Trademark Registration in United States: Complete 2026 Guide

Most of the world lets you register a trademark on paper and worry about using it later. The United States does the opposite: it is a use-based system, and that single principle shapes every deadline, fee and form. Trademark registration in United States is run by the USPTO under the Lanham Act, and in 2026 it looks different from the guides still floating around online – the old TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard fee tiers are gone, replaced by a single base fee. This guide covers the filing bases, the current fees, the timeline, and the maintenance cliffs that quietly kill more registrations than any examiner ever does.

How Trademark Registration in United States Works

Trademark registration in United States is handled by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) under the Lanham Act. You file an application tied to specific goods or services, an examining attorney reviews it, the mark is published for opposition, and – if unchallenged and properly supported by use – it registers on the Principal Register. A federal registration gives you nationwide rights, a legal presumption of ownership, and the ability to use the (R) symbol and sue in federal court.

What makes the US system distinctive is that registration ultimately depends on use in commerce, not just filing. You can start before you have used the mark, but you cannot finish until you have. That is why choosing the correct filing basis at the outset – and understanding what each one commits you to – matters more than any other decision in the process.

Filing Basis: Use, Intent-to-Use, and Foreign Routes

Every US application rests on a filing basis, and the two most common are Section 1(a) and Section 1(b). File under Section 1(a), use in commerce, when you are already selling the goods or services under the mark across state lines – you submit a specimen of use up front and can register relatively quickly. File under Section 1(b), intent-to-use, when you have a genuine intention to use the mark but have not started yet.

An intent-to-use application does not register until you prove use. Once the mark clears examination and opposition, the USPTO issues a Notice of Allowance, and you then file a Statement of Use – currently $150 per class – showing the mark in real commercial use. Foreign applicants have two more routes: Section 44, based on a home-country application or registration, and Section 66(a), a US designation of an international registration through the Madrid Protocol.

The 7 Steps From Search to Registration

Here is the full path to a US federal registration, start to finish:

1. Clearance search – check the USPTO register and the marketplace for conflicts before you commit money to a filing.
2. Classify – select the correct Nice classes for your goods and services; each class carries its own fee and defines your scope.
3. Choose a basis – decide between use in commerce, intent-to-use, or a foreign/Madrid route.
4. File and pay – submit through the USPTO with the $350 base fee per class, plus any surcharges.
5. Examination – an examining attorney reviews on absolute and relative grounds and may issue an Office Action.
6. Publication and opposition – the mark is published in the Official Gazette for a 30-day opposition window.
7. Registration or Notice of Allowance – use-based marks register; intent-to-use marks receive a Notice of Allowance and register once a Statement of Use is filed.

2026 USPTO Fees You Should Budget For

The fee structure changed on 18 January 2025, and any guide still quoting TEAS Plus at $250 and TEAS Standard at $350 is out of date. There is now a single base application fee of $350 per class for Section 1 and Section 44 filings that meet the base requirements, with surcharges if you use free-form (rather than pre-approved) identifications of goods, or if your application is missing required information.

Budget beyond filing, too. An intent-to-use Statement of Use is $150 per class, and a request to extend the time to file it is $125 per class. A Notice of Opposition or petition to cancel before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board is $600 per class. These numbers move periodically, so confirm the current figures against the official USPTO fee schedule before you file.

Timeline: How Long US Registration Takes

Plan for months, not weeks. In 2026 the USPTO typically assigns an examining attorney several months after filing, and a smooth, use-based application often reaches registration in roughly ten to fourteen months. An intent-to-use application takes longer – commonly twelve to eighteen months – because the clock includes the Notice of Allowance and your Statement of Use.

The single biggest source of delay is the Office Action: a majority of applications receive at least one, and each response cycle can add several months. Most Office Actions are avoidable with a careful identification of goods and a proper clearance search up front – which is exactly why we tell clients that the money spent before filing saves the most time after it. Compare the US path with our guide to trademark registration in the United Kingdom, where examination is faster but relative-grounds practice differs.

Keeping the Mark Alive: Section 8, 9 and 15

A US registration is not permanent unless you feed it. Between the fifth and sixth year after registration you must file a Section 8 Declaration of Continued Use – currently $325 per class – proving the mark is still in use. Miss it, and the registration is cancelled regardless of how well the brand is doing. Between the ninth and tenth year, and every ten years after, you file a combined Section 8 and Section 9 renewal, currently $650 per class.

There is also an optional but valuable step: after five years of continuous use you can file a Section 15 declaration to make the registration incontestable, which sharply narrows the grounds on which a competitor can challenge it. These maintenance deadlines – not examiners – are what quietly end most registrations, so treat the docketing calendar as part of the asset itself.

Enforcing and Challenging US Trademarks

Registration is the beginning of protection, not the end. Conflicts are fought before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board through oppositions (challenging a mark before it registers) and cancellations (attacking one already on the register). Infringement and dilution claims go to the federal district courts, and cross-border goods can be stopped at the border by recording your mark with US Customs or through a Section 337 action at the International Trade Commission.

Whichever forum you end up in, the evidence starts with a clean, well-documented registration and a good clearance record. Our teams supporting clients in New York and Chicago, and across the United States services hub, build that record from the search stage onward. For the mechanics of the application itself, our step-by-step trademark registration guide goes deeper on each form.

Register and Protect Your Brand in the US

From a clearance search to filing under the right basis and keeping your registration alive, PerspireIP makes US trademark registration straightforward and defensible. Contact our team to clear and file your mark with confidence.

Frequently Asked Questions