Guide
State trademark search
Every U.S. state keeps its own trademark register, separate from the federal one at the USPTO. A state search finds marks registered only in that state, which a USPTO search never shows. Below is the official search for each state, with how to use it.
State and federal trademarks are separate registers
- A state registration covers one state. It is filed with the state, usually the Secretary of State, under that state's trademark law, and it is cheaper and quicker than a federal filing.
- A federal registration covers the whole country. It is filed with the USPTO, for a mark used (or intended to be used) in trade across state lines or with other countries. Search it free with our U.S. trademark search, or check a name for similar marks with the trademark availability check.
- Neither register shows everything. A business can have rights in a name just by using it first in its area, with no registration at all. A web search for the name in your line of business finds most of these.
- A business name is not a trademark. Registering an LLC or a company name with the state is a different list. To check that list, use the business name search by state.
Trademark search by state
The official search of the state trademark register, run by the office named. Where a state has no online search, the note says how to ask. Search the exact name and close variations, as the states refuse a mark that is confusingly similar to one already registered.
- AL
- AK
- AZ
- AR
- CA
- CO
- CT
- DE
- DC
- FL
- GA
- HI
- ID
- IL
- IN
- IA
- KS
- KY
- LA
- ME
- MD
- MA
- MI
- MN
- MS
- MO
- MT
- NE
- NV
- NH
- NJ
- NM
- NY
- NC
- ND
- OH
- OK
- OR
- PA
- RI
- SC
- SD
- TN
- TX
- UT
- VT
- VA
- WA
- WV
- WI
- WY
| State (opens the official search) | How to search |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Search by mark description, applicant name or trademark number from the Trademark Records page. Alabama Secretary of State, Lands and Trademarks Division · registering a state trademark |
| Alaska | There is no search form. Download the list of registered marks from the trademark registration page. Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing (Corporations Section) · registering a state trademark |
| Arizona | Use Entity Search in the trade name and trademark program; it searches trade names and trademarks together. Arizona Secretary of State, Business Services (Trade Names and Trademarks) · registering a state trademark |
| Arkansas | Use Trademark Search Online and search by mark, owner or number. Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services · registering a state trademark |
| California | Search by mark description, owner, registration number, class or design code. California Secretary of State, Trademarks & Service Marks Unit · registering a state trademark |
| Colorado | In the business search, choose Trademark advanced search. Colorado Secretary of State, Business and Licensing Division · registering a state trademark |
| Connecticut | Use Search Trademarks, which is separate from the business records search. Connecticut Secretary of the State, Business Services Division · registering a state trademark |
| Delaware | Delaware registers trademarks but offers no public search of them. Call the Division of Corporations at (302) 739-3073. Delaware Department of State, Division of Corporations · registering a state trademark |
| District of Columbia | The District of Columbia has no trademark register. Use the federal USPTO register instead. DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Corporations Division (no trademark register) |
| Florida | On Sunbiz, search by Trademark Name or Trademark Owner Name. Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz) · registering a state trademark |
| Georgia | Use Trademark Search and search by mark name, description or registration number. Pending applications are not listed. Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division · registering a state trademark |
| Hawaii | Search the name in Search & Buy, then set the record type filter to Trademark or Service Mark. Hawaii DCCA, Business Registration Division (BREG) · registering a state trademark |
| Idaho | Use Trademark Search, which is separate from the business search. Idaho Secretary of State, Business and Trademarks (SOSBiz) · registering a state trademark |
| Illinois | Search by mark name, registrant or registration number. Phone searches: (217) 524-0400. Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services, Trademark/Servicemark Division · registering a state trademark |
| Indiana | Use the trademark search in INBiz, not the business entity search. Indiana Secretary of State, Business Services Division · registering a state trademark |
| Iowa | Use Trademark Search and search by trademark name or description. Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services Division · registering a state trademark |
| Kansas | Search by mark, owner name or mark number. Kansas Secretary of State, Business Services · registering a state trademark |
| Kentucky | Search by word mark, description, registrant, goods and services or number. Kentucky Secretary of State, Business Filings (Trademarks) · registering a state trademark |
| Louisiana | The commercial search covers entity names and trade registration numbers. For a reliable mark check, call the Commercial Division at (225) 925-4704. Louisiana Secretary of State, Commercial Division · registering a state trademark |
| Maine | In the corporate name search, set the entity type to MARK. Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions · registering a state trademark |
| Maryland | Search by mark name, keyword, service, owner or class. Maryland Secretary of State (Trademarks) · registering a state trademark |
| Massachusetts | Search by mark description, registrant, registration number or date range. Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division (Trademark Section) · registering a state trademark |
| Michigan | There is no online mark search. Call the Corporations Division at (517) 241-6470 or send a search request by mail. Michigan LARA, Corporations, Securities & Commercial Licensing Bureau, Corporations Division · registering a state trademark |
| Minnesota | Search the name in Business Search; trademarks appear with the business type Trademark. Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services · registering a state trademark |
| Mississippi | Search by keyword, owner, dates or class. Mississippi Secretary of State, Business Services · registering a state trademark |
| Missouri | There is no online mark search. Call the Corporations Section at (573) 751-4153. Missouri Secretary of State, Business Services, Corporations Section · registering a state trademark |
| Montana | In the business search, switch the top menu from Business to Trademark. Montana Secretary of State, Business & UCC Services · registering a state trademark |
| Nebraska | Search the name in the Corporate & Business Search, which covers trademarks and service marks along with businesses. Nebraska Secretary of State, Business Services Division · registering a state trademark |
| Nevada | Open Mark Search and choose the Mark tab. Nevada Secretary of State, Commercial Recordings Division · registering a state trademark |
| New Hampshire | No online mark search was found. Contact the Corporation Division to ask whether a mark is registered. New Hampshire Secretary of State, Corporation Division |
| New Jersey | In Business Records, choose Trade Name and Trade/Service Mark Status Report, then search by name, number or owner. (The report page only opens from there.) NJ Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services · registering a state trademark |
| New Mexico | From the Trademark Database page, follow the link to search the database. New Mexico Secretary of State, Commercial Services · registering a state trademark |
| New York | There is no online trademark search. Contact the Department of State, State Records unit, in Albany. New York Department of State, Division of Corporations, State Records and UCC (State Records Unit) · registering a state trademark |
| North Carolina | Use the Search Trademarks box and pick a search type: mark name, owner, class or registration number. North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Trademarks Section · registering a state trademark |
| North Dakota | Use Trademark Search in the FirstStop portal. North Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services · registering a state trademark |
| Ohio | In Business Search, choose the trademark and service mark search. Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services Division · registering a state trademark |
| Oklahoma | Search by registration number, or choose Search for a Description to search by words. Oklahoma Secretary of State, Trademark Division (Business Services) · registering a state trademark |
| Oregon | Search the Active Trademark Registrations list, which the Secretary of State links as its trademark search. Active marks only. Oregon Secretary of State, Corporation Division · registering a state trademark |
| Pennsylvania | Use the free trademark search in the Business Services portal, or call (717) 787-1057. Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations · registering a state trademark |
| Rhode Island | Search by mark description, registrant or registration number. Rhode Island Department of State, Business Services Division · registering a state trademark |
| South Carolina | Use the Trademarks & Service Marks search on the Secretary of State site. South Carolina Secretary of State's Office · registering a state trademark |
| South Dakota | Search by trademark name or ID; tick Active Trademarks Only to skip expired marks. South Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services Division · registering a state trademark |
| Tennessee | Use the Trademark/Service Mark Search; active and cancelled marks are both listed. Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Business and Charitable Organizations · registering a state trademark |
| Texas | Not free: create an account in Trademarks Online, choose Search & Order Records and pay the search fee before searching. Texas Secretary of State, Business & Public Filings Division · registering a state trademark |
| Utah | On the Searches page, choose Trademark Search, which is separate from the business search. Utah Department of Commerce, Division of Corporations and Commercial Code · registering a state trademark |
| Vermont | Search by trademark name, description or owner. Vermont registers trademarks only, not service marks. Vermont Secretary of State, Business Services Division · registering a state trademark |
| Virginia | No online search was confirmed. Contact the State Corporation Commission, Division of Securities and Retail Franchising. Virginia State Corporation Commission, Division of Securities and Retail Franchising · registering a state trademark |
| Washington | Use Trademark Search in the filing system; search by text, owner or registration number. Washington Secretary of State, Corporations and Charities Division · registering a state trademark |
| West Virginia | Use Search Registered Marks; search by description, owner, goods and services, type or status. West Virginia Secretary of State, Business & Licensing Division · registering a state trademark |
| Wisconsin | Search with a free account on the Department of Financial Institutions site, or ask by phone at (608) 266-8915 or email DFI-Trademark@dfi.wisconsin.gov. Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Division of Corporate and Consumer Services |
| Wyoming | Search by mark, applicant, design or class. Wyoming Secretary of State, Business Division · registering a state trademark |
A complete search, in order
- The federal register, for the name and similar wording in your classes: the trademark availability check does this and scores each match.
- Your state's register, and the registers of the states where you sell, from the table above.
- The web, marketplaces and app stores, for businesses using the name without registering it.
- Logos, if you have one: the logo search by image compares it with registered logos.
More detail: how to check if a name is trademarked.
State or federal registration?
If you only trade in one state and want a low-cost public record of your claim there, a state registration does that. If you sell in more than one state or online, a federal registration is the stronger choice: it covers the whole country, lets you use the ® symbol, and counts against later applicants nationwide. Costs and steps: what a trademark costs and how to trademark a name.
Questions
Does a state trademark search include federal trademarks?
No. A state register lists only marks registered with that state. Federal registrations are on the USPTO register, which our free U.S. trademark search covers. Check both, plus the web for businesses using the name without registering.
Does a state trademark protect my brand nationwide?
No. A state registration covers that one state. A federal registration with the USPTO covers the whole country, and an earlier federal owner can stop you even where you hold a state registration.
Do all states have a trademark register?
All 50 states do. The District of Columbia does not register trademarks, so a business there relies on federal registration.
Is a state trademark worth it?
It can be for a business that only trades in one state: it is cheaper and faster than federal registration and puts your claim on the public record there. If you sell across state lines or online, federal registration is usually the better protection.
Why search state registers if I am filing federally?
A business that registered the name with a state, or simply used it first in its area, can have rights the USPTO search does not show. Finding it before you file or launch costs far less than a dispute later.
General information, not legal advice. State procedures and search systems change; the links were checked on the date above. For a name you will build a business on, a trademark attorney can run a full clearance search.