Find Information on a Business That No Longer Exists

Each day businesses start up, close, are sold, or change for some other reason. You may need to find information on a defunct company to verify your employment history, for tax purposes, or a number of other reasons. How to look for business information? There are several possible strategies.

Steps

Finding Historical Information for a Defunct Company

  1. Locate records through the Library of Congress.
    • The Library of Congress has compiled an aid to assist researchers in finding information on old businesses. The guide also includes selected Internet resources relating to business history. It can be found at https://www.loc.gov/rr/business/
    • Ask a Library of Congress Librarian. If you have trouble finding information online, you can submit your question directly to library staff.[1]
  2. Locate websites that are no longer online on the Wayback Machine. The Wayback Machine is an online archive of more than 200 billion web pages, found at https://archive.org/web/. If you know the name of the website that the business you're looking for used to use, you can enter it in the search bar to see snapshots of the webpage at previous points in time.
  3. Find business records for a company in your community.
    • You can contact your local newspaper online, or find archived copies at the local library.
    • Many towns have a local history collection that contains information about business that once operated in the area.
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Researching a Company You Worked For

  1. Locate the company information to verify your employment history. When you are looking for a new job, your new employer may ask for verification for your previous employment.
    • Start with information you have on hand.
      • Use recent pay documents such as pay stubs or tax forms to verify your job title and salary history.
    • Contact the Social Security Administration.
      • Request your earnings history on the Social Security Administration website at https://www.ssa.gov/.
        • You will be charged a fee depending on the number of years for which you're requesting information.
  2. Locate former contacts
    • Search social media. Sites such as LinkedIn may have contact information on the company, as well as your former managers and coworkers.
    • Attend networking meetings in your former industry. You may meet former colleagues or friends of theirs who can help you contact them.
    • Contact your university's alumni association for colleagues who graduated from your school.

Collecting Money Owed You

  1. Attempt to collect a debt from a defunct company.
    • Know your rights.
      • When a business closes, its legal obligations do not end.[2] When you discover a company that owes you money is about to close, consult an attorney with the appropriate knowledge to protect your interests.
      • If the business you have been working with declares bankruptcy, it may still be possible to collect all or part of the debt. The American Bar Association provides general guidelines on how the collection process works.[3]
    • If you are unable to collect the debt from the defunct business, you may be able to write it off as a tax deduction. The IRS provides information on what it does and does not allow to be written off.[4]
  2. Attempt to access a defined benefit (traditional pension) plan from a defunct company.
    • Contact the plan custodian.
      • If your plan was administered by a financial company such as Fidelity or Vanguard, you can contact them to find the information you need. You can can get the company's contact information on their website.
      • If your plan was not administered by a financial company, try contacting the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). This is a federal agency that guarantees pensions of bankrupt companies. Their website is https://www.pbgc.gov/.
  3. Attempt to access a defined contribution (401(k)) plan from a defunct company.
    • Contact the plan custodian.
      • If your 401(k) was administered by a financial company, contact them to find the information you need.
    • Search for a Form 5500. This is required by U.S. Government for most plans.
    • Check the National Registry of Unclaimed Benefits to see if you are listed as a missing participant. You can find it at https://www.unclaimedretirementbenefits.com/.

Researching Older Stocks

  1. Locate information on the stock certificate. Find or inherit stock certificates from a company no longer in business? According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, an old stock or bond certificate may still be valuable even if it no longer trades under the name printed on the certificate.[5] You can find this information printed on the certificate:
    • The CUSIP. This is a nine-character alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies a security. This can be used to research the history of the company, including mergers, reorganizations, and other changes.
    • The stock's transfer agent. A transfer agent is a financial company such as a bank or trust company that keeps track of who owns a business's stocks and bonds.
    • The State Securities Regulator. You can locate the state where the company was incorporated on the face of the certificate.[6]
    • If the company no longer exists in any form, you may still be able to sell the certificate as a collectible.[7]
  2. Check public records online. The Harvard Law School Library provides information on how to get started searching public records.[8]
  3. Contact your state historical society.
    • Many historical societies have information on businesses that operated in that state. You can find a list of state historical societies in the Preservation Directory.[9]

Warnings

  • Please note that the information provided in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
  • If you wish to pursue any legal action against a company, please contact the appropriate attorney or legal advisor before proceeding.

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib
  2. ↑ http://info.legalzoom.com/happens-debt-dissolve-llc-4440.html
  3. ↑ http://www.americanbar.org/content/newsletter/publications/gp_solo_magazine_home/gp_solo_magazine_index/collectingdebts.html/
  4. ↑ https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/
  5. ↑ https://www.sec.gov/fast-answers/answersoldcerhtm.html
  6. ↑ http://www.nasaa.org/about-us/contact-us/contact-your-regulator
  7. ↑ http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/bst/index.aspx?id=4487
  8. ↑ http://guides.library.harvard.edu/public_records
  9. ↑ http://www.preservationdirectory.com/preservationorganizationsresources/organizationcategories.aspx

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