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Rhode Island business name search

Check name availability against the Rhode Island Secretary of State database

12,082
Business applications, last 12 months
Census BFS via FRED, trailing 12 months
3,601
Filed Q2 2026
Census BFS via FRED, Q2 2026
+6.8%
Year-over-year growth
FRED, trailing 12 months vs prior 12
48
Filings per business day
Derived from TTM applications, FRED
Rhode Island seal
Websitewww.sos.ri.gov
Phone(401) 222-3040
Address148 W River St, Providence, RI 02904
Hours8:30 AM – 4:30 PM, Mon-Fri

Rhode Island business formation by the numbers

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

#48
Rhode Island ranks 48th 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
+42.3%
Formation activity since 2019
Comparison of trailing-twelve-month business applications to the 2019 calendar year total. Captures the post-pandemic formation surge.
FRED / BABATOTALNSARI
+31.0%
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
$150
LLC filing fee and processing time
Standard processing: 5-7 business days.
Rhode Island Secretary of State, verified Mar 2026
951
Federal trademark applications from Rhode Island businesses
Filed with the USPTO in 2023 by applicants with a Rhode Island address. Trademarks are federal, so this is separate from registering a business name with the Rhode Island Secretary of State.
USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage
-11%
Trademark filing change since 2015
Rhode Island filings went from 1,064 in 2015 to 951 in 2023, down 11%.
USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage

What the filing data shows about Rhode Island

Applicants with a Rhode Island address filed 951 federal trademark applications in 2023. That is down from 1,064 in 2015, a fall of 11%, 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 Rhode Island filings since 2019 is Class 041, covering education, training and entertainment services.

A trademark and a Rhode Island registration are different things

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