How to Register a Trademark

You can register a straightforward trademark yourself and skip the $1,000 to $2,000 a lawyer charges. The whole thing happens on one government website, and for a simple, single-class filing the mechanics are not hard. What separates applications that register from applications that get refused is almost never the typing. It’s the preparation: a clean name, a specific description of what you sell, and a specimen that actually shows the mark in use. This guide walks you through all of it, in order, and it’s honest about the point where you should stop and hire help.

Have the USPTO Trademark Center open in another tab and file along as you read. By the end you’ll have submitted an application and been assigned a serial number.

This is general educational information, not legal advice. Trademark law is full of judgment calls, and USPTO fees are non-refundable. For anything beyond a simple, single-class filing, or if you get stuck at any step, consult a licensed trademark attorney.

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Before you open the form

Filing takes about 30 minutes once you’re ready. Getting ready is the part that decides whether your application survives. Do these four things first.

1. Search the name and confirm it’s clear

Never file before you search. If a confusingly similar mark already exists for related goods, your application gets refused under Section 2(d) (likelihood of confusion), the single most common reason applications die, and you lose the fee. Run a real search first, following how to search a trademark, and only move forward if the name comes back clean.

2. Confirm your mark is even registrable

Not every name can be a trademark. The USPTO ranks marks on a strength spectrum:

• Fanciful (an invented word like Kodak) and arbitrary (a real word unrelated to the product, like Apple for computers): strongest, easiest to register.
• Suggestive (hints at a benefit, like Glossier): registrable, and the sweet spot for most brands.
• Descriptive (describes the product, like “Creamy” for lotion): refused under Section 2(e)(1) unless you can prove years of exclusive use built up recognition. Hard.
• Generic (the common name for the thing itself): never registrable.

If your name just describes what you sell, that’s a problem to solve before you file, not after. See how to name your brand for the fix.

3. Write down exactly what you sell, using the USPTO’s own wording

This is where most DIY applications go wrong, so do it before you touch the form. Trademarks are registered inside categories called classes (there are 45), and you pay per class. You have to describe your specific goods or services, and the description has to be accurate and specific. “Beauty products” is too vague and will get an office action. “Cosmetics, namely, lipstick and lip gloss” is specific.

Do it the cheap way: pull your description straight from the USPTO Trademark ID Manual, the searchable list of pre-approved descriptions. Picking from that list keeps your filing at the base fee. Writing your own free-form description adds a $200-per-class surcharge, and running past 1,000 characters adds another $200 per class. Search the ID Manual for words that fit what you sell, copy the exact entries, and note which class each falls under.

Most small product brands need one or two classes:

• Class 3: cosmetics, skincare, perfume, soap, hair care.
• Class 25: clothing, footwear.
• Class 35: retail and online-store services (the act of selling). A brand selling DTC often wants Class 3 for the products and Class 35 for the shop.

Don’t over-claim. List what you actually sell now, not everything you might sell someday. Overbroad lists get refused.

4. Decide your filing basis, and get your specimen ready

Two options cover almost everyone:

• Use in commerce, Section 1(a): you’re already selling under the name across state lines. You file a specimen with the application (more below).
• Intent to use, Section 1(b): you’re not selling yet but plan to. This reserves your priority date now. You file proof of use later (a Statement of Use, $150 per class) once you launch. It costs a bit more overall but protects the name before you’re in market.

If you’re filing on use (1a), prepare your specimen now: real proof the mark is on what you sell as customers see it. For products, that’s a photo of the label or packaging, or a live product page with a buy button. For services, a screenshot of your site where the service is offered. A plain logo floating on a homepage with no product and no way to buy gets rejected. The mark in the specimen has to match the mark in your application exactly.

Set up your USPTO.gov account before you file. Since 2025, identity verification is mandatory and takes about 15 minutes. Do it once at uspto.gov so you’re not stuck mid-application.

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Filing in the Trademark Center

Go to trademarkcenter.uspto.gov, log in with your verified account, and select File a new application. The form moves through these screens.

Step 1: Owner information

The owner is the person or legal entity that controls the quality of the goods. If your business is an LLC or a corporation, enter the entity name, not your personal name. Getting this wrong causes ownership problems later that are annoying and sometimes expensive to fix. Add your address, citizenship or state of formation, and email. Keep that email current for the entire life of the mark, because every USPTO deadline notice goes there.

Step 2: Enter your mark and pick the format

• Standard character (words only, any font or color): the broadest protection, because it covers the name however you style it. If you’re protecting the name itself, choose this.
• Special form (a specific logo, stylization, or color): protects only that exact design.

If you want both the name and the logo protected, that’s two separate applications and two fees. If you register one first, register the name.

Step 3: Enter your goods, services, and class

Paste in the ID Manual descriptions you prepared, and assign each to its class. Pay the fee per class. Because you did the homework, you’re using pre-approved wording, staying under 1,000 characters, and avoiding the surcharges. This screen is where surcharges get added, so it’s worth double-checking your descriptions came straight from the manual.

Step 4: Filing basis and specimen

Select 1(a) (use) or 1(b) (intent to use). If you chose 1(a), upload the specimen you prepared. Confirm one more time that the mark shown in the specimen is identical to the mark you entered in Step 2. A mismatch is a routine reason specimens get refused.

Step 5: Sign, pay, and submit

Review everything, then sign the verified declaration (you’re swearing the information is true). Pay the $350 per class fee. Submit.

You’ll get a serial number on the spot. Save it. That number is how you track your application from here on, and how you’ll respond to anything the USPTO sends you.

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What happens after you file

Filing is the fast part. Now it’s mostly waiting, with a couple of moments where you may need to act.

The wait, and checking status

As of 2026, it takes roughly 8 to 10 months before an examining attorney even picks up your application. That’s normal volume, not a lost file. Check your status in the Drafts and docket section of Trademark Center every three to four months so you never miss a deadline.

The office action (if you get one)

If the examiner finds a problem, they mail an office action: a letter listing refusals or corrections. More than half of applications get at least one. You have three months to respond (extendable once by three more months for a fee), and if you miss it, the application goes abandoned.

• Minor, procedural stuff (a description that needs tightening, a clarification): often handle-it-yourself.
• A substantive refusal (likelihood of confusion, descriptiveness): this is exactly where a trademark attorney earns their fee. Responding well takes legal argument and evidence. If you get one of these, get help before you answer.

Registration, or a Notice of Allowance

• If you filed on use (1a) and nothing is opposed, your mark registers and a certificate issues. You can now use the ® symbol.
• If you filed on intent to use (1b), you get a Notice of Allowance instead. That’s not registration yet. You then have six months to file a Statement of Use ($150 per class) proving you’re now selling under the mark, or to buy a six-month extension ($125 per class, up to five of them). Missing the Statement of Use is the number one reason intent-to-use applications die at the finish line, so calendar it hard.

Before registration you can use ™ anytime to stake a claim. ® is only legal once the mark is federally registered.

Keeping it alive

Registration isn’t permanent on its own:

• Years 5 to 6: file a Section 8 Declaration of Use ($325 per class) proving you’re still selling under the mark. You can add an optional Section 15 (Incontestability, $250 per class) at the same time, which makes the mark much harder to challenge later. Worth it.
• Years 9 to 10: renew (combined Section 8 and 9, about $650 per class), then every 10 years after.

Miss a maintenance deadline and the registration is cancelled. There’s a six-month grace period with a $100-per-class penalty, and after that you start over from scratch.

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What it actually costs

The base fee is only part of it. Everything below is per class, current as of 2026.

Fee	Amount
Base application (Section 1 or 44)	$350
Insufficient-information surcharge	$100
Free-form description surcharge	$200
Each extra 1,000 characters of description	$200
Statement of Use (intent-to-use filings)	$150
Extension to file Statement of Use	$125
Section 8 / 9 maintenance (years 5-6, 9-10)	$325
Petition to revive an abandoned application	$250

A clean, single-class, use-based application done right costs exactly $350. Do the ID Manual homework and you skip the surcharges entirely.

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When to do it yourself, and when to hire out

DIY is reasonable when: your search came back clean, the name is distinctive or invented (not descriptive), you’re filing in one class, you sell only in the US, and you can pull your goods description from the ID Manual. That covers a large share of new brands.

Get help when: you found a close conflict, your name is descriptive, you need multiple classes, you’re filing internationally, or you get a substantive office action. USPTO data shows self-filed applications register at a much lower rate than attorney-filed ones, and the filing fee is gone whether or not you succeed. In those harder cases, a mistake costs more than the help.

If you’d rather hand it off

If you want the protection without doing the paperwork, online filing services prepare and file for a flat fee on top of the $350 USPTO fee, with attorney review, and cost far less than a traditional firm. LegalZoom and Trademark Engine are two well-known options. A reasonable middle path between fully DIY and hiring a lawyer, especially if the class and description make you nervous.

Common mistakes

• Filing before searching. A conflict you didn’t catch means a refused application and a lost fee.
• A vague or overbroad description. “Beauty products” gets an office action. Pull specific wording from the ID Manual.
• Writing your own description. Free-form text adds $200 per class. The pre-approved list is free.
• A weak, descriptive mark. Names that just describe the product are hard or impossible to register.
• A bad specimen. It has to show the mark on the actual product or sales page, matching the mark exactly, not a mock-up or a bare logo.
• Entering your personal name as the owner when the business is an LLC or corporation.
• Missing a deadline. No response to an office action, or no Statement of Use, means abandonment. Calendar every date.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to register a trademark?

The USPTO filing fee is $350 per class of goods or services as of 2026, and it is non-refundable. Surcharges apply if your application is incomplete ($100 per class) or uses a free-form goods description instead of the pre-approved ID Manual ($200 per class). A filing service or attorney charges their own fee on top of the government fee.

Can I register a trademark myself?

Yes, for a straightforward case. If your search is clean, your name is distinctive, you’re filing in one class, and you sell only in the US, you can file directly through the USPTO Trademark Center. Crowded categories, close conflicts, descriptive names, or international filing are where hiring help pays off. Foreign-domiciled applicants are required to use a US-licensed attorney.

How long does it take to register a trademark?

As of 2026, an examining attorney first reviews the application about 8 to 10 months after filing. With no office action, total time from filing to registration runs roughly 12 to 18 months. An office action or an intent-to-use filing adds time.

What is a specimen?

Proof that you’re using the mark in commerce, submitted with use-based (1a) applications. For products, it’s a photo of the label or packaging, or a live product page with a way to buy. For services, a screenshot of your site offering the service. It has to show the mark exactly as it appears in your application, on the actual goods or sales page, not a mock-up.

What is the difference between TM and the ® symbol?

You can use ™ anytime to claim a name as your trademark, even without filing. The ® symbol is only legal after the mark is federally registered with the USPTO. Using ® before registration is a violation.

What happens if I get an office action?

An office action is a letter from the examiner listing refusals or required corrections. You have three months to respond or the application is abandoned. Minor procedural issues you can often handle yourself. A substantive refusal like likelihood of confusion or descriptiveness is where a trademark attorney is worth hiring before you respond.

Sources

• USPTO, Trademark process. The official six-stage overview from application to maintenance, including examination, office actions, publication, and Notice of Allowance.
• USPTO, Apply online (Trademark Center). The filing portal that replaced TEAS in January 2025, and the account and identity-verification requirement.
• USPTO, Base application requirements. Required owner, mark, goods, basis, and verified-statement elements.
• USPTO, Trademark ID Manual. Searchable pre-approved goods and services descriptions that avoid the free-form surcharge.
• USPTO, Summary of 2025 trademark fee changes. The $350 base fee, surcharge structure, and maintenance fees effective January 18, 2025.
• USPTO, Trademark fee information. Insufficient-information, free-form description, and length surcharges.
• USPTO, Trademark processing wait times. Current examination and total pendency timelines.
• LegalZoom, Trademark registration. Filing-service option and the $350-per-class USPTO fee.
• Trademark Engine. Low-cost online trademark filing service.