA", "VT", "WA", "WI", "WV", "WY" ], "type": "string", "description": "Narrow the registered-agent search to a specific US state.", "default": "" }, "filingNumber": { "title": "Filing number (mode=byFilingNumber)", "type": "string", "description": "Exact Arkansas filing number, e.g. `811066819`." }, "corpTypeId": { "title": "Entity type filter (all modes, optional)", "enum": [ "", "15", "1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7", "8", "9", "10", "11", "13", "14", "16", "17", "18", "19", "20", "21", "22", "23", "24", "25", "26", "27", "29", "30", "31", "320", "330", "380", "390", "370", "401" ], "type": "string", "description": "Restrict results to a specific entity/filing type. Leave as \"All Types\" to search every type.", "default": "" }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Uses Apify's free datacenter (AUTO) proxy group to get a fresh IP if a request is temporarily rate-limited. Residential proxy is never used by this actor.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": true } }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 200, "type": "integer", "description": "Hard cap on emitted records.", "default": 25 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```