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Kentucky business name search

Check name availability against the Kentucky Secretary of State database

70,804
Business applications, last 12 months
Census BFS via FRED, trailing 12 months
19,870
Filed Q2 2026
Census BFS via FRED, Q2 2026
+31.9%
Year-over-year growth
FRED, trailing 12 months vs prior 12
281
Filings per business day
Derived from TTM applications, FRED
Kentucky seal
Websitewww.sos.ky.gov
Phone(502) 564-3490
Address1025 Capital Center Dr, Suite 201, Frankfort, KY 40601
Hours8:00 AM – 4:30 PM, Mon-Fri

Kentucky business formation by the numbers

State-level data from official sources on business formation activity in Kentucky.

#28
Kentucky ranks 28th in U.S. business formations
Ranking is based on total business applications filed in the trailing twelve months across all 50 states and D.C.
Census BFS via FRED, TTM rank
+115.2%
Formation activity since 2019
Comparison of trailing-twelve-month business applications to the 2019 calendar year total. Captures the post-pandemic formation surge.
FRED / BABATOTALNSAKY
+8.9%
Quarter-over-quarter change
Current quarter applications compared to the prior quarter. A useful read on whether momentum is building or fading.
FRED, latest 3 months vs prior 3
$40
LLC filing fee and processing time
Standard processing: 4-6 business days.
Kentucky Secretary of State, verified Mar 2026
2,165
Federal trademark applications from Kentucky businesses
Filed with the USPTO in 2023 by applicants with a Kentucky address. Trademarks are federal, so this is separate from registering a business name with the Kentucky Secretary of State.
USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage
+13%
Trademark filing change since 2015
Kentucky filings went from 1,914 in 2015 to 2,165 in 2023, up 13%.
USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage

What the filing data shows about Kentucky

Applicants with a Kentucky address filed 2,165 federal trademark applications in 2023, compared with 1,914 in 2015, a change of +13%.

Adjusted for population that is about 48 filings per 100,000 residents, the 42nd highest rate in the country.

The most common category for Kentucky filings since 2019 is Class 041, covering education, training and entertainment services.

A trademark and a Kentucky registration are different things

Registering an entity with the Kentucky Secretary of State establishes that name for that entity within Kentucky. A federal trademark is granted by the USPTO, applies nationally, and covers only the goods or services it is registered under.

The two records are separate, which is why a name can clear a Kentucky entity search and still overlap an existing federal mark, and why a federal mark can exist for a name no Kentucky entity has registered.

Trademark figures on this page come from the USPTO Trademark Case Files dataset, which covers applications through March 2024. Counts are applications filed by applicants with a Kentucky mailing address, and reflect filings rather than registrations granted.