diff --git a/Lib/encodings/__init__.py b/Lib/encodings/__init__.py
index ff05fb7..98ae2fa 100644
--- a/Lib/encodings/__init__.py
+++ b/Lib/encodings/__init__.py
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@
     else:
         modnames = [norm_encoding]
     for modname in modnames:
-        if not modname:
+        if not modname or '.' in modname:
             continue
         try:
             mod = __import__('encodings.' + modname,
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 55ef60f..c3cf131 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -44,6 +44,9 @@
 Library
 -------
 
+- Bug #1446043: correctly raise a LookupError if an encoding name given
+  to encodings.search_function() contains a dot.
+
 - Bug #1560617: in pyclbr, return full module name not only for classes,
   but also for functions.