The number of new business filings in the state of Minnesota this year is up 17.7 percent over the same period in 2011—which could lead to a new annual record, according to data that the office of Secretary of State Mark Ritchie released Tuesday.

New business filings for the first three quarters of 2012 totaled 47,069, compared to 39,977 for the same period in 2011.

Filings for new limited liability companies (LLC)—the most common legal structure for new businesses in Minnesota—exceeded 23,000, up from roughly 19,000 during the same period in 2011, according to data provided by Ritchie’s office.

The growth appears to be maintaining its momentum from earlier this year: Ritchie’s office said in early August that year-to-date business filings were up about 16 percent from the same period in 2011.

“At this pace we will set a new all-time record for new business filings in 2012, another sign of the robust recovery underway in Minnesota,” Ritchie said in a statement.

That record was set in 2009, when the state reported more than 63,000 new filings, according to Patricia Turgeon, a spokeswoman from Ritchie’s office. The following year, filings slid to about 55,200. Turgeon said, however, that the 2009 spike can be attributed in part to a change in filing practices that the Minnesota Department of Commerce implemented.

Ritchie said in a statement that “start-up businesses in Minnesota have always been strong, even during the most difficult recent economic times, reflecting the very supportive new business climate in our state.”