LLC or corporation? Compare liability, management, taxation and investors for US entities, and check which one a company is with the API.
In the US a company is formed under the law of a state, not federally. A limited liability company (LLC) and a corporation both shield their owners from the entity’s debts; they differ in how they are managed and taxed and in what investors expect.
| LLC | Inc. | |
|---|---|---|
| Formed by filing | Articles of organization with a state | Articles (certificate) of incorporation with a state |
| Owners are called | Members | Shareholders |
| Ownership is held as | Membership interests | Shares of stock |
| Owners’ liability | Generally not personally liable for the LLC’s debts | Limited to their investment |
| Management | By the members or by managers, as the operating agreement says | A board of directors that appoints officers, under bylaws |
| Formalities | Fewer | Board and shareholder meetings, minutes, bylaws |
| Default taxation | Pass-through (the LLC itself is not taxed); can elect corporate tax | A C corporation pays tax itself and its dividends are taxed again; an S corporation election gives pass-through tax |
| Investors | Common for small businesses and property holdings | The usual choice for venture-backed companies, often incorporated in Delaware |
| Name must include | LLC, L.L.C. or Limited Liability Company | Inc., Corp., Incorporated or Corporation (the exact words vary by state) |
A general comparison of the usual rules, not legal advice: a company’s own articles and the current law of its country decide the details.
The API returns legal_form as LLC or Inc. (and LP, LLP, PC), with legal_form_family and the state’s own value in local_legal_form. The record also says where the company was formed (registry_details.jurisdiction). US coverage is the business registers of New York, Colorado, Connecticut and Pennsylvania plus SEC filers and LEI holders from every state, so not every US company is found.
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer rk_live_..." \ "https://api.prometiam.com/functions/v1/risk-api/companies/search?country=US&name=<company name>" # read on each result: # "legal_form" -> "LLC" or "Inc." # "legal_form_family" -> "private_limited_company" or "public_limited_company"
The API's legal_form values for these two: LLC is Limited liability company; Inc. is Corporation.
Coverage and limits for the United States: company records only (no officers, no registry-compliance signal); the business registers of New York, Colorado, Connecticut and Pennsylvania plus SEC filers and LEI holders from every state, so not every US company; sole proprietorships, estates and personal trusts are never served. US sources: New York Department of State, Colorado Secretary of State, Connecticut Secretary of the State, Pennsylvania Department of State (open data), SEC EDGAR, GLEIF (CC0).
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