Avoid lapsed fundraising
Catch missed renewals, rejected filings, and expired registrations before an appeal goes out.
Charity registration resource
State Compliance Status for Charitable Registration
Nonprofits soliciting donations across state lines often need to confirm where they are registered and whether filings are current before a campaign, grant deadline, renewal season, or professional fundraiser engagement.
What is a state compliance status check?
A state compliance status check is a lookup in a state charity registry, charitable solicitation database, or official filing search tool. Depending on the state, the result may show current, active, delinquent, expired, suspended, revoked, not registered, not found, or another state-specific label.
These searches are useful before fundraising campaigns, grant applications, renewal work, professional fundraiser onboarding, and donor due diligence. The difficult part is that each state uses its own terminology, and official state databases are not always complete, current, or easy to interpret.
Prepare for due diligence
Grantmakers, donors, platforms, and partners may look for public charity registry records.
Find not found records
Identify states where the organization does not appear under its legal name, DBA, EIN, or registration number.
Official state charity registry links
Use these official state charity registry and filing resources to check charitable registration status, renewal standing, delinquent records, suspended or revoked listings, and not found results. Links use state resources already tracked in the RegiSTAR-US registration guide.
| State | Official registry / search tool | What to look for | Related RegiSTAR-US guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Alabama Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division | Enter your organization's name in the 'Business Name' field. Select 'Charitable Organization' for the 'License/Registration Type' field. You will need to enter the Verification Code to search. | Alabama charitable registration guide |
| Alaska | Alaska Department of Law | Select 'Charitable Organization' under 'Submission Type' in order to search. | Alaska charitable registration guide |
| Arkansas | Arkansas Secretary of State | Select 'Charity' for the Type. | Arkansas charitable registration guide |
| California | California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers | The 'Program Type' should be 'Charity.' | California charitable registration guide |
| Colorado | Colorado Secretary of State, Charities Program | You can click the 'Advanced Search' button for more options. | Colorado charitable registration guide |
| Connecticut | Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection | Select 'CHARITY' on the 'LICENSE TYPE CATEGORIES LIST.' | Connecticut charitable registration guide |
| Florida | Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services | You can click the 'Advanced Search' button for more options. | Florida charitable registration guide |
| Georgia | Georgia Secretary of State, Charities Division | Select 'Charities' under 'Profession.' | Georgia charitable registration guide |
| Hawaii | Hawaii Attorney General, Tax and Charities Division | Make sure you have selected the 'Charitable Organizations' tab. | Hawaii charitable registration guide |
| Illinois | Illinois Attorney General, Charitable Trust Bureau | Don't forget to click the 'Verify you are human' box. If you are unable to find your organization, you should call the state office directly to inquire regarding your status. | Illinois charitable registration guide |
| Kansas | Kansas Attorney General | You must click the 'Click Here to view a list of all Charities' link, which will automatically download an XLSX document. Search this document using CTRL+F to find your organization. | Kansas charitable registration guide |
| Kentucky | Kentucky Attorney General | Search this document using CTRL+F to find your organization. | Kentucky charitable registration guide |
| Louisiana | Louisiana Attorney General | You can search directly on the site, or download their information as a PDF/XLSX document. | Louisiana charitable registration guide |
| Maine | Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation | Select 'CHARITABLE SOLICITATION' under 'Regulator.' | Maine charitable registration guide |
| Maryland | Maryland Secretary of State | You are not required to log in to search. | Maryland charitable registration guide |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts Attorney General, Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities Division | Once you have searched, you can click 'Get Filings' in order to view the most recently accepted filing year. | Massachusetts charitable registration guide |
| Michigan | Michigan Attorney General, Charitable Trust Section | You must click 'I have read the disclaimer' at the bottom of the page in order to search. Make sure 'Charity or Public Safety Organization' is selected. | Michigan charitable registration guide |
| Minnesota | Minnesota Attorney General | You can select previously accepted filing years from the 'Financial Information for Prior Years' drop-down. | Minnesota charitable registration guide |
| Mississippi | Mississippi Secretary of State | Once you have searched your organization, you can click 'Details' to see the full information regarding your filing status and due date. | Mississippi charitable registration guide |
| Missouri | No public lookup identified. Confirm with state agency. | Currently no database to search; 501(c)3 organizations are all exempt. Email the state directly with your organization's name and EIN to confirm exemption has been granted. | Missouri charitable registration guide |
| Nevada | Nevada Secretary of State | Make sure that 'Organization' is selected in the 'Business Entity Search Criteria' section. | Nevada charitable registration guide |
| New Hampshire | New Hampshire Department of Justice, Charitable Trusts Unit | Clicking the 'REGISTERED CHARITIES' document will bring you to a PDF of all registered non-profits. Use CTRL+F to find your organization. | New Hampshire charitable registration guide |
| New Jersey | New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Charities Registration Section | The 'Status' column is color-coded. Clicking on your organization's name will bring up a window that shows the last filing year accepted. | New Jersey charitable registration guide |
| New Mexico | New Mexico Department of Justice | Once you have searched, clicking your organization's name will bring up a record of all documents, filings, and extensions submitted. | New Mexico charitable registration guide |
| New York | New York Attorney General, Charities Bureau | Select 'NFP' for 'Registrant Type.' | New York charitable registration guide |
| North Carolina | North Carolina Secretary of State | You must click the 'Verify you are human' box in order to search for your registration status. | North Carolina charitable registration guide |
| North Dakota | North Dakota Secretary of State | If you are unable to find your organization, you should call the state office directly to inquire regarding your status. | North Dakota charitable registration guide |
| Ohio | Ohio Attorney General | You do not need to select anything for the 'Organization Purpose Category.' | Ohio charitable registration guide |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma Secretary of State | Once you have searched, clicking the filing number will bring up a record of submitted filings. | Oklahoma charitable registration guide |
| Oregon | Oregon Department of Justice | You can search directly on the site, or download their information as a text file. | Oregon charitable registration guide |
| Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations | In the 'Charities Services' table on the left, click the 'Search' button. | Pennsylvania charitable registration guide |
| Rhode Island | Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation | Click the plus sign next to 'Charitable Organizations.' | Rhode Island charitable registration guide |
| South Carolina | South Carolina Secretary of State | Once you have searched, you must click your organization's name in order to view the status. | South Carolina charitable registration guide |
| Tennessee | Tennessee Secretary of State, Charitable Solicitations and Gaming | You must click the 'Verify you are human' box in order to search for your registration status. | Tennessee charitable registration guide |
| Virginia | Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services | This search page has been vastly improved in 2026. You can click anywhere on the line of your organization's name in order to view details. | Virginia charitable registration guide |
| Washington | Washington Secretary of State, Charities Program | Scroll down to the 'Charity/Fundraiser/Trust Search.' | Washington charitable registration guide |
| West Virginia | West Virginia Secretary of State | Select 'Charitable Organizations' under 'Type.' | West Virginia charitable registration guide |
| Wisconsin | Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions | Select 'Charitable Organization (800)' under 'Profession.' | Wisconsin charitable registration guide |
| District of Columbia | District of Columbia Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection | D.C. requires that you log in in order to search. You can create a new account, or utilize the one you previously used for your filing. | District of Columbia charitable registration guide |
How to interpret registry results
Current or active usually means the organization appears in good standing for that state's charity registry. Delinquent, expired, suspended, or revoked may require a renewal, reinstatement, missing report, fee, or agency correspondence before fundraising continues.
Not found does not always mean noncompliance. It may mean the organization is exempt, listed under another legal name, recently filed, operating through a fiscal sponsor, or using a state database that does not expose every record.
Always confirm with the official state agency before relying on a result, especially when a campaign, grant application, or professional fundraiser contract depends on the answer.
Related registration resources
2026 charitable solicitation registration guide
Compare registration states, renewal deadlines, fees, exemptions, and required documents.
Multi-state charitable registration
Plan registration work across several states without losing track of deadlines and portals.
Charitable registration renewal deadlines
Understand annual, anniversary, fiscal-year, and biennial renewal cycles.
Charitable registration exemptions
Review exemption categories and why exemption decisions should be documented by state.
Key state status pages
Start with high-traffic jurisdictions and states where public charitable registration status questions commonly surface.
State compliance status FAQ
How do I check if my nonprofit is registered to fundraise in a state?
Start with the official state charity registry or charitable solicitation search tool. Search by legal name first, then try EIN, registration number, or known DBA names if the state offers those fields.
What does delinquent status mean?
Delinquent status usually means the state is missing a renewal, report, fee, attachment, or response. The exact fix depends on that state's registry rules and correspondence.
What does revoked or suspended status mean?
Revoked or suspended status may indicate the organization cannot rely on an active registration until it completes reinstatement, renewal, missing-report, fee, or agency review steps.
Why can't I find my nonprofit in a state database?
A not found result can happen because the legal name differs from the public name, EIN search is unavailable, a filing is pending, an exemption applies, or the state database does not show every record.
Does being registered in one state cover fundraising in other states?
No. Charitable solicitation registration is handled state by state. A current registration in one jurisdiction does not automatically make the organization current elsewhere.
Should I check state compliance status before fundraising online?
Yes. Before a campaign, donation-page launch, grant deadline, or professional fundraiser engagement, status checks can identify lapsed, delinquent, suspended, revoked, or not found records that need review.
Can RegiSTAR-US help review status across multiple states?
Yes. RegiSTAR-US can help review charitable registration status, identify missing states, organize renewal deadlines, and flag state registry issues before fundraising campaigns begin.
Request your free compliance review
Share a few details about your organization and fundraising footprint. RegiSTAR-US will review the request and follow up with practical next steps.