Up-to-the-minute business name search across all 50 states

Wisconsin business name search

Check name availability against the Wisconsin Secretary of State database

75,929

Business applications, last 12 months

Census BFS via FRED, trailing 12 months

20,876

Filed Q2 2026

Census BFS via FRED, Q2 2026

+22.7%

Year-over-year growth

FRED, trailing 12 months vs prior 12

301

Filings per business day

Derived from TTM applications, FRED

Websitedfi.wi.gov

Phone(608) 261-7577

Address4822 Madison Yards Way, North Tower, Madison, WI 53705

Hours7:45 AM – 4:30 PM, Mon-Fri

Wisconsin business formation by the numbers

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

#25

Wisconsin ranks 25th 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

+73.4%

Formation activity since 2019

Comparison of trailing-twelve-month business applications to the 2019 calendar year total. Captures the post-pandemic formation surge.

FRED / BABATOTALNSAWI

+4.6%

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

$130

LLC filing fee and processing time

Standard processing: 5-10 business days.

Wisconsin Secretary of State, verified Mar 2026

3,463

Federal trademark applications from Wisconsin businesses

Filed with the USPTO in 2023 by applicants with a Wisconsin address. Trademarks are federal, so this is separate from registering a business name with the Wisconsin Secretary of State.

USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage

-14%

Trademark filing change since 2015

Wisconsin filings went from 4,012 in 2015 to 3,463 in 2023, down 14%.

USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage

What the filing data shows about Wisconsin

Applicants with a Wisconsin address filed 3,463 federal trademark applications in 2023. That is down from 4,012 in 2015, a fall of 14%, and one of the larger declines of any state over those eight years.

It is not alone. California (down 4%), New York (down 10%) and Illinois (down 7%) also declined over the same eight years, while Florida (up 39%), Texas (up 36%), North Carolina (up 28%) and Georgia (up 20%) each gained. The filing base has been shifting south.

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

A trademark and a Wisconsin registration are different things

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