A department that oversees the Census, the weather service, and patents — a broader combination than the name suggests.
Commerce supports economic growth and business activity through a surprisingly wide set of tools: the decennial Census, weather forecasting through NOAA, patent and trademark protection, export controls, and technical standards. Most people encounter it through weather forecasts or Census data without realizing both come from the same department.
Data is the currency of the digital economy, and Commerce’s data programs are among the most consulted in government.
Guide to Government
What It Does
Commerce was originally created in 1903 as the Department of Commerce and Labor, splitting into two separate Cabinet departments in 1913. What remained under Commerce is a mix of economic-data agencies, scientific agencies, and intellectual-property offices that don’t share an obvious theme beyond broadly supporting economic activity.
Conducts the Census
The Census Bureau runs the decennial population count and hundreds of ongoing economic and demographic surveys.
Forecasts weather
NOAA’s National Weather Service issues forecasts, warnings, and climate data used across government and industry.
Grants patents and trademarks
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examines and issues patents and registers trademarks.
Sets technical standards
NIST develops measurement standards and cybersecurity frameworks used across industry and government.
How It Fits Into Government
Split from a combined department in 1913
Commerce and Labor were created as a single department in 1903, then split into two separate Cabinet departments a decade later as each grew into distinct constituencies — business and industry on one side, organized labor on the other. Congress funds Commerce’s budget annually and writes the statutes governing patents, trademarks, and export controls the department administers.
Major Bureaus
Census Bureau
Population counts and economic statistics used for congressional apportionment and federal funding formulas.
- Decennial census
- Economic surveys
- Population estimates
NOAA
Weather forecasting, ocean science, and climate monitoring.
- National Weather Service
- Ocean research
- Fisheries management
USPTO
Examines and grants patents; registers trademarks.
- Patent examination
- Trademark registration
How It Is Checked
Congress
Funds Commerce’s budget and writes patent, trademark, and export-control statutes.
Courts
Review patent and trademark decisions, and can overturn Commerce rulemaking that exceeds statutory authority.
Public process
Census methodology and trade rules generally go through public comment before final adoption.
Inspector General
The Commerce OIG audits programs and investigates waste, fraud, and misconduct across its bureaus.
Public Services Visitors May Need
Check a weather forecast or alertNational Weather Service forecasts and warnings.→
Search or file a patent or trademarkUSPTO’s public search tools and filing systems.→
Check export control requirementsBureau of Industry and Security licensing rules.→
Commerce used to include Labor
A common misconception is that Commerce and Labor have always been separate departments with unrelated missions. They were actually created as one combined department in 1903, splitting into today’s two separate Cabinet departments only in 1913. The split reflects how differently business and organized-labor interests came to be represented in government as each grew too large to share one department.
