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South Carolina business name search

Check name availability against the South Carolina Secretary of State database

98,221
Business applications, last 12 months
Census BFS via FRED, trailing 12 months
28,330
Filed Q2 2026
Census BFS via FRED, Q2 2026
+13.3%
Year-over-year growth
FRED, trailing 12 months vs prior 12
390
Filings per business day
Derived from TTM applications, FRED
South Carolina seal
Websitebusinessfilings.sc.gov
Phone(803) 734-2158
Address1205 Pendleton St, Suite 525, Columbia, SC 29201
Hours8:30 AM – 5:00 PM, Mon-Fri

South Carolina business formation by the numbers

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

#19
South Carolina ranks 19th 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
+90.7%
Formation activity since 2019
Comparison of trailing-twelve-month business applications to the 2019 calendar year total. Captures the post-pandemic formation surge.
FRED / BABATOTALNSASC
+27.0%
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
$110
LLC filing fee and processing time
Standard processing: 5-7 business days.
South Carolina Secretary of State, verified Mar 2026
3,782
Federal trademark applications from South Carolina businesses
Filed with the USPTO in 2023 by applicants with a South Carolina address. Trademarks are federal, so this is separate from registering a business name with the South Carolina Secretary of State.
USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage
+43%
Trademark filing change since 2015
South Carolina filings went from 2,637 in 2015 to 3,782 in 2023, up 43%.
USPTO Trademark Case Files, 2023 vintage

What the filing data shows about South Carolina

Applicants with a South Carolina address filed 3,782 federal trademark applications in 2023, up from 2,637 in 2015. That is a rise of 43%, one of the steepest increases in the country over those eight years.

The national pattern runs the same way. Florida (up 39%), Texas (up 36%), North Carolina (up 28%) and Georgia (up 20%) posted comparable gains, while California (down 4%), New York (down 10%) and Illinois (down 7%) all lost volume over the same period.

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

A trademark and a South Carolina registration are different things

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