How Much Does a Trademark Cost? The Real Numbers for 2026

The government fee to file a trademark is $350 per class. That number is simple. The actual trademark cost of getting a mark registered, maintained, and defended is not.

How much does it cost to trademark a name? That depends on how you file (yourself or through an attorney), how many Nice classes you need (the international system that categorizes goods and services into 45 classes), whether your application hits complications like office actions, and what you spend on maintenance after registration.

Most online guides still reference the old TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard fee split. That system ended on January 18, 2025, when the USPTO consolidated trademark registration fees into a single fee structure. If a guide is still quoting you $250 per class for TEAS Plus, it is outdated.

This article breaks down every trademark cost at every stage: government filing fees under the current system, attorney fees by service tier, international filing costs, post-registration maintenance, and specific strategies for keeping the total down. Every number is current as of 2026.

Trademark Cost by Filing Method

Total trademark cost for a single-class US registration ranges from $350 to over $5,000, depending on how much professional help you use and whether complications arise.

The DIY range extends to $550 because surcharges can add $100 to $200 per class if you use free-text descriptions or submit an application with insufficient information. More on that in the next section.

Each additional Nice class adds $350 in government fees alone. A two-class filing with attorney representation typically runs $2,000 to $4,000. Three classes: $2,500 to $5,000+. Multi-class filings are where costs escalate quickly, because both government fees and attorney fees scale per class.

These numbers cover filing and registration only. A trademark is not a one-time purchase. Maintaining a registration requires mandatory filings at the five-year mark and every ten years after that. The ongoing costs section below covers the full lifetime picture.

If you are still deciding whether to file, how to trademark a name covers the complete process from clearance search through registration. For an overview of the registration system itself, including examination timelines and what happens at each stage, see how trademark registration works.

USPTO Trademark Fees: What Changed in 2025

The USPTO overhauled its trademark fee structure effective January 18, 2025. Understanding what changed is directly relevant to what you will pay.

The Old System (Pre-January 2025)

Before the consolidation, the USPTO offered two electronic filing options with different prices and requirements:

TEAS Plus cost $250 per class and required applicants to describe their goods and services using pre-approved language from the USPTO's Trademark ID Manual. It also required agreement to receive all correspondence by email.

TEAS Standard cost $350 per class and allowed applicants to write custom descriptions of their goods and services. This was necessary when the ID Manual did not have a description that accurately fit the applicant's business.

The $100 difference created a real incentive to use ID Manual descriptions, which it should have, because pre-approved descriptions reduce examiner workload and prosecution delays.

The Current System (January 2025 Onward)

The USPTO replaced both options with a single base filing fee: $350 per class. One form, one price. The TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard designations no longer exist.

The incentive to use pre-approved descriptions did not disappear. It moved into the surcharge structure.

Surcharges That Increase the Base Fee

Two surcharges can push the per-class cost above $350:

$200 per class for free-text descriptions. If you describe your goods or services using language not found in the Trademark ID Manual, the USPTO adds $200 per class. This is the successor to the old TEAS Plus/Standard price gap, but steeper. Under the old system, choosing custom descriptions cost $100 more. Now it costs $200 more.

$100 per class for insufficient information. If the application lacks required information and triggers additional processing by the examining attorney, the USPTO adds $100 per class. This surcharge applies when the application is incomplete enough to require the office to request basic information that should have been included at filing.

How to Avoid Surcharges

The $200 free-text surcharge is the one that matters for most filers. Avoiding it is straightforward: use descriptions from the Trademark ID Manual when identifying your goods and services.

The ID Manual contains thousands of pre-approved descriptions. For most businesses, there is an acceptable match. "Downloadable mobile application software for fitness tracking" is in the ID Manual. "Computer software" by itself is too broad and would also likely trigger an office action regardless of the surcharge.

Using ID Manual descriptions accomplishes two things at once: it avoids the $200 surcharge, and it reduces the risk of an office action over vague or overbroad identification of goods. Both save money. Both save time.

For a full explanation of how to classify your goods and services, the Nice classification guide covers all 45 classes and how they apply to common business types.

The practical takeaway: the effective base cost for a well-prepared application using ID Manual descriptions is $350 per class. Filers who need custom descriptions pay $550 per class. That $200 difference is the single most avoidable cost in the entire filing process.

Attorney Fees: What Trademark Lawyers Actually Charge

Government fees are the predictable part of trademark cost. Attorney fees are where the range widens, because you are paying for judgment, not just form-filling.

What You Are Paying For

A trademark attorney's fee covers several distinct services, and it helps to understand each one because not every application needs all of them.

Clearance search and opinion: $300 to $1,000. The attorney searches the federal register (and often state registrations, common law sources, and domain databases) for marks that could create a likelihood of confusion problem. Then they write an opinion assessing whether the proposed mark is safe to file. The depth of search determines the cost. A knockout search (checking for exact and near-exact matches) runs $300 to $500. A full comprehensive clearance search with written opinion runs $500 to $1,000 or more.

Application preparation and filing: $500 to $1,500. This covers selecting the filing basis, drafting or selecting the goods and services description, reviewing the specimen, and submitting the application through the USPTO Trademark Center. For a straightforward single-class application, the lower end of this range is typical. Complex filings (multiple classes, design marks, tricky specimens) push toward the upper end.

Office action responses: $500 to $1,500 per response. This is the cost that most applicants do not budget for, and it is the most significant variable in total trademark cost. Approximately 20% of the 612,000+ applications the USPTO received in FY2024 triggered an office action.

If your application is in that 20%, an attorney's response typically costs $500 to $1,500 depending on the complexity of the refusal. A simple technical fix (inadequate specimen, unclear description) is at the lower end. A substantive Section 2(d) likelihood of confusion refusal requiring legal argument, evidence, and possibly an appeal to the TTAB is at the upper end. For detailed guidance on the types of office actions and how they are resolved, see the office action response guide.

Cost by Service Tier

The total attorney cost depends on the level of service:

DIY (no attorney): $0 in legal fees. You handle everything yourself. The risk is that mistakes in the application, the goods description, or the clearance analysis cost more to fix than an attorney would have charged to get them right the first time. For a distinctive mark with a clean clearance search and a single Nice class, self-filing is a reasonable option.

Online legal services ($99 to $599 service fee). Companies like LegalZoom and similar platforms offer trademark filing packages. What you get: someone fills out the form and runs a basic search. What you typically do not get: legal judgment on whether a potentially similar mark creates a real likelihood of confusion risk, strategic advice on goods description, or substantive office action responses. The service fee sits on top of the $350 government fee.

Solo or small firm attorney ($1,000 to $2,500 flat fee). This is the most common arrangement for straightforward single-class filings. Most trademark attorneys offer flat-fee packages that cover clearance, filing, and basic office action responses. The attorney exercises legal judgment at every decision point. For the average total cost of a single-class US registration with attorney representation, $1,500 to $3,000 is the realistic range.

Large firm ($2,000 to $5,000+). BigLaw rates for trademark work are higher because of overhead, not because the filing is more complex. Large firm representation makes sense when the trademark is part of a broader IP portfolio strategy, involves multi-jurisdictional coordination, or is tied to a transaction (M&A, funding round) where the firm is already engaged.

When to Hire an Attorney

The honest assessment: if your mark is clearly distinctive (suggestive, arbitrary, or fanciful rather than descriptive), your clearance search found no close matches, your goods fit a single Nice class with an ID Manual description, and you are comfortable reading USPTO guidance, then self-filing is a reasonable path.

The situations where attorney involvement pays for itself are: a crowded field where similar marks exist, goods spanning multiple Nice classes, any ambiguity in the clearance search, a mark that could be considered descriptive, or plans for international expansion. The highest-value moment for attorney involvement is before filing, at the clearance and strategy stage, not the form-filling stage.

This article discusses general cost ranges and filing approaches. Every trademark application involves specific facts. Consult a trademark attorney for legal guidance specific to your situation.

International Trademark Costs

US registration protects you in the United States. If your business operates internationally, or plans to, extending trademark protection to other countries multiplies costs significantly.

The Madrid Protocol

The Madrid Protocol is the international treaty system that allows a trademark holder to file a single application designating multiple countries, rather than filing separate applications in each country. It is administered by WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organization) and covers over 130 member countries.

The fee structure has three components:

Base fee: CHF 653 (approximately $730 USD at current exchange rates). This covers the initial international application for a single class.

Additional class fee: CHF 100 per additional class (approximately $112 USD). Each class beyond the first adds this amount.

Individual designation fees: varies by country. Each country you designate charges its own fee, and these vary dramatically. Some examples for a single-class designation: the United States charges approximately $508, the European Union approximately $1,014, China approximately $249, and Japan approximately $608. These are WIPO-published fees denominated in Swiss francs; USD equivalents fluctuate with exchange rates.

A realistic scenario: a US-based company wanting protection in the US, EU, and China for a single class through Madrid might spend CHF 653 (base) + CHF 1,014 (EU designation) + CHF 249 (China designation) = approximately $2,500 to $3,500 USD after exchange rates and processing fees, before any local attorney fees for responding to provisional refusals.

Direct Filing vs. Madrid

The alternative to Madrid is filing directly in each country through a local attorney. Direct filing means separate applications, separate fee schedules, and separate local counsel in every jurisdiction.

For three or more countries, Madrid is almost always cheaper. For a single foreign country, direct filing may be simpler and avoids Madrid's structural risk: central attack. If your home registration (the US registration that the Madrid application is based on) fails within the first five years, all international designations can be cancelled. That risk is real, though it can be managed through a mechanism called transformation that converts cancelled designations into national applications.

For a deeper treatment of the Madrid system and when direct filing makes more strategic sense, see the international trademark filing guide.

Why International Costs Add Up

The pattern is straightforward: each country adds fees. Each additional class multiplies those fees. Local attorney representation in each designated country adds more. A company seeking protection in five countries across two Nice classes can easily spend $10,000 to $20,000 on the international filing alone. Most startups begin with US-only protection and expand internationally as the business and budget grow. That is a reasonable cost management strategy, not a sign of under-investment.

Trademark Renewal Costs and Ongoing Maintenance

Registration is a milestone, not a finish line. A US trademark registration comes with mandatory maintenance deadlines. Missing them kills the registration. There are no extensions or appeals for missed deadlines. The remedy is starting over with a new application.

Section 8: Declaration of Use (Years 5-6)

Between the 5th and 6th anniversary of registration, the trademark owner must file a Section 8 Declaration of Continued Use. This filing proves the mark is still in active commercial use. The cost is $225 per class.

There is a six-month grace period after the deadline, but using it adds a $100 per class late surcharge. If the declaration is not filed within the grace period, the registration is cancelled. Not suspended. Cancelled.

Section 9: Renewal (Every 10 Years)

Trademark registrations last indefinitely, but only if renewed. The Section 9 renewal is due every 10 years at a cost of $300 per class. At the 10-year mark, the Section 8 declaration and Section 9 renewal are typically filed together as a combined filing for $525 per class ($225 + $300).

The same six-month grace period applies, with the same $100 per class surcharge for late filing.

Monitoring and Enforcement

Maintenance filings keep the registration alive. Monitoring and enforcement protect the value of the mark in the marketplace.

Trademark monitoring means watching for new filings that could conflict with your registered mark. Professional monitoring services range from $200 to $1,000+ per year, depending on the number of jurisdictions and classes covered. Monitoring is not legally required, but it is practically necessary. A conflicting mark that you discover during the 30-day opposition window is far cheaper to challenge than one that has been in use for years. For a detailed treatment of what monitoring involves, see what is trademark monitoring.

Enforcement costs vary enormously. A cease-and-desist letter drafted by an attorney typically costs $500 to $2,000. An opposition proceeding before the TTAB (the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the USPTO's adjudicative body) can cost $10,000 to $50,000+ through resolution. Federal litigation for trademark infringement starts at $50,000 and can exceed $500,000 for complex cases. These are costs that arise only when there is an actual conflict, but they are part of the realistic picture of trademark ownership.

The Lifetime Trademark Cost

For a single-class US registration with attorney representation, the 20-year cost looks roughly like this:

The range is wide because monitoring costs, office action fees, and enforcement expenses are variable. A mark that faces no challenges and requires no enforcement sits at the lower end. A mark in a competitive space with active infringement issues sits much higher.

Trademark protection is a recurring operating expense, not a one-time capital expenditure. Budgeting only for filing and then being surprised by maintenance costs is one of the most common financial planning mistakes in brand protection. For detailed coverage of renewal timelines and procedures, see the trademark renewal and maintenance guide.

How to Reduce Trademark Costs

The most effective way to reduce trademark costs is not to find cheaper attorneys or skip optional steps. It is to avoid the expensive mistakes that make applications fail or cost more to fix.

Start with a Clearance Search

The single largest waste of money in the trademark process is filing an application for a mark that will be refused on likelihood of confusion grounds. A clearance search costs $300 to $500. A wasted filing costs $350+ in non-refundable government fees, months of waiting, and potentially $500 to $1,500 in attorney fees responding to an office action that was preventable.

Even a basic knockout search (checking exact and near-exact matches against the federal register) catches the most obvious conflicts. If the knockout search is clean, a full comprehensive search provides additional confidence. The economics are unambiguous: spending $300 to avoid wasting $1,500+ is a straightforward return.

Use the Trademark ID Manual

As discussed in the fee section, free-text goods and services descriptions trigger a $200 per class surcharge. The Trademark ID Manual is free, searchable, and contains pre-approved descriptions for the vast majority of goods and services.

Using ID Manual language saves $200 per class in surcharges and reduces the likelihood of an office action over your identification of goods. For a two-class filing, that is $400 in avoided surcharges alone.

File in the Right Classes the First Time

Adding classes after the initial filing means a new application with new fees. You cannot amend an existing application to add Nice classes. Getting the classification right at filing avoids paying $350+ per class for a second application.

Identify all the goods and services your mark covers before filing, then map them to the appropriate Nice classes. If you sell both software (Class 9) and consulting services (Class 35), file both classes in the original application rather than filing Class 9 now and discovering six months later that you need Class 35 too. The Nice classification guide is the reference for determining which classes apply to your business.

Run a Knockout Search Before Full Clearance

If you are considering multiple names, a knockout search ($100 to $300) on each candidate eliminates names with obvious conflicts before you invest in a full comprehensive clearance ($500 to $1,000+) on your top choice. Screening three name candidates with knockout searches and then running full clearance on the winner is cheaper than running full clearance on a name that turns out to have a direct conflict.

Do Not Over-File on Classes

Filing in Nice classes where you do not actually sell goods or provide services (and have no bona fide intent to do so) wastes $350+ per class. It can also create legal problems. An intent-to-use filing requires a good-faith intent to use the mark in that class. Filing speculatively in classes you might hypothetically enter someday is not good faith, and the registration can be challenged on that basis.

File for what you actually do or genuinely intend to do within the foreseeable future. Nothing more.

Before You Spend on Filing

The most cost-effective step in the entire trademark process is the one that happens before you spend any filing fees: confirming that the name you want is actually available.

A clearance search that surfaces a blocking conflict before you file saves every dollar you would have spent on an application destined for refusal. It saves the 8 to 10 months of examination wait time. And it lets you redirect to a stronger name before you have invested in branding, packaging, and marketing around a mark you cannot protect.

Start with the search. The filing fees, attorney costs, and maintenance obligations covered in this article are all predictable once you know the name is clear.

Signa's trademark search API covers 200+ offices worldwide, if you want to check availability before committing to the filing process.