Know what you are buying before you make an offer
Liens, lawsuits, bankruptcies and tax problems are public record. A BizFacts report pulls them on any US business in minutes, so the first time you hear about a problem is not at closing. From $49.
Every BizFacts report checks for...
Live public and commercial records, not estimates and not the seller's word for it.
Identity and registration
- Active or lapsed registration, in every state on file
- Entity type and date of formation
- Registered agent and filing history
- Name matches across jurisdictions
- Tax identification number match
Debt and collateral
- Active UCC-1 filings
- What assets are pledged as collateral
- The secured parties who must be paid at closing
- Federal and state tax liens
- Filing dates and lapse dates
Legal and risk
- Civil litigation and judgments
- Corporate bankruptcy filings
- Government watchlist screening
- Adverse media mentions
- Regulatory and enforcement actions
Standing and context
- Federal tax standing signal
- Industry classification
- Benchmarks for businesses of the same type
- Web and operating presence
- Continuous monitoring, on the bundle tier
What a finding actually costs you
None of these are hypothetical. They are the findings that most often reprice a deal or end one.
The machines you are buying are already pledged to someone else's loan. Unless the lien is released at closing, the lender can come for the assets after you own them.
The entity selling you the business may not be in good standing to sign, which stalls the closing and can invalidate contracts the business relies on.
In a stock sale the claim transfers with the company. Finding it before the offer turns it into a price negotiation instead of a liability you inherit.
Tax liens attach to assets and can take priority over your own lender. This is the single most common reason a financed acquisition falls apart at closing.
Pick your report depth
Every report pulls live public records. Deeper tiers run more searches on the same business.
Fast-Check Report
Instant screening for a first look or vendor check.
- Registration and standing across states
- Government watchlist screening
- Bankruptcy search
- Web presence analysis
Verified Report
The full dossier serious buyers run before an offer.
- Everything in Fast-Check
- Business litigation search
- UCC lien search
- Federal and state tax lien search
- Adverse media screening
- Federal tax standing signal
- Industry classification and benchmarks
M&A Due Diligence Bundle
For acquisitions: the Verified Report plus a 90-day watch.
- Everything in the Verified Report
- 90 days of continuous monitoring
- Real-time alerts on new liens, filings, and status changes
- Investor-ready PDF dossier
The Six Layers
Scroll to walk the report the way a buyer reads it, one layer at a time. Sample data shown.
Corporate Identity & Registration
Active standing, entity type, filing history, registered agent, and cross-state matches.
Corporate Identity & Registration
Active standing, entity type, filing history, registered agent, and cross-state matches.
Legal Risk & Litigation History
Civil lawsuits, judgments, corporate bankruptcies, and watchlist / adverse events.
Debt, Liens & Collateral (UCC)
Active UCC-1 filings, pledged collateral, and the secured parties to pay off at close.
Direct Institutional Tax Liabilities
Federal & state tax debt, lien history, and missing filing / deposit gaps.
Industry Financial Benchmarks
Performance vs. hyper-localized industry averages and peer growth metrics.
Web Presence & Digital Footprint
Website status, online consistency checks, and the business's public digital profiles.
Sample report
Records redacted until purchaseAcme Holdings LLC
Delaware
Overall risk score 80/100. Attention needed on: Debt, Liens & Collateral (UCC).
Corporate Identity & Registration
Active registration on file across 2 jurisdictions.
Legal Risk & Litigation History
No bankruptcies, lawsuits, or watchlist hits found on record.
Debt, Liens & Collateral (UCC)
2 active UCC filings; assets may be pledged as collateral.
Common questions
What is a BizFacts report?
A BizFacts report is a compiled record of what public and commercial data sources hold on a US business: corporate registration and standing, UCC liens, litigation history, bankruptcies, federal and state tax liens, watchlist screening and adverse media. It tells you whether the business a seller describes matches the business that exists on the record.
Why run a report before buying a business?
Because the two things most likely to sink a deal are not in the financials. A UCC lien means the assets you are buying may already be pledged as collateral, and undisclosed litigation can follow the business into your ownership. Both are public record, and both are cheaper to find before an offer than after one.
How long does a report take?
The screening tier returns in minutes. The deeper tiers pull records that some jurisdictions serve slowly, so they can take longer, and the report tells you which layers are still compiling while you read the ones that are done.
Can a seller run a report on their own business?
Yes, and it is one of the most useful things a seller can do before listing. Buyers will pull this record anyway. Finding a stale lien or an incorrect registration status yourself, months before a buyer does, turns a deal-breaker into a piece of admin.
What is not in a BizFacts report?
It is a record search, not an audit. It does not verify revenue, confirm profit, or replace a quality-of-earnings review, and it cannot see anything that was never filed anywhere. Use it alongside financial diligence rather than instead of it.
Do you need the seller's permission?
No. Everything in the report comes from public and commercial records about the business as an entity, not from the owner's personal credit file, so it can be run on any US business you are evaluating.
Buying rather than selling? Start with how to buy a business, or run the buying power calculator.