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

Iowa business name search

Check name availability against the Iowa Secretary of State database

36,236
Business applications, last 12 months
Census BFS via FRED, trailing 12 months
10,657
Filed Q2 2026
Census BFS via FRED, Q2 2026
+10.3%
Year-over-year growth
FRED, trailing 12 months vs prior 12
144
Filings per business day
Derived from TTM applications, FRED
Iowa seal
Websitesos.iowa.gov
Phone(515) 281-5204
Address321 E 12th St, 1st Floor, Lucas Building, Des Moines, IA 50319
Hours8:00 AM – 4:30 PM, Mon-Fri

Iowa business formation by the numbers

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

#38
Iowa ranks 38th 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
+64.5%
Formation activity since 2019
Comparison of trailing-twelve-month business applications to the 2019 calendar year total. Captures the post-pandemic formation surge.
FRED / BABATOTALNSAIA
+24.8%
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.
Iowa Secretary of State, verified Mar 2026
1,622
Federal trademark applications from Iowa businesses
Filed with the USPTO in 2023 by applicants with a Iowa address. Trademarks are federal, so this is separate from registering a business name with the Iowa Secretary of State.
USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage
+3%
Trademark filing change since 2015
Iowa filings went from 1,568 in 2015 to 1,622 in 2023, up 3%.
USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage

What the filing data shows about Iowa

Applicants with an Iowa address filed 1,622 federal trademark applications in 2023, compared with 1,568 in 2015, a change of +3%.

Adjusted for population that is about 50 filings per 100,000 residents, the 40th highest rate in the country.

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

A trademark and an Iowa registration are different things

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