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North Carolina business name search

Check name availability against the North Carolina Secretary of State database

192,224
Business applications, last 12 months
Census BFS via FRED, trailing 12 months
52,626
Filed Q2 2026
Census BFS via FRED, Q2 2026
+18.9%
Year-over-year growth
FRED, trailing 12 months vs prior 12
763
Filings per business day
Derived from TTM applications, FRED
North Carolina seal
Websitewww.sosnc.gov
Phone(919) 814-5400
Address2 S Salisbury St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Hours8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Mon-Fri

North Carolina business formation by the numbers

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

#7
North Carolina ranks 7th 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
+85.5%
Formation activity since 2019
Comparison of trailing-twelve-month business applications to the 2019 calendar year total. Captures the post-pandemic formation surge.
FRED / BABATOTALNSANC
+18.8%
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
$125
LLC filing fee and processing time
Standard processing: 5-10 business days.
North Carolina Secretary of State, verified Mar 2026
8,520
Federal trademark applications from North Carolina businesses
Filed with the USPTO in 2023 by applicants with a North Carolina address, the 9th highest total of any state. Trademarks are federal, so this is separate from registering a business name with the North Carolina Secretary of State.
USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage
+28%
Trademark filing change since 2015
North Carolina filings went from 6,664 in 2015 to 8,520 in 2023, up 28%.
USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage

What the filing data shows about North Carolina

Applicants with a North Carolina address filed 8,520 federal trademark applications in 2023, compared with 6,664 in 2015, a change of +28%.

Adjusted for population that is about 78 filings per 100,000 residents, the 24th highest rate in the country.

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

A trademark and a North Carolina registration are different things

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