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Answer

How much does a trademark cost?

Lawyers call this: USPTO trademark fees · 37 C.F.R. § 2.6

Short answer

The USPTO charges $350 per class of goods or services to file a federal application. A one-class application that uses the USPTO’s pre-approved descriptions of goods and services costs $350 in government fees. Every added class adds another $350, and surcharges, intent-to-use filings and problems during examination add more.

There is no free federal filing. A name, a logo and a phrase all cost the same to file, because the fee is set by the class, not by the kind of mark.

What changes the answer

How many classes you file in
Goods and services are sorted into 45 classes. Clothing and a clothing store are two classes, so they cost $700 at the base rate.
Whether you use the USPTO's pre-approved descriptions
Choosing entries from the USPTO’s ID Manual avoids surcharges. Writing your own description in the free-form box adds $200 per class, plus $200 per class for each extra 1,000 characters past the first 1,000. An application missing required information adds $100 per class.
Whether you are already selling under the mark
An intent-to-use application, for a mark you plan to use but have not used yet, costs more later. Proving use costs $150 per class, and each six-month extension to prove it costs $125 per class.
Whether you want both the name and the logo
Each is usually its own application. A name and a logo in one class means two applications, or $700 in filing fees.
Whether examination goes smoothly
Answering a refusal on time carries no government fee. Extending the deadline costs $125, and reviving an application abandoned by mistake costs $250. The larger cost is usually time or a lawyer.

The rule

The fees are set in 37 C.F.R. § 2.6 (2026) and published on the USPTO fee schedule. These are the electronic-filing amounts in effect since January 2025, as the schedule stood when checked on 2026-09-26 (schedule last revised August 14, 2026):

  • Application, per class: $350
  • Insufficient information surcharge, per class: $100
  • Free-form text surcharge, per class: $200
  • Each additional 1,000 characters of free-form text, per affected class: $200
  • Amendment to allege use or Statement of Use, per class: $150
  • Six-month extension to file a Statement of Use, per class: $125
  • Extension of time to respond to an office action: $125
  • Section 8 declaration of use, per class: $325
  • Section 9 renewal, per class: $325
  • Section 8 and Section 9 filed together, per class: $650
  • Grace-period surcharge for a late Section 8 or Section 9 filing, per class: $100 each
  • Section 15 declaration of incontestability, per class: $250

Two examples. A use-based application in one class with ID Manual descriptions: $350. An intent-to-use application in one class, with one extension before the Statement of Use: $350 + $125 + $150 = $625.

Keeping the registration costs money too: $325 per class between the fifth and sixth years, then $650 per class at each ten-year mark. See 15 U.S.C. §§ 1058, 1059.

You can build rights without paying anyone. Using a mark in business creates what lawyers call common-law rights. Those rights generally reach only the area where you actually do business, and they come without the nationwide notice a federal registration gives. You may use ™ without registering. The ® symbol is for federally registered marks only. See 15 U.S.C. § 1111.

What to do next

Count your classes first. Then pick your goods and services from the USPTO’s ID Manual, which keeps the filing fee at $350 per class. Budget for the Statement of Use and at least one extension if you have not started selling. Check the fee schedule on uspto.gov on the day you file, because the USPTO changes fees.

Attorney fees vary widely by firm and by what the work covers. Some charge a flat fee to file and bill separately for office actions. Ask what a refusal costs before you hire anyone. Valet Law sets its fees separately and confirms them in writing before work begins.

A single-class application with a distinctive name and ID Manual descriptions is a filing many owners make themselves. Several classes, a custom description, or a name that sits close to another mark is where a lawyer’s read can save the cost of a second application.

Have an attorney review it →

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Who checked this

Reviewed and approved by Brandon Leavitt on 2026-10-02.

General information about how trademark law works. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not make anyone your lawyer.