Enter company name
	1. word fragments are better than whole words   example: new york cen 2. use at least two letters 3. do not use "the," "and," apostrophes, or commas
How come I can't find...? If you cannot find company names quickly, then please scroll down for hints on how to search (Please read these hints before writing)
The Process. There are over 25,000 companies listed in this database. Do not try to find a specific name on your first try. Instead, search for approximate company names. You will discover that companies were often very inexact in their spellings. Also check my list of deceptive company names (names that sound like railroads, but aren't. Let's start with a few Quick Hints Beginners   Enter part of the first word of a company name. You may search for whole words if you want, but four or five letters is better.   Do not use "The" or "And"   Do not use apostrophes   Names that begin with initials are especially confusing, depending on whether the company was officially incorporated or not. Eperiment. To find "S D Warren Co", for example, try these word fragments: s d warr   Avoid spelling errors by entering parts of words. Word fragments are always better than whole words.   The fewer characters you enter, the more results you will get.   Avoid being overly specific. Because of tremendous variability on certificates, avoid railway, rail-way, rail way, Ry, Rwy, railroad, rail road, rail-road, RR. Experienced users   Enter exact company codes if you know them (eg: MIS-716)   This search page recognizes parts of catalog numbers. The trick is to enter the hyphen. For example, STL- or NEW-5. The hyphen tells the search program that you are searching for catalog numbers instead of words. (See also, Catalog Numbering Explained.)

The easiest way to start a search is to enter parts of company names.
If you enter these word fragments in the search box like this:

you will be presented with several choices, including these company names:

Then, to get better results even faster...
	The less precise you are, the more company names you will find.
	But...if you have a slow internet connection...be a little more precise. You will get fewer names, but your search speed will increase.
	Speed up your searches by entering the distinctive parts of words. For instance, enter "polis" to find "Indianapolis." Or try "xark" to quickly find "Texarkana."
	Avoid typing mistakes by entering only three to five letters of words. You will make fewer typing errors if you enter "Mass" and "Conn" instead of "Massachusetts" and "Connecticut".
	Catalog numbers for names starting with "St" are constructed like "STL" for "St Louis." A quick way to find such companies is by entering "STL-". (Include the hyphen, but no number.)

Want even more speed? See MORE HINTS for still more suggestions for quickening your searches.