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Missouri business name search

Check name availability against the Missouri Secretary of State database

109,216
Business applications, last 12 months
Census BFS via FRED, trailing 12 months
29,466
Filed Q2 2026
Census BFS via FRED, Q2 2026
+26.4%
Year-over-year growth
FRED, trailing 12 months vs prior 12
433
Filings per business day
Derived from TTM applications, FRED
Missouri seal
Websitewww.sos.mo.gov
Phone(573) 751-4153
Address600 W Main St, Jefferson City, MO 65101
Hours8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Mon-Fri

Missouri business formation by the numbers

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

#17
Missouri ranks 17th 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
+85.9%
Formation activity since 2019
Comparison of trailing-twelve-month business applications to the 2019 calendar year total. Captures the post-pandemic formation surge.
FRED / BABATOTALNSAMO
+7.1%
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
$50
LLC filing fee and processing time
Standard processing: 5-10 business days.
Missouri Secretary of State, verified Mar 2026
3,916
Federal trademark applications from Missouri businesses
Filed with the USPTO in 2023 by applicants with a Missouri address, the 23rd highest total of any state. Trademarks are federal, so this is separate from registering a business name with the Missouri Secretary of State.
USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage
-6%
Trademark filing change since 2015
Missouri filings went from 4,166 in 2015 to 3,916 in 2023, down 6%.
USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage

What the filing data shows about Missouri

Applicants with a Missouri address filed 3,916 federal trademark applications in 2023, compared with 4,166 in 2015, a change of -6%.

Adjusted for population that is about 63 filings per 100,000 residents, the 33rd highest rate in the country.

The most common category for Missouri filings since 2019 is Class 035, covering advertising, business management and office services.

A trademark and a Missouri registration are different things

Registering an entity with the Missouri Secretary of State establishes that name for that entity within Missouri. 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 Missouri entity search and still overlap an existing federal mark, and why a federal mark can exist for a name no Missouri 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 Missouri mailing address, and reflect filings rather than registrations granted.