Local Business Ownership
Find who’s behind a local business.
Turn a business name and address into a clearer picture of its owners and operators. Connect restaurants, stores and other local businesses to legal entities and people for prospecting, merchant enrichment and research.
1,000 free credits · Pay only for locations returning people
Beyond the name on the sign
Connect the storefront to the business behind it.
The name customers know may differ from the name on a business registration. GovFiles connects a location to its legal operator and people named in public records, giving your team more to work with than a trading name.
The legal operator
Identify the entity associated with a location and its registration details, even when the business trades under a different name.
The people connected to it
Find owners, principals and other people named in public records. Recorded roles help you understand each person’s connection to the business.
A result tied to your record
Keep the submitted business name, address and your own record ID with the result, ready to join back to your customer, merchant or location dataset.
Built for local business data
Know who’s behind your next account.
Research local prospects
Find people and operating entities behind restaurants, retailers and other local accounts. Understand who runs a specific location, including businesses trading under a franchise brand.
Enrich merchant and POI data
Add legal entities and people records to your merchant lists and points of interest. Keep the familiar storefront name alongside the business identity behind it.
Explore business connections
Take a person found in your results into Company Officer Search to research other recorded company associations.
Explore Company Officer Search →From one location to a full list
One batch. Up to 500 business locations.
Build ownership research into your workflow with an asynchronous API. Submit your locations, then retrieve the completed results when they’re ready.
Submit names and addresses
Send a business name and address for each location. Include a phone number, email or website when available to help with matching.
Check progress
Use the returned batch ID to check the search status. Status checks are free.
Bring the results into your workflow
Retrieve the completed result document. Matched and unmatched results retain your submitted location details so you can reconcile the whole list.
Only pay when people are found
Try your first locations with a free API key.
Start with 1,000 free credits and see what GovFiles returns for the businesses you work with.
Working with a larger dataset? Discuss your location list →
Local ownership API pricing
$0.15 per location returning a person.
Each submitted location returning at least one person uses 15 credits, regardless of how many people it returns. Results with no people and status checks are free.
100 locations returning people cost $15 before free credits.
Before you get started
Local Business Ownership FAQs.
What do I need to search for a local business?
Start with the business name and its street address. You can use a trading name or DBA; the location provides context for finding the associated legal operator. A phone number, email or website can help with matching when available.
Can I research a franchise location?
Yes. Submit the name and address of the specific location. The company operating it may differ from the franchise brand. Use the results to connect the familiar brand to the people and company behind that location.
What happens if no people are found?
That location uses no credits. Matched and unmatched results retain the submitted business details so you can reconcile your list and decide how to follow up.
Can I process a list of businesses?
Yes. Submit up to 500 locations per batch and include your own record IDs to join results back to your data. Use the batch ID to check progress and retrieve the completed result document. See the status and results documentation.
How is this different from company or officer search?
Local Business Ownership starts with a storefront name and address. Use business entity data to search company registrations, or Company Officer Search to find company associations starting with a person’s name.