Business Records Search Education and Training

Learn how to run state business records searches to uncover the truth about companies

Corporation records available publicly through a local Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business Bureau, a Secretary of State, a State Accountancy Board, a State Corporation Commission or a State Registrar of Contractors allow you to run a background check on a company. Learning how to run such checks effectively is important. However, most business records search education and training is self-directed.

There is no formal business records search education and training in the form of certification, schools or even classes. Most professionals who learn how to conduct such searches do so on their own. However, there are some online guides and tutorials that may be useful. When learning how to conduct your first searches, consider the following:

1. Find lists and step-by-step "how to" articles to learn the basics.
2. Work through tutorials and online guides about small business records and public records.
3. Practice your own searches as hands-on training in using simplified databases.
   

 

Look for step-by-step explanations of running business records searches

There are a number of good step-by-step "how to" style articles online that teach the basics of running a business public record search. These articles are essentially a checklist that allow you to learn about every step you need to take to run an effective and thorough investigation.
Try: Polson Enterprises has a detailed explanation of how to use public corporate records to research a company. The step-by-step format and the live links make the process very clear. Experian provides a detailed breakdown of what can be learned from business public records. The list is a useful way to understand your search results.

Find tutorials that teach you how to run government business records searches

Some online tutorials go well beyond basic "how to" articles, offering examples of searches and samples of records with thorough explanations. These are a good second step to learning some of the language and understanding the process of corporate records.
Try: HowToInvestigate.com offers an educational guide to running a corporate records search when conducting an investigation of a business. SmartBusinessReports.com provides an example of a company records search and explains each element of a business report. The US Securities and Exchange Commission offers an online tutorial of its EDGAR system for finding government business records.

Learn by running public business records searches with simple databases

Most professionals who run public records searches of businesses learn to run effective searches simply through hands-on training and practice. There are a number of databases that are designed to make running such searches quite simple. For hands-on training, simply dive in and run a few practice searches using these online databases.
Try: PublicRecordsWire is a visual, comprehensive and easy-to-use site that allows anyone to access company business records easily and quickly. PublicRecordFinder.com is a comprehensive and user-friendly business records database that is organized by state.

Copyright © 2011 Business.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

---