Minnesota Secretary of State API: Direct Access to Business Entity Data
The Minnesota Secretary of State maintains records on hundreds of thousands of active business entities. If you need programmatic access to this data—whether for compliance, due diligence, or business intelligence—an API is faster and more scalable than manual portal searches.
OpenSOSData provides a REST API that queries Minnesota's Secretary of State database in real time. Each lookup costs $0.0314, with no subscription required and no minimum commitment beyond a $3.14 wallet deposit (100 lookups).
What You Get from the MN Secretary of State API
A single API call returns comprehensive entity information:
- Entity name and business type (LLC, C-Corp, S-Corp, Partnership, etc.)
- Unique state entity ID
- Current status (active, dissolved, etc.)
- Formation date
- Registered agent name and address
- Principal business address
- Officer names and titles
This data is cached for 7 days by default. If you need current-moment accuracy, append ?fresh=true to force a real-time scrape of the state registry.
Why Use an API Instead of the Web Portal?
The Minnesota Secretary of State website provides a search interface, but it's built for single manual lookups. An API is better for:
- Batch processing: Look up 1,000 entities in minutes instead of hours.
- Integration: Embed entity verification into your application workflow.
- Automation: Trigger lookups based on events or schedules without human interaction.
- Scale: Handle variable traffic without maintaining your own scraper.
Pricing: The Pi Model
OpenSOSData charges $0.0314 per lookup—a deliberate reference to the mathematical constant pi (π). This pricing is significantly lower than competitors:
- OpenCorporates: $0.10–$0.50 per lookup
- Cobalt Intelligence: $0.50–$2.00 per lookup
- Middesk: $1.00+ per lookup
At $0.0314 per query, a $3.14 deposit gives you 100 lookups. Scale your usage as needed; there's no overage pricing or surprise fees.
Coverage: MN Is Fully Supported
Minnesota is one of 50+ actively covered states and territories. OpenSOSData currently supports:
CA, UT, WY, DE, AK, MT, AR, TX, CO, IN, ME, MD, IA, LA, KY, GA, NH, OH, MI, MN, ND, NJ, NE, MO, PA, TN, WA, SC, WI, OR, SD, IL, ID, CT, AL, NC, FL, HI, VA, MA, RI, NY, VT, NV, NM, WV, AZ, PR, VI, DC, AS, OK, MS, KS.
If you operate multistate, the same API handles all supported jurisdictions without switching endpoints.
Quick Start: Your First MN Secretary of State Lookup
Here's a real curl request to look up a Minnesota business entity:
curl -X POST https://api.opensosdata.com/v1/lookup \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
-d '{
"state": "MN",
"query": "Target Corporation",
"type": "name"
}'Response (abbreviated):
{
"entity_name": "Target Corporation",
"entity_type": "C Corporation",
"state_id": "1234567890",
"status": "Active",
"formed_date": "1962-06-15",
"registered_agent": {
"name": "CT Corporation System",
"address": "123 Main St, Minneapolis, MN 55401"
},
"principal_address": "1000 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55403",
"officers": [
{"name": "Jane Smith", "title": "CEO"},
{"name": "John Johnson", "title": "CFO"}
],
"cached": false,
"cached_at": "2024-01-15T10:32:00Z"
}The response includes all registered officers, making it useful for organizational due diligence and compliance verification.
Use Cases for the MN Secretary of State API
Compliance and Risk Assessment
Financial institutions, law firms, and compliance teams use this API to verify business legitimacy, check officer backgrounds, and monitor entity status changes. Automate the verification step in your onboarding workflow.
Sales and Business Intelligence
Sales teams can enrich lead databases with official state records. Marketing teams can validate company details before outreach campaigns.
Due Diligence and M&A
Investment firms and acquisition teams integrate this API to gather preliminary entity data, cross-check registered agents, and identify corporate structure without manual research.
Data Aggregation
If you're building a business database or directory, use the API to populate and maintain Minnesota entity records at scale.
Real-Time vs. Cached Data
By default, responses are served from a 7-day Redis cache. This is fast and economical. If you need the absolute latest data (e.g., an entity was just registered or status just changed), use the fresh=true parameter:
curl -X POST https://api.opensosdata.com/v1/lookup \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
-d '{
"state": "MN",
"query": "MyStartup LLC",
"type": "name",
"fresh": true
}'This forces a real-time scrape of the Minnesota Secretary of State registry, ensuring you have the most current information.
API Documentation
Full OpenAPI specification and endpoint documentation is available at https://opensosdata.com/openapi.yaml. Review the spec to see all query parameters, response schemas, and error codes before integration.
Getting Started
To begin using the MN Secretary of State API:
- Visit
https://opensosdata.comand join the waitlist. - Upon approval, create an API key in your dashboard.
- Fund your wallet with at least $3.14 (100 lookups).
- Start querying Minnesota entities via REST.
No long-term contracts, no per-month minimums. You pay only for lookups you make.
Why Choose OpenSOSData for Minnesota Business Lookups?
Price: At $0.0314 per lookup, you'll save 67–96% compared to competitors offering similar coverage.
Speed: Cached responses return in milliseconds. Fresh queries complete in seconds.
Reliability: 50+ states supported. Multistate queries use a single API without vendor switching.
Developer-friendly: REST API, comprehensive documentation, and straightforward pricing with no surprises.
No setup friction: Start querying immediately after API key generation. No minimum spend, no long contracts.
Next Steps
If you're building applications that need Minnesota business entity data, an API beats manual research every time. Start with a test lookup against a known Minnesota company. Review response times and data completeness. Then scale your integration.