Pennsylvania Entity (File) Number Lookup

What is a Pennsylvania entity (file) number?

When a business forms or registers in Pennsylvania, the Department of State gives it an entity number. The Annual Report form (DSCB:15-146) asks for “the entity/file number of the association issued by the Department.” You will also see it on your filed documents and in the official business search.

Where else to find it

• Your filed Certificate of Organization, Articles of Incorporation or Foreign Registration Statement
• Any filing acknowledgment from the Department of State
• The official Pennsylvania business search

Leading zeros

State data stores the number as 10 digits with leading zeros (for example 0001234567). Our search accepts it with or without the zeros.

The entity number is not your federal EIN and not your Pennsylvania tax account ID — those come from the IRS and the Department of Revenue.

Where the results come from

Business records come from the Pennsylvania Department of State’s Registered Businesses in PA data, published on data.pa.gov. It lists active registered associations and is refreshed about once a month, so a business formed or changed in the last few weeks may not appear yet. The official, real-time record is the Pennsylvania business search.

Deadlines and fees are calculated from the Department of State’s Annual Report rules for your entity type and today’s date in Pennsylvania.

Official sources

• Pennsylvania Department of State — Annual Reports
• Pennsylvania Department of State — Business and Charities Scam Alerts
• Annual Report form DSCB:15-146 (PDF)
• 15 Pa.C.S. Chapter 1 — § 146 (annual report)
• Pennsylvania business search (official)
• Registered Businesses in PA dataset (data.pa.gov)

Last verified against these sources on September 15, 2026.