How Much Does a Trademark Cost? USPTO Fees, End to End (2026)
Short answer
Filing a US trademark costs $350 per class in USPTO fees if the application is clean, and $550 per class if you write your own goods-and-services description. Keeping it registered for ten years adds $650 per class in maintenance filings. So a single-class mark, filed without a lawyer and never challenged, costs about $1,000 over its first decade; with an attorney, most single-class registrations land between $1,300 and $2,500. Before any of that, checking whether the name is available is free.
The number everyone quotes is $350. It is correct, and it is the smallest number on this page.
A trademark is paid for in three stages: the application, the filings that get an intent-to-use application to registration, and the maintenance filings that keep it alive. Every one of them is charged per class, and every one is non-refundable.
The USPTO changed the whole structure on 18 January 2025. The old TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard tiers are gone; anything still describing a $250 option is out of date. There is now one base fee and a set of surcharges that apply only if the application is not clean.
All figures below are from the USPTO fee schedule effective 18 January 2025, last checked against the schedule on 13 September 2026.
What "per class" means, and why it is the number that matters
A trademark class is the category of goods or services the mark covers. There are 45 of them. A coffee roaster files in class 30; a coffee shop files in class 43; a coffee brand that does both files in both, and pays twice.
| Classes | Base filing fee | Ten-year maintenance | Ten-year total, USPTO only |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350 | $650 | $1,000 |
| 2 | $700 | $1,300 | $2,000 |
| 3 | $1,050 | $1,950 | $3,000 |
| 5 | $1,750 | $3,250 | $5,000 |
Every fee on this page multiplies by the class count, so the first cost decision is not whether to hire a lawyer. It is how many classes the business actually needs. See which trademark class am I in for how that decision works, and the complete class list for what each class covers.
The application: $350 per class, if it is clean
| Fee | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Base application | $350 per class | Every application filed through Trademark Center |
| Custom identification surcharge | +$200 per class | You write your own description instead of choosing from the USPTO's ID Manual |
| Insufficient information surcharge | +$100 per class | A required field is missing (translation, disclaimer, entity details, and so on) |
| Long description surcharge | +$200 per class, per extra 1,000 characters | Your description runs past 1,000 characters |
| Paper filing | $850 per class | Filing by mail instead of online |
"Clean" has a specific meaning. The base fee applies only when every good or service is chosen from the USPTO's pre-approved ID Manual and every required field is complete. Write one sentence of your own in the description and the application is $550 per class, not $350.
Most first-time filers can stay at $350. The ID Manual has tens of thousands of entries and covers nearly every ordinary business. The custom-description surcharge exists for businesses whose goods genuinely do not have a standard entry, which is rarer than it sounds.
The fee is per class, per application, and cannot be added to later. If you file in one class and then decide you need a second, that is a new application at full price with a new filing date.
Intent-to-use: the fees that come after filing
If the mark is not yet in use when you file, you file on an intent-to-use basis, and registration waits until you prove use. That proof costs money.
| Filing | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Statement of Use or Amendment to Allege Use | $150 per class | Once, when the mark is in commerce |
| Extension of time to file Statement of Use | $125 per class | Each six-month extension, up to five |
An intent-to-use application therefore costs at least $500 per class, not $350, before it registers. A business that takes two years to launch and needs three extensions is at $875 per class.
Filing before the business launches is often still right. The filing date is the priority date, and a competitor who starts using a similar name in the gap between your filing and your launch is behind you. The extra $150 buys that position.
Maintenance: what it costs to keep a registration
A registration is not permanent. It lapses unless you file a declaration that the mark is still in use between years five and six, and a combined declaration and renewal between years nine and ten. The USPTO does not send reminders.
| Filing | Amount | Window |
|---|---|---|
| Section 8 declaration of use | $325 per class | Years 5–6 after registration |
| Section 15 declaration of incontestability (optional) | $250 per class | Years 5–6, usually filed with Section 8 |
| Combined Section 8 & 9 renewal | $650 per class | Years 9–10, and every ten years after |
| Grace period surcharge | +$100 per class, per section | Filing up to six months late |
The first decade of a single-class registration costs $975 in maintenance if you file the optional Section 15 — $325 at year five, plus $650 at year ten — or $650 without it. The table at the top uses $650.
Miss a window and the registration is cancelled. The six-month grace period costs $100 per section per class; after that there is no revival, only a new application.
Attorney fees: the part with no schedule
The USPTO does not require a US-based applicant to use a lawyer. Foreign-domiciled applicants must. Everyone else is choosing whether to pay for a lower chance of an office action and a better-drafted description.
| Service | Typical range | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Clearance search and opinion | $300–$800 | A written view on whether the name is likely to register and what conflicts exist |
| Application preparation and filing, one class | $400–$1,200 | Drafting the description, choosing classes, filing |
| Office action response | $300–$1,500 | Answering an examiner's refusal or query; complex refusals cost more |
| Maintenance filing | $200–$500 | Preparing and filing Section 8 or 8 & 9 |
These are market ranges, not published fees, and they vary with the firm and the mark. See trademark attorney fees for a fuller breakdown of what drives the price.
Where the money is best spent is the search, not the filing. An application for a name that conflicts with a live mark is $350 gone, plus the cost of the response, plus a new search and a new name. A search that finds the conflict first costs nothing at all.
Three worked totals
The same single-class mark, three ways.
Self-filed, in use, no office action
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Search on Silvol | $0 |
| Base application, ID Manual description | $350 |
| Section 8 at year five | $325 |
| Section 8 & 9 at year ten | $650 |
| Ten-year total | $1,325 |
This is the floor, and a meaningful share of small-business marks are registered exactly this way.
Self-filed, intent-to-use, one extension
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Search on Silvol | $0 |
| Base application | $350 |
| One extension | $125 |
| Statement of Use | $150 |
| Maintenance to year ten | $975 |
| Ten-year total | $1,600 |
The extension and Statement of Use add $275 to reach registration, and the maintenance clock starts on the registration date, not the filing date.
Attorney-filed, two classes, one office action
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Search and opinion | $500 |
| Preparation and filing, two classes | $900 |
| Base application, two classes | $700 |
| Office action response | $600 |
| Section 8 at year five, two classes | $650 |
| Section 8 & 9 at year ten, two classes | $1,300 |
| Ten-year total | $4,650 |
Two classes and professional help roughly triple the cost, and the second class is responsible for more of that than the lawyer is.
What a trademark does not cost you
Some things people budget for do not exist.
| Assumed cost | Reality |
|---|---|
| A fee to search the register | The USPTO search is free, and so is Silvol's check |
| A fee to use the ™ symbol | None; ™ can be used on any mark, registered or not |
| An annual renewal | None; the first maintenance filing is at year five |
| A state filing to protect a name federally | None; state and federal registrations are separate systems |
| A fee to respond to a first office action | None from the USPTO, only the lawyer's time if you use one |
And one that people skip but should not: the time between filing and registration is typically twelve to eighteen months. There is no fee for waiting, but there is a cost in decisions deferred, which is why the search comes before the name is printed on anything.
Before you spend the $350
The filing fee is not refundable if the name conflicts with an existing mark, and the examiner will find the conflict whether or not you did.
The order that avoids wasted fees:
- Check the name against live federal marks and the .com — free, on Silvol. Read the limits of that check before treating a clear result as clearance: it covers the federal register and the domain, not state registrations or unregistered use.
- Identify the class or classes the business actually needs, using the class list. Each one is $350 now and $650 every ten years.
- Find your goods and services in the ID Manual. If they are there, the application is $350 per class. If they are not, decide whether the $200 custom description is worth it or whether a nearby standard entry fits.
- Decide use-based or intent-to-use. If the mark is already in commerce, file use-based and skip the $150 Statement of Use.
- Decide on a lawyer. For a clean single-class mark with an ID Manual description and a clear search, many businesses self-file. For multiple classes, a crowded field, or a foreign applicant, the fee is usually worth it.
- Calendar year five and year ten on the day the registration issues. The USPTO will not.
Common questions
How much does it cost to trademark a name?
$350 per class in USPTO fees for a clean electronic application, $550 per class if you write a custom description. That registers the mark; keeping it registered costs $650 per class every ten years, plus a $325 per class declaration between years five and six.
How much does a trademark cost with a lawyer?
Typically $1,300 to $2,500 for a single-class mark including the $350 government fee, depending on whether a search and opinion is included and whether an office action needs answering. Multi-class marks scale with the class count.
Is the $350 fee refundable if my trademark is refused?
No. Every USPTO trademark fee is non-refundable once processed, regardless of outcome. This is why searching before filing matters: a refusal for conflict with an existing mark costs the full fee.
How much does it cost to trademark a business name and logo?
Two applications, because a word mark and a design mark are separate. At minimum $700 for one class each, and $1,300 per class every ten years to maintain both. Most businesses file the word mark first, since it protects the name in any font or design.
Do I pay the trademark fee every year?
No. There is no annual fee. The maintenance filings are due between years five and six ($325 per class) and years nine and ten ($650 per class), then every ten years.
How much does it cost to trademark a phrase or slogan?
The same as a name: $350 per class for a clean application. Slogans face a higher refusal rate for being merely informational, so the search and description matter more.
What is the cheapest way to get a trademark?
Self-file a use-based application with a description chosen from the USPTO ID Manual, in one class, after a free search. That is $350, and it is how the floor case above reaches registration.
Can I add a class to my trademark later?
Not to a pending application. A new class means a new application at $350 per class with a new filing date. Registered marks likewise cannot be expanded; you file again.
How much does a trademark cost in the UK, Canada, or the EU?
Each office sets its own fees, and none of them is covered by a US registration. This page covers the USPTO only.
How much is an office action response?
The USPTO charges nothing for a response to a first office action. If a lawyer prepares it, $300 to $1,500 is typical, with complex refusals at the top of that range.
Does the fee change if I file in more than one class at once?
No discount. Three classes in one application is $1,050, the same as three separate applications, and the surcharges also apply per class.
How long does the $350 registration last?
Indefinitely, as long as the maintenance filings are made on time and the mark stays in use. See how long does a trademark last.
Keep reading
- Is my name trademarked? How to check, and what the check cannot tell you
- Trademark classes: the complete list with live counts
- Trademark attorney fees: what lawyers charge and why
- How long does a trademark last
Silvol checks a name against live US federal trademarks and the .com zone. It is not a law firm, does not clear names for use, and does not cover state registrations or unregistered marks. USPTO fees are quoted from the fee schedule effective 18 January 2025 and verified on the date shown above; confirm at uspto.gov before filing.
USPTO fees from the schedule effective January 18, 2025, checked September 13, 2026. Silvol is not a law firm and does not clear names for use.