# Delaware Corporation Entity Search Scraper (`crawlerbros/delaware-corp-entity-search-scraper`) Actor

Search the Delaware Division of Corporations' free public entity database by name or file number. Get file number, formation date, entity kind/type, and registered agent name/address. Conservative rate-limiting; see README before use.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/delaware-corp-entity-search-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, Agents
- **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.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.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/platform/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

## Delaware Corporation Entity Search Scraper

Search the **Delaware Division of Corporations'** free public entity database. Look up a business by name (starts-with match) or exact file number and get the file number, formation date, entity kind/type, residency, and registered agent name and address. HTTP-only via the public `icis.corp.delaware.gov` entity search — no login required.

### Data Source & Usage Notes

**Read this before running a large job.**

- **Terms of Use caution.** The Delaware Division of Corporations' website Terms of Use caution against using automated tools against the site. This is a contractual/policy risk, not a technical restriction enforced by a login wall -- there is no account, API key, or paywall standing between a user and this data. This actor is intended for light, occasional lookups (checking a handful of entities), not bulk harvesting. Please use it accordingly and review the source site's own terms.
- **Conservative by design.** `maxItems` defaults to a small value and is capped at 25. The actor adds deliberate delays between requests and only ever uses Apify's free datacenter (AUTO) proxy group -- never a paid residential proxy -- to spread requests across IPs if one gets rate-limited.
- **The site can rate-limit automated traffic.** Confirmed live: submitting several rapid, repeated searches from the same source IP can trigger the site's own anti-automation state (a disabled search button / CAPTCHA challenge), which blocks further searches from that IP for a period. If a run returns 0 results, this is the most likely cause -- wait and retry with a smaller `maxItems`, or try again later.
- **Not affiliated with the State of Delaware.** This is an independent third-party tool using the source's own public, no-login search form.

### What this actor does

- **Two modes:** `searchByName`, `byFileNumber`
- **Exact-name match option** — `exactMatch` switches `searchByName` from the source's default "starts with" match to an exact whole-name match, using the source search form's own documented quotation-mark syntax
- **Full entity detail** — automatically follows through from search results to each entity's detail page
- **Registered agent info** — name, full address, county, and phone when on file
- **Empty fields are omitted**

### What's NOT included (and why)

- **`status`** (active / inactive / good standing) and tax/filing history are explicitly a **paid add-on** on the source site itself ("Additional Information is available for a fee") -- they are not part of the free entity search this actor uses, and are never scraped.
- **No permalink per entity.** The source site has no bookmarkable URL for an individual entity record (the whole flow is form-postback based); `sourceUrl` points to the search page itself, which is the actual page a user must visit to reproduce the lookup.
- **No entity-type / status / county dropdown filters.** Confirmed against the live search form: the source's free search has exactly two input fields (entity name, file number) and no other filter controls -- there is nothing further to expose without scraping the paid detail area.

### Output per entity

- `fileNumber` — Delaware file number
- `entityName`
- `entityKind` — e.g. `Limited Liability Company`, `Corporation`
- `entityType` — e.g. `General`
- `residency` — `Domestic` (Delaware-formed) or `Foreign` (formed elsewhere, registered to do business in Delaware)
- `stateOfFormation`
- `formationDate` — `YYYY-MM-DD`
- `registeredAgentName`
- `registeredAgentAddress`, `registeredAgentCity`, `registeredAgentCounty`, `registeredAgentState`, `registeredAgentZip`
- `registeredAgentPhone` — when on file
- `sourceUrl`
- `recordType: "entity"`, `scrapedAt`

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `mode` | string | `searchByName` | `searchByName` / `byFileNumber` |
| `entityName` | string | `AMAZON` | Starts-with match on entity name (mode=searchByName) |
| `exactMatch` | boolean | `false` | On: exact whole-name match instead of "starts with" (mode=searchByName) |
| `fileNumbers` | array | – | Exact file numbers to look up (mode=byFileNumber) |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | AUTO proxy | Apify proxy config; always datacenter (AUTO), never residential |
| `maxItems` | int | `5` | Hard cap (1–25) |

#### Example: search by entity name prefix

```json
{
  "mode": "searchByName",
  "entityName": "TESLA",
  "maxItems": 5
}
````

#### Example: lookup by exact file number

```json
{
  "mode": "byFileNumber",
  "fileNumbers": ["5804452"]
}
```

#### Example: exact entity name match

```json
{
  "mode": "searchByName",
  "entityName": "GOOGLE ACCESS LLC",
  "exactMatch": true,
  "maxItems": 1
}
```

### Use cases

- **Due diligence** — confirm a counterparty's Delaware formation date and registered agent before contracting
- **Compliance & KYC** — cross-check a business's legal entity name and file number
- **Startup / legal research** — look up how a company's Delaware entity is structured (LLC vs. Corp)
- **Registered agent research** — see which agent a specific entity uses
- **Company name availability checks** — see what similarly-named entities already exist before choosing a new name

### FAQ

**What's the data source?**  The Delaware Division of Corporations' own free public entity search at `icis.corp.delaware.gov`. This actor is an independent third-party tool and is not affiliated with the State of Delaware.

**Is this data official / legally binding?**  No. For an official Certificate of Status or certified copies, use the state's paid ordering channels (see the source site). This actor returns the same free-tier informational data the public search page shows.

**Why is `entityName` a "starts with" search instead of "contains"?**  That's how Delaware's own search form works -- searching `GOOGLE` returns entities like `GOOGLE FIBER INC.` but not a hypothetical `ALPHABET GOOGLE HOLDINGS LLC`. This actor mirrors the source's own matching behavior exactly.

**How do I get only one exact entity instead of every name that starts with my query?**  Set `exactMatch: true`. The source search form's own help text says "For exact searches use quotation marks" -- this actor uses that same documented syntax internally, so you just flip the toggle instead of typing quotes yourself.

**Why did my run return 0 results?**  Either the name/file number genuinely has no match, or the source's own anti-automation rate limiting kicked in for this run (see Data Source & Usage Notes above). Try again with a smaller `maxItems`, or space out your runs.

**Why is `maxItems` capped so low?**  Every additional result costs an extra request against a source that actively rate-limits automated traffic. Keeping requests few and spaced out is the actor's main defense against getting blocked mid-run.

**What's the difference between `Domestic` and `Foreign` residency?**  `Domestic` means the entity was originally formed in Delaware. `Foreign` means it was formed in another state or country and has registered with Delaware to do business there (or to take advantage of Delaware's registered-agent/franchise system).

**How fresh is the data?**  Real-time -- the search reflects the Division of Corporations' database as of the moment of the search.

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

What to fetch.

## `entityName` (type: `string`):

Case-insensitive "starts with" match against the entity name, e.g. `GOOGLE` matches `GOOGLE FIBER INC.`. This mirrors the Delaware search's own matching behavior -- it is not a substring/contains search.

## `exactMatch` (type: `boolean`):

Off (default) mirrors the source's default "starts with" match, e.g. `GOOGLE` matches `GOOGLE FIBER INC.`. On, the actor submits the name wrapped in quotation marks, which is the Delaware search form's own documented syntax for an exact whole-name match (its help text literally says "For exact searches use quotation marks") -- useful when you know the full legal entity name and only want that one record.

## `fileNumbers` (type: `array`):

Exact Delaware file number(s) to look up, e.g. `5804452`.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Uses Apify's free datacenter (AUTO) proxy group to get a fresh IP if a request is rate-limited by the source. Residential proxy is never used by this actor.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap on emitted records. Kept low by default -- each additional result costs one extra request against a source that actively rate-limits automated traffic.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "searchByName",
  "entityName": "AMAZON",
  "exactMatch": false,
  "fileNumbers": [],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  },
  "maxItems": 3
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `entities` (type: `string`):

Dataset containing all scraped Delaware 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "mode": "searchByName",
    "entityName": "AMAZON",
    "exactMatch": false,
    "fileNumbers": [],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    },
    "maxItems": 3
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/delaware-corp-entity-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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "mode": "searchByName",
    "entityName": "AMAZON",
    "exactMatch": False,
    "fileNumbers": [],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
    "maxItems": 3,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("crawlerbros/delaware-corp-entity-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": "searchByName",
  "entityName": "AMAZON",
  "exactMatch": false,
  "fileNumbers": [],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  },
  "maxItems": 3
}' |
apify call crawlerbros/delaware-corp-entity-search-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawlerbros/delaware-corp-entity-search-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "Delaware Corporation Entity Search Scraper",
        "description": "Search the Delaware Division of Corporations' free public entity database by name or file number. Get file number, formation date, entity kind/type, and registered agent name/address. Conservative rate-limiting; see README before use.",
        "version": "1.0",
        "x-build-id": "jIuNEbir6J9zfkIOd"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/crawlerbros~delaware-corp-entity-search-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-crawlerbros-delaware-corp-entity-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": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/crawlerbros~delaware-corp-entity-search-scraper/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-crawlerbros-delaware-corp-entity-search-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/crawlerbros~delaware-corp-entity-search-scraper/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-crawlerbros-delaware-corp-entity-search-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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": "Mode",
                        "enum": [
                            "searchByName",
                            "byFileNumber"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "What to fetch.",
                        "default": "searchByName"
                    },
                    "entityName": {
                        "title": "Entity name (mode=searchByName)",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Case-insensitive \"starts with\" match against the entity name, e.g. `GOOGLE` matches `GOOGLE FIBER INC.`. This mirrors the Delaware search's own matching behavior -- it is not a substring/contains search.",
                        "default": "AMAZON"
                    },
                    "exactMatch": {
                        "title": "Exact name match (mode=searchByName)",
                        "type": "boolean",
                        "description": "Off (default) mirrors the source's default \"starts with\" match, e.g. `GOOGLE` matches `GOOGLE FIBER INC.`. On, the actor submits the name wrapped in quotation marks, which is the Delaware search form's own documented syntax for an exact whole-name match (its help text literally says \"For exact searches use quotation marks\") -- useful when you know the full legal entity name and only want that one record.",
                        "default": false
                    },
                    "fileNumbers": {
                        "title": "File numbers (mode=byFileNumber)",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "Exact Delaware file number(s) to look up, e.g. `5804452`.",
                        "default": [],
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string"
                        }
                    },
                    "proxyConfiguration": {
                        "title": "Proxy configuration",
                        "type": "object",
                        "description": "Uses Apify's free datacenter (AUTO) proxy group to get a fresh IP if a request is rate-limited by the source. Residential proxy is never used by this actor.",
                        "default": {
                            "useApifyProxy": true
                        }
                    },
                    "maxItems": {
                        "title": "Max items",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 25,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Hard cap on emitted records. Kept low by default -- each additional result costs one extra request against a source that actively rate-limits automated traffic.",
                        "default": 5
                    }
                }
            },
            "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
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```