Answer
How do I transfer a trademark to someone else?
Lawyers call this: assignment · 15 U.S.C. § 1060
Short answer
Sign a written assignment that transfers the mark together with the goodwill of the business it stands for, then record the assignment with the USPTO through its online Assignment Center. The written document is what moves ownership. Recording puts the change on the public record and updates the owner shown for the application or registration.
The most common case is moving a mark from an owner who filed personally to the owner’s new LLC. The same rules apply.
What changes the answer
- Whether the goodwill goes with the mark
- A mark stands for a business’s reputation. A transfer of the name alone, without the business it identifies, can be void. The assignment should say that the goodwill goes with it.
- Whether the application is based on intent to use
- An application filed before use, on an intent-to-use basis, generally cannot be assigned until use has been alleged. The exception is a transfer to a successor to the ongoing business the mark relates to.
- Whether you record, and how quickly
- An unrecorded assignment is void against a later buyer who paid for the mark without notice, unless it is recorded within three months or before that later purchase.
- Who the owner of record was
- If the application named the wrong owner at filing, an assignment may not fix it. An application filed by someone who did not own the mark can be void. That is a different problem from a transfer.
The rule
A registered mark, or a mark in a pending application, can be assigned with the goodwill of the business in which it is used, or the part of the goodwill connected with the mark. 15 U.S.C. § 1060(a)(1). An intent-to-use application cannot be assigned before the applicant files an amendment to allege use or a statement of use, except to a successor to the applicant’s business, or the part of it the mark relates to, if that business is ongoing and existing. Id.
Assignments must be in writing and signed. 15 U.S.C. § 1060(a)(3). An assignment is void against a later purchaser for value without notice unless it is recorded with the USPTO within three months after the assignment or before the later purchase. 15 U.S.C. § 1060(a)(4).
The USPTO records assignments through Assignment Center. The fee is $40 for the first mark in a document and $25 for each additional mark in the same document, filed electronically. 37 C.F.R. § 2.6 (2026). Recording is not a USPTO finding that the assignment is valid. 37 C.F.R. § 3.54 (2026).
What to do next
Recording is often something owners do themselves. The Assignment Center form asks for the parties, the kind of transfer, the date, and the application or registration numbers, and you upload the signed document. After it records, check the record in TSDR to confirm the new owner shows up.
Drafting the assignment is a different matter. The document has to identify the marks, carry the goodwill, and fit the facts, such as whether the application is intent-to-use or the transfer is part of a sale of the business. A mistake there can cost you the mark, and recording will not catch it.
Moving a mark into your own LLC is usually simple, but it is also the moment to check that the LLC, the application, and any licenses all line up.
If you need the assignment drafted, Valet Law, PLLC can prepare it and confirm the transfer fits the application’s filing basis.
Attorney review is provided by Valet Law, PLLC, a law firm separate from Trademark Valet, LLC. Keep confidential facts out of public tools. Your first message to Valet Law should identify the parties and the general issue only. Wait until Valet Law confirms it can discuss the matter before sending confidential details.
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.