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cis.scc.virginia.gov

business-search

Installation

Adds this website's skill for your agents

 

Summary

Search the Virginia State Corporation Commission Clerk's Information System (CIS) business-entity registry by name and return matching entities (name, SCC ID, type, status). The site's entity search is gated by an invisible reCAPTCHA v3 that scores automated browsers 0, so live extraction is currently blocked; the skill documents the full working navigation path and the wall.

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Virginia SCC Business Entity Search

Purpose

Search the Virginia State Corporation Commission Clerk's Information System (CIS) business-entity registry by entity name (e.g. "smith ventures") and return the matching entities — name, SCC entity ID, type, status, formation date, and jurisdiction. Read-only; this skill never files, pays, or signs in.

Status: candidate / blocked. The full navigation path (cookie consent → search form → field mapping → submit mechanics) is mapped and documented below, but the search itself is gated by an invisible reCAPTCHA v3 (enterprise, action submit) that scores automated browser sessions 0.0 every time. The server validates the score server-side and refuses to run the query, so an automated agent cannot currently retrieve live results from this site. The sections below give the exact working flow up to the wall plus everything learned about the wall, so a future agent (or one with a reCAPTCHA-solving capability / score-passing fingerprint) doesn't have to re-discover it.

When to Use

  • Looking up a Virginia-registered business (LLC, corporation, LP, etc.) by name to get its SCC entity ID, status (Active/Terminated), and type.
  • Verifying whether a business name is registered/available in Virginia.
  • Any flow that would otherwise scrape cis.scc.virginia.gov/EntitySearch.

Before relying on this skill, read the Site-Specific Gotchas — as of 2026-06-03 the reCAPTCHA v3 gate blocks all automated extraction. Use it as a navigation map, not a guaranteed data source. For bulk needs, prefer the SCC's official bulk-data offering (see gotchas) over this gated UI.

Workflow

recommended_method: browser. There is no public JSON/REST API and no URL-deep-link that bypasses the search form — the entity search is a single POST /EntitySearch/Index whose execution is gated server-side by a reCAPTCHA v3 score. A residential-proxy + verified (stealth) Browserbase session is the only viable surface, and even that is currently blocked at the reCAPTCHA gate.

Recommended session: browse cloud sessions create --keep-alive --verified --proxies. (Session fingerprint/proxy choice does not change the outcome — see gotchas — but --verified --proxies is the most likely config to ever pass if Google's scoring changes.)

  1. Open the site and clear the cookie wall. browse open https://cis.scc.virginia.gov/. Every first request 302-redirects to /Cookie/CookieConsent. A modal "Cookie Consent" dialog renders with Accept / Reject buttons. Click Accept (accessibility-tree button labeled Accept; it is the button whose text matches /accept/i). This sets the ASP.NET session cookie needed for everything downstream. Skipping it leaves you bouncing to /Account/Login.

  2. Go to the entity search page. Navigate directly to https://cis.scc.virginia.gov/EntitySearch/Index. The page titled "BUSINESS ENTITY SEARCH" renders the form. (Do not use the quick search box on the home page — submitting from there redirects to /Account/Login.)

  3. Set the match logic (optional). The "Select One" dropdown is #BEFilingSearch_ddlSearchLogic with values: 2 = Starts With (default), 3 = Exact Match, 7 = Contains. For a broad name search like "smith ventures", 7 (Contains) is the most inclusive; the default 2 (Starts With) matches names beginning with the term.

  4. Enter the entity name. Fill #BusinessSearch_Index_txtBusinessName with the search term (e.g. smith ventures). The form has one input per search mode (Entity Name, Entity ID #BusinessSearch_Index_txtBusinessID, Filing Number, Principal Name, Registered Agent Name, Designee). Use exactly one.

  5. Submit. Click #btnSearch (an <input type="button" value="Search">). Its jQuery click handler builds a BusinessSearch JSON object, then runs the reCAPTCHA gate (see step 6). It is not a normal form submit — pressing Enter or submitting the <form> directly does not trigger the real flow.

  6. The reCAPTCHA gate (the blocker). On click the handler does: grecaptcha.ready(() => grecaptcha.execute("6LdtxWcrAAAAAKvoAZZD9KSKaBAP4hxDtSyeI6rz", {action:'submit'}).then(token => $.ajax POST /GoogleCaptchaHelper/VerifyReCaptcha {recaptchaToken: token})).

    • If the AJAX response is {success:true, score:<n>} it calls $.submitForm('/EntitySearch/Index', BusinessSearch) which POSTs the search and renders the results grid.
    • If {success:false} it shows a SweetAlert popup "Please try again. You may be a bot!" and aborts — no results. On automated sessions VerifyReCaptcha always returns {"success":false,"score":0}, so step 7 is never reached.

  7. Extract results (only reachable if reCAPTCHA passes). A successful search POST returns the results page with a results table/grid. Each row carries the entity name (a link to the entity detail page), SCC entity ID, entity type, and status. Iterate the rows, read each cell, and follow the entity-name link if formation date / jurisdiction are needed (not all columns are on the grid). Emit the JSON in Expected Output. This step could not be validated because of the reCAPTCHA wall; the grid's exact column ids are unconfirmed.

If the wall ever lifts

The cheapest way to test whether automated search is possible without burning an LLM agent loop is to measure the score directly in page context after loading /EntitySearch/Index:

grecaptcha.ready(() => grecaptcha
  .execute("6LdtxWcrAAAAAKvoAZZD9KSKaBAP4hxDtSyeI6rz", {action:'submit'})
  .then(t => fetch('/GoogleCaptchaHelper/VerifyReCaptcha',
    {method:'POST',
     headers:{'Content-Type':'application/x-www-form-urlencoded','X-Requested-With':'XMLHttpRequest'},
     body:'recaptchaToken='+encodeURIComponent(t)})
    .then(r=>r.text()).then(console.log)));
// Currently logs: {"success":false,"score":0}

If that ever returns success:true, proceed with step 5's normal #btnSearch click and the results grid will render.

Site-Specific Gotchas

  • reCAPTCHA v3 enterprise is a hard wall (confirmed 2026-06-03). Site key 6LdtxWcrAAAAAKvoAZZD9KSKaBAP4hxDtSyeI6rz, action submit, verified server-side at POST /GoogleCaptchaHelper/VerifyReCaptcha. Every automated Browserbase session scores exactly 0.0. Tested four configurations — all scored 0: --verified --proxies, --verified only (datacenter IP), a bare session, and a "warmed" session (click into the field, type slowly, scroll, dispatch mousemoves, 12 s dwell before grecaptcha.execute). Proxy/IP and fingerprint do not move the score; reCAPTCHA is detecting the CDP-driven Chrome itself. Without a passing score the search POST is refused.
  • A score-0 (failed) real submit redirects to a 403, not a friendly error. When #btnSearch runs the genuine flow with a score-0 token, the server-side block on the POST /EntitySearch/Index form submission responds with a redirect to https://www.scc.virginia.gov/web-policy/, which renders "Server Error / 403 - Forbidden: Access is denied." (See screenshot 3.) Don't mistake this 403 page for the search being down — it is the bot block.
  • Bypassing the client gate doesn't help — the server enforces it too. Calling $.submitForm('/EntitySearch/Index', BusinessSearch) directly in page context (skipping the reCAPTCHA AJAX) does not return results; the token-less POST is bounced back to the home page (/). The reCAPTCHA requirement is enforced on the server, not just in JavaScript. Don't waste time crafting a raw POST — confirmed dead end.
  • No JSON/REST API and no deep-link. The entity search is a stateful ASP.NET MVC POST to /EntitySearch/Index; there is no query-string-driven results URL and no documented public API. (An internal /UCCOnlineSearch/GetCrtificateDate endpoint is unrelated to entity name search.) For bulk/programmatic needs, use the SCC's official bulk data / data products program rather than this UI — it is the sanctioned path and avoids the reCAPTCHA entirely.
  • Cookie consent is mandatory and stateful. First load 302s to /Cookie/CookieConsent?sessionExpired=False. You must click Accept (sets the session cookie) before /EntitySearch/Index will render; otherwise you get redirected to /Account/Login.
  • Home-page quick search ≠ the real search. The Entity Name box on the landing page (#EntityName) submits to a path that redirects to /Account/Login. Always use /EntitySearch/Index and #BusinessSearch_Index_txtBusinessName.
  • #btnSearch is an input[type=button], not a submit. Triggering the search requires its jQuery click handler (which runs the reCAPTCHA flow). Pressing Enter in the name field or submitting the <form> does not start the real search. The form's anti-forgery field __RequestVerificationToken is present and included in the submit payload.
  • Match-logic enum: #BEFilingSearch_ddlSearchLogic → 2=Starts With, 3=Exact Match, 7=Contains. The radio group #BusinessSearch_Index_rdStartsWith is the legacy equivalent; the dropdown is authoritative on the current page.
  • Sign-in is not required to search (search is a public/anonymous function), so don't get sidetracked into the /Account/Login flow — it's a symptom of a missing session cookie or using the wrong (home-page) search box.

Expected Output

The intended output shape once the reCAPTCHA wall is cleared. In the current blocked state the skill returns the blocked shape.

// Intended success shape (NOT achievable today — reCAPTCHA blocked)
{
  "success": true,
  "query": "smith ventures",
  "match_logic": "contains",
  "result_count": 12,
  "results": [
    {
      "entity_name": "SMITH VENTURES LLC",
      "entity_id": "S1234567",
      "entity_type": "Limited Liability Company",
      "status": "Active",
      "formation_date": "01/15/2010",
      "jurisdiction": "VIRGINIA",
      "detail_url": "https://cis.scc.virginia.gov/EntitySearch/BusinessInformation?businessId=..."
    }
  ],
  "error_reasoning": null
}

// Zero matches (intended)
{ "success": true, "query": "smith ventures", "result_count": 0, "results": [], "error_reasoning": null }

// Actual current outcome from an automated session
{
  "success": false,
  "query": "smith ventures",
  "result_count": 0,
  "results": [],
  "error_reasoning": "Blocked by reCAPTCHA v3 (action 'submit', sitekey 6LdtxWcrAAAAAKvoAZZD9KSKaBAP4hxDtSyeI6rz). /GoogleCaptchaHelper/VerifyReCaptcha returns {success:false, score:0} for automated browsers; the search POST is refused and redirects to www.scc.virginia.gov/web-policy/ (403 Forbidden). Tested verified+proxies, verified-only, bare, and warmed sessions — all scored 0."
}
Virginia SCC Business Entity Search · browse.sh