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

Montana business name search

Check name availability against the Montana Secretary of State database

30,965
Business applications, last 12 months
Census BFS via FRED, trailing 12 months
9,101
Filed Q2 2026
Census BFS via FRED, Q2 2026
+10.8%
Year-over-year growth
FRED, trailing 12 months vs prior 12
123
Filings per business day
Derived from TTM applications, FRED
Montana seal
Websitesosmt.gov
Phone(406) 444-3665
Address1301 6th Ave, Room 260, Helena, MT 59620
Hours8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Mon-Fri

Montana business formation by the numbers

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

#40
Montana ranks 40th 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
+118.8%
Formation activity since 2019
Comparison of trailing-twelve-month business applications to the 2019 calendar year total. Captures the post-pandemic formation surge.
FRED / BABATOTALNSAMT
+22.0%
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
$35
LLC filing fee and processing time
Standard processing: 2 weeks.
Montana Secretary of State, verified Mar 2026
932
Federal trademark applications from Montana businesses
Filed with the USPTO in 2023 by applicants with a Montana address. Trademarks are federal, so this is separate from registering a business name with the Montana Secretary of State.
USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage
+29%
Trademark filing change since 2015
Montana filings went from 720 in 2015 to 932 in 2023, up 29%.
USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage

What the filing data shows about Montana

Applicants with a Montana address filed 932 federal trademark applications in 2023, compared with 720 in 2015, a change of +29%.

Adjusted for population that is about 82 filings per 100,000 residents, the 22nd highest rate in the country.

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

A trademark and a Montana registration are different things

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