# California Business & UCC Lien Search - bizfileOnline (`dz_omar/california-bizfile-scraper`) Actor Search the official California Secretary of State bizfileOnline registers. Look up business entities (status, standing, type, registered agent) or UCC liens (financing statements, judgment liens, state and federal tax liens). Filter by type, status and date. No state API key needed. - **URL**: https://apify.com/dz\_omar/california-bizfile-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [FlowExtract API](https://apify.com/dz_omar) (community) - **Categories:** Lead generation, Automation - **Stats:** 3 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per usage This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-usage ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows. 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. - **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use). - **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`. - **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`. - **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`. - **Any other language** — 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 ## California Business & UCC Lien Search — bizfileOnline Scraper Search the **official California Secretary of State** registers at [bizfileOnline](https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov) and get structured JSON back. **Choose your registers — both are selected by default, so one search term returns both sides:** - **Business entities** — every corporation, LLC and LP in California, with status, standing, entity type, formation date and the **registered agent for service of process**. - **UCC liens** — filings recorded against businesses: **financing statements** (who lent against a company's assets), plus **judgment liens**, **state and federal tax liens** and **attachments**, each with debtor, secured party, file date and lapse date. So one search for a company tells you both *what it is* and *who has a claim on it*. Untick either register to search only the other. The business side has a second mode of its own, exactly as the registry's own Business tab does: **publicly traded disclosure** filings, searchable by director or officer, board composition, compensation range and auditor. **Free to run. No login, no California state API key, nothing to configure.** ### Why this Actor Most business-registry tools only let you *look up a company you already know*. This one also lets you **discover**, because it exposes the registry's own advanced filters: - Every **LLC formed in California last month** → entity type + formation-date range - Every **federal tax lien filed in a date range** → lien type + date range - Every **suspended entity** whose name contains a keyword → status filter ### What data can this California business search scraper extract? #### Business entity record ```json { "register": "business", "name": "TESLA MOTORS CLUB LLC", "entityNumber": "201313510058", "status": "Terminated", "standing": "Good Standing", "entityType": "Limited Liability Company - CA", "formedIn": "CALIFORNIA", "initialFilingDate": "05/13/2013", "registeredAgent": "CALIFORNIA CORPORATE AGENTS, INC.", "jurisdiction": "California, USA", "searchQuery": "Tesla Motors" } ``` #### UCC lien record ```json { "register": "ucc", "fileNumber": "187651573053", "uccType": "Notice of Federal Tax Lien", "status": "Active", "filingDate": "06/01/2018", "lapseDate": "07/01/2028", "debtorName": "TESLA ENERGY OPERATIONS INC A CORPORATION", "debtorLocation": "SAN MATEO, CA", "securedPartyName": "IRS/OHIO", "securedPartyLocation": "CINCINNATI, OH" } ``` #### With **Full profile**, every record also carries its addresses ```json { "principalAddress": "25 ISABELLA AVE, ATHERTON, CA 94027", "mailingAddress": "25 ISABELLA AVE, ATHERTON, CA 94027", "agentType": "Individual", "agentName": "Weina Yu", "agentAddress": "25 ISABELLA AVE, ATHERTON, CA 94027", "standingSos": "Good", "standingFtb": "Good", "standingAgent": "Good", "standingVcfcf": "Good", "statementOfInfoDueDate": "07/31/2028" } ``` and every UCC party gets a street address — often naming an **individual** behind a trading name that the search rows never show: ```json { "debtorsDetailed": [ { "name": "ARAUJO, FAUSTO", "address": "625 S RIVERSIDE AVE STE P, RIALTO, CA 923767072" }, { "name": "LA CASA DEL TACO", "address": "625 S RIVERSIDE AVE STE P, RIALTO, CA 923767072" } ], "securedPartiesDetailed": [ { "name": "EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT", "address": "722 CAPITOL MALL, SACRAMENTO, CA 95814" } ] } ``` #### With **Download documents**, the filings themselves come back as PDFs ```json { "documentCount": 3, "documents": [ { "type": "Statement of Information", "number": "BA20261385813", "date": "7/4/2026", "key": "document-business-BA20261385813", "contentType": "application/pdf", "bytes": 129548 } ] } ``` Each `key` is a record in the run's **key-value store**, under the *Filing documents* collection. Records are written to the dataset **as they are extracted**, so a large search starts filling in immediately instead of arriving in one batch at the end. ### How to use it Search a company in both registers — this is the default: ```json { "searchQueries": ["DEL TACO"] } ``` Only the lien side: ```json { "registers": ["ucc"], "searchQueries": ["DEL TACO"] } ``` One exact entity, by its California entity/file number: ```json { "searchQueries": ["3814816"] } ``` Every LLC formed in January 2024 — a new-business lead list: ```json { "searchQueries": ["California"], "entityType": "3", "filedFrom": "2024-01-01", "filedTo": "2024-01-31" } ``` Only federal tax liens on the UCC side: ```json { "searchQueries": ["Tesla"], "uccType": "2174" } ``` Full profiles with addresses, ready for outreach: ```json { "searchQueries": ["DEL TACO"], "detailLevel": "full", "maxResultsPerQuery": 25 } ``` ### What the UCC lien types mean | Lien type | What it tells you | |---|---| | **Financing Statement** | A lender claims a security interest in the business's assets. Normal borrowing — and it names the lender. Lapses 5 years after filing unless renewed. | | **Judgment Lien** | Someone sued the business and won, then recorded the judgment against its property. | | **State Tax Lien** | California claims unpaid state taxes. | | **Federal Tax Lien** | The IRS claims unpaid federal taxes. | | **Attachment** | A court froze assets while a lawsuit is still pending. | Only the first is routine. The other four are distress signals. ### Input options | Section | Fields | |---|---| | **Top** | `registers` — Business entities, UCC liens, or both (default). `searchQueries` — company names, entity numbers, or debtor / secured-party names | | **Business entity filters** | Mirrors the registry's own Business tab in the same order: `matchType` (Contains / Starts with), `searchType` (Entity Information / Publicly Traded Disclosure), `entityType` (35 types), `entityStatus` (24 statuses), `filedFrom`, `filedTo` — then the disclosure-only fields: corporation bankruptcy and legal proceedings, director / officer first, middle and last name, board composition, compensation range, the five Disclosures checkboxes (Shares, Options, Bankruptcy, Fraud, Loans to Directors) and independent auditor | | **UCC lien filters** | `uccStatus`, `uccType` (All, Financing Statement, Judgment Lien, State Tax Lien, Federal Tax Lien, Attachment), `uccFiledFrom`, `uccFiledTo`, `uccLapseFrom`, `uccLapseTo` | | **Limits & connection** | `detailLevel`, `maxResultsPerQuery`, `proxyConfiguration` | Every dropdown lists its options in the registry's own order and wording, so a filter you know from the site is where you expect it. Search terms are limited to **49 characters** — the registry's own search box truncates anything longer, so a longer term would quietly run a different search than the one you typed. #### Detail level — the main speed lever | Level | What you get | Cost | |---|---|---| | **Search results only** | The registers' own columns | Fastest — one request per search | | **+ Full profile** | Addresses, agent record, all four standings, SOI due date | One extra request per record | | **+ Filing history** | Every filing, its document link, and field-level change history | Two extra requests per record | | **+ Download documents** | Each filing fetched as a PDF into the key-value store | Slowest — a single company can have ten or more filings | Keep `maxResultsPerQuery` low when downloading documents. `maxResultsPerQuery` applies **per register**, so `10` returns up to 10 business records *and* up to 10 UCC records for each search term. ### Why does this Actor need a residential proxy? The registry refuses datacenter addresses — verified against both plain datacenter egress and Apify's datacenter proxy. So runs go out through a **US residential proxy** by default, and you should leave that setting alone. The Actor is free; you pay only your own Apify platform and proxy usage. ### What can you do with California registry data? - **KYB / KYC onboarding** — verify an entity exists, is active and is in good standing before you onboard it. - **Registered-agent intelligence** — get the agent for service of process, for legal, compliance or sales work. - **Lending and credit risk** — check existing liens before lending, and see who already has a claim on the collateral. - **Distress and collections** — tax liens, judgment liens and attachments identify businesses in trouble, and full profiles name the individuals behind them. - **Competitive intelligence for lenders** — a fresh financing statement shows a company just borrowed, and names its current lender. - **Lead generation** — pull newly formed companies by type and formation month, with mailing addresses. ### Frequently asked questions **Is it legal to scrape California business records?** California business-entity and UCC records are **public records**. This Actor reads the open public searches at [bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov](https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov) — it does not log in and does not pass any paywall. Use the data lawfully for KYB/AML, due-diligence and B2B purposes. **Do I need a California state API key?** No. The state's own bulk API is key-gated and capped. This Actor reads the open public search, so there is nothing to obtain or configure. **Why did my business search return exactly 500 records?** That is the register's own hard per-term ceiling. The run warns you when a search hits it. Narrow the term, or add an entity type, status or formation-date filter. **Why did I get a message about more than 1,000 UCC filings?** The UCC register refuses to answer a term matching more than 1,000 filings rather than returning a partial list — common words like "Tesla" or "California" hit this easily. Your business-entity results are unaffected. Search a fuller name, or narrow the UCC side with a lien type, status or date range. **Why did the UCC side get skipped entirely?** Either you unticked it under *Which registers to search*, or the term is shorter than 3 characters — the UCC register's own minimum. Shorter terms search the business register only. **Why is my search term limited to 49 characters?** Because the registry's own search box truncates anything past 49 characters. Accepting a longer term would run a silently different search than the one you typed. **How do I search publicly traded disclosures?** Set *Search type* to *Publicly traded disclosure search* in the business filters. That switches the business side to the disclosure register and enables the director/officer, board-composition, compensation and auditor fields. **How do I get only active LLCs?** Set `entityType` to *Limited Liability Company - CA* and `entityStatus` to *Active*. **Where do downloaded documents go?** Into the run's key-value store, under the *Filing documents* collection. Each dataset record lists its documents with the key to look up. **How much does it cost?** The Actor is free. You pay only your own Apify platform usage and residential proxy traffic. *** ### Support Found a bug, or need a field this Actor does not return yet? Open an issue on the Actor's **Issues** tab and it will be looked at. ### Legal & compliance This Actor collects publicly available business-registry information only. You are responsible for using the extracted data in compliance with applicable laws, including data-protection rules in your jurisdiction, and with the source's terms. *** *Built and maintained by **FlowExtractAPI**.* # Actor input Schema ## `registers` (type: `array`): Business entities returns companies — status, standing, type, registered agent. UCC liens returns filings recorded against businesses — financing statements, judgment liens, state and federal tax liens. Both are selected by default, so each search term returns both sides. ## `searchQueries` (type: `array`): Company names, California entity numbers, or debtor / secured-party names. The registry itself truncates anything past 49 characters, so terms are limited to that. UCC search additionally needs at least 3 characters. ## `matchType` (type: `string`): How the search term is matched against names. ## `searchType` (type: `string`): Entity Information Search uses Entity type, Status and the filing dates. Publicly Traded Disclosure Search uses the disclosure fields below instead — entity type and status do not apply to it. ## `entityType` (type: `string`): Entity Information Search only. Return only this entity type. ## `entityStatus` (type: `string`): Entity Information Search only. Suspended and Forfeited entities have lost the right to do business in California. ## `filedFrom` (type: `string`): Entity Information Search: initial filing date. Publicly Traded Disclosure Search: disclosure filing date. The registry uses one date range for both, switching its label with the search type. ## `filedTo` (type: `string`): Entity Information Search: initial filing date. Publicly Traded Disclosure Search: disclosure filing date. ## `corporationBankruptcy` (type: `boolean`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. ## `corporationLegalProceedings` (type: `boolean`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. ## `officerFirstName` (type: `string`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. Search by individual name — enter at least 2 characters. ## `officerMiddleName` (type: `string`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. Middle name or initial. ## `officerLastName` (type: `string`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. Search by individual name — enter at least 2 characters. ## `femaleDirectors` (type: `string`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. ## `underrepresentedDirectors` (type: `string`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. ## `compensationFrom` (type: `string`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. Lower bound of the reported compensation range. ## `compensationTo` (type: `string`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. Upper bound of the reported compensation range. ## `disclosureShares` (type: `boolean`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. ## `disclosureOptions` (type: `boolean`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. ## `disclosureBankruptcy` (type: `boolean`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. ## `disclosureFraud` (type: `boolean`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. ## `disclosureLoansToDirectors` (type: `boolean`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. ## `auditorName` (type: `string`): Publicly Traded Disclosure Search only. Search by auditor name — enter at least 2 characters. ## `uccStatus` (type: `string`): A financing statement lapses five years after filing unless the lender renews it. Active (unlapsed) returns only filings still in force. ## `uccType` (type: `string`): Return only this filing type. A Financing Statement means a lender claimed a security interest in the business's assets — normal borrowing, and it names the lender. A Judgment Lien means someone sued and won; State and Federal Tax Liens mean unpaid California or IRS tax; an Attachment means a court froze assets while a lawsuit is still pending. Those four are distress signals. ## `uccFiledFrom` (type: `string`): Keep only liens recorded on or after this date. ## `uccFiledTo` (type: `string`): Keep only liens recorded on or before this date. ## `uccLapseFrom` (type: `string`): Keep only liens that lapse on or after this date. ## `uccLapseTo` (type: `string`): Keep only liens that lapse on or before this date — useful for finding liens about to expire. ## `detailLevel` (type: `string`): Search results only is fastest — one request per search. Full profile opens each result for its addresses and full agent record (one extra request per record). Filing history adds every filing and its document link (two extra per record). Download documents also fetches each filing as a PDF into the key-value store — this is by far the slowest option, since a single company can have ten or more filings; keep the result cap low when using it. ## `maxResultsPerQuery` (type: `integer`): Applied to each register separately, so 10 returns up to 10 business records AND up to 10 UCC records per search term — 20 in total when Both is selected. Leave at 0 to keep every match. The business register returns at most 500 matches per term; UCC refuses terms matching more than 1,000 filings. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): The registry refuses datacenter addresses, so runs go out through a US residential proxy. Leave this as it is unless you are supplying your own residential proxy — turning it off will make the registry reject the run. ## Actor input object example ```json { "registers": [ "business", "ucc" ], "searchQueries": [ "DEL TACO", "Tesla Motors", "3814816" ], "matchType": "0", "searchType": "1", "entityType": "", "entityStatus": "", "corporationBankruptcy": false, "corporationLegalProceedings": false, "femaleDirectors": "99", "underrepresentedDirectors": "99", "disclosureShares": false, "disclosureOptions": false, "disclosureBankruptcy": false, "disclosureFraud": false, "disclosureLoansToDirectors": false, "uccStatus": "ALL", "uccType": "0", "detailLevel": "basic", "maxResultsPerQuery": 50, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ], "apifyProxyCountry": "US" } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `records` (type: `string`): Every business entity or UCC lien filing extracted by this run, in the order the registry returned them. # 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 = { "searchQueries": [ "DEL TACO" ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ], "apifyProxyCountry": "US" } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("dz_omar/california-bizfile-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 = { "searchQueries": ["DEL TACO"], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"], "apifyProxyCountry": "US", }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("dz_omar/california-bizfile-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}") for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "searchQueries": [ "DEL TACO" ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ], "apifyProxyCountry": "US" } }' | apify call dz_omar/california-bizfile-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,dz_omar/california-bizfile-scraper" } } } ``` The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer ` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations). ## OpenAPI specification Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/qz9WOoaWOue53UXXL/builds/uyJYu54FGtCzeTiI5/openapi.json