California Business Entity API - CALICO Key Required

Search California Secretary of State business entity records through the official CALICO API. Look up LLCs, corporations, and limited partnerships by name or entity number when you provide a CA SOS CALICO API key.

Important: no-key browser scraping is currently blocked by Incapsula on the official CA site. Runs without apiKey return a clear setup item instead of spending minutes on slow empty browser attempts.

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What You Get

Each result is one business entity record.

Field	Type	Description
entityId	string	Official CA entity number (e.g. C4903785)
entityName	string	Registered entity name
entityType	string	LLC, Corporation, LP, etc.
statusDescription	string	Active, Dissolved, Suspended, etc.
filingDate	string	Date of original filing
jurisdiction	string	State or country of formation
agentName	string	Registered agent of service
agentAddress1	string	Agent street address
agentCity	string	Agent city
agentState	string	Agent state
agentZipCode	string	Agent ZIP code
entityStreetAddress1	string	Principal address
entityCity	string	Principal city
entityState	string	Principal state
entityZipCode	string	Principal ZIP code
mailingStreetAddress1	string	Mailing address
mailingCity	string	Mailing city
mailingState	string	Mailing state
mailingZipCode	string	Mailing ZIP code
standingSOS	integer	Secretary of State standing code
standingFTB	integer	Franchise Tax Board standing code
standingAgent	integer	Agent standing code
standingVCFCF	integer	VCFCF standing code
searchTerm	string	Keyword used to find this entity

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Who Uses This

Business bankers targeting newly registered LLCs and corps for business checking accounts, credit lines, and merchant services. Filter by filing date to find entities registered this week.

Insurance agents selling general liability, E&O, and workers' comp to new businesses. Registered agent names and principal addresses are ready for outreach.

Accountants and CPAs prospecting new business clients at tax season. New LLC filings mean new businesses that need bookkeeping, payroll, and tax prep.

Web agencies and SaaS sales teams building targeted prospect lists of California businesses. Search by keyword and filter by filing date to focus on recently formed companies.

Compliance and legal teams verifying that a counterparty is active and in good standing with the Secretary of State and Franchise Tax Board before executing contracts, extending credit, or onboarding a vendor.

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How to Use

Quick Start (CALICO API key required for live data)

1. Get or provide a CA SOS CALICO API key from calicodev.sos.ca.gov.
2. Pass it in the apiKey input field, or set CA_SOS_API_KEY as an environment variable in Actor settings.
3. Configure keyword searches or entity-number lookups.

Search by keyword:

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_CA_SOS_CALICO_API_KEY",
  "searchTerms": ["Acme", "Pacific Holdings"],
  "maxResults": 50
}

Look up specific entities by number:

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_CA_SOS_CALICO_API_KEY",
  "entityNumbers": ["C4903785", "201527510001"]
}

No-key behavior

If apiKey is omitted, the actor exits quickly with a setup item:

{"setupStatus":"requires_ca_sos_calico_api_key","state":"CA"}

Input reference

Parameter	Type	Description
apiKey	string	Required for live CA data. California SOS browser search is blocked by Incapsula.
searchTerms	string[]	Keywords to search in entity names when apiKey is provided
entityNumbers	string[]	Specific CA entity numbers for exact lookup when apiKey is provided
createdDateStart	string	Only return entities filed on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD)
createdDateEnd	string	Only return entities filed on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD)
beginsWith	boolean	When true, only matches names starting with the keyword. Default: false
maxResults	integer	Maximum number of results to return. 0 for no limit

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Cost Estimate

Pricing is pay-per-result with a small run start fee. Check the Apify pricing panel for the current live rate before running.

Run size	What to expect
10 results	Small verification or sample lookup
100 results	Focused California prospect or KYB batch
500 results	Larger lead-list or registry monitoring export
1,000 results	High-volume California business data pull

Runs without apiKey return setup guidance without using browser/proxy mode. CALICO API mode has no proxy costs.

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Output Formats

Results are available in JSON, CSV, and Excel from the Apify dataset viewer. You can also connect the output to downstream tools via the Apify API or webhooks.

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FAQ

Do I need to provide my own API key? Yes for live CA results. The official CA SOS website is currently blocked by Incapsula for automated no-key browser search, so runs without apiKey return a setup item instead of empty browser results.

How many results does a keyword search return? With a CALICO API key: up to 150 per keyword (CA SOS API limit).

What does the standing code mean? Standing codes indicate whether the entity is in good standing with the relevant agency. A value of 1 typically indicates good standing; other values indicate delinquency, suspension, or forfeiture.

Can I look up an entity by its exact CA entity number? Yes. Use the entityNumbers field with the full entity number (e.g. C4903785 or 201527510001).

Is the data real-time? Yes. The actor queries the live CA SOS database on each run.