How to Register a Trademark in the EU: A Step-by-Step EUIPO Guide

One trademark application. Twenty-seven countries. EUR 850.

That's the pitch for EU trademark registration, and it's real. A single filing with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) gives you trademark protection across every EU member state, from Germany to Greece, Portugal to Poland. No separate applications. No 27 different fees. No 27 different examination processes.

EUIPO received 196,886 trademark applications in 2025, a 9.1% increase over the year before. In the first half of 2026 alone, 104,263 applications have already been filed (up 8.4% year over year). Since EUIPO's founding 30 years ago, more than 3.2 million EU trademark applications have been processed. The system works, and it's growing.

This guide walks you through the entire process, from preparation to registration. Every step, every fee, every timeline.

A note before we start: this is educational content, not legal advice. Trademark law varies by situation, and the specifics of your case matter. Consult a trademark attorney for legal guidance specific to your situation.

What Is an EU Trademark?

An EU trademark (EUTM, formerly known as a Community Trade Mark) is a single registration that protects your brand across all 27 EU member states. It's administered by EUIPO, based in Alicante, Spain.

The key distinction: a EUTM is not the same as registering a trademark in a single European country. If you file with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, you get protection in Germany. If you file with EUIPO, you get protection in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and 23 other countries, all at once.

This matters for cost efficiency. Filing individually in even three or four EU countries would cost more than a single EUTM application. If your business operates (or plans to operate) across multiple EU markets, the EUTM is almost always the most cost-effective path to European trademark registration.

There is one trade-off worth understanding. Because a EUTM covers the entire EU, it can also be challenged on the basis of an existing mark in any single member state. A prior registration in, say, Romania could block your EU-wide application.

That's why searching before you file is not optional. It's the most important step in the process.

Who Can File an EU Trademark Application?

Anyone. There's no citizenship or residency requirement. Individuals, companies, partnerships, and other legal entities from any country can file a EUTM application.

There is one procedural requirement, though. If you (or your company) are not domiciled in the European Economic Area (EEA), you must appoint a representative who is. This representative needs to be a legal practitioner qualified in an EEA member state. In practice, this means hiring a European trademark attorney or using a professional representative listed with EUIPO.

If you are based in the EEA, you can file directly without a representative. Many applicants still choose to hire an attorney for the expertise, but it's not legally required.

What You Need Before Filing

Before you open the EUIPO e-filing portal, you need four things sorted out.

1. A trademark search

This is step zero, and skipping it is the most expensive mistake you can make. A EUTM application costs EUR 850 in filing fees alone. If a conflict exists with an earlier mark, you could lose that fee, plus months of waiting, plus the cost of rebranding.

A proper EU trademark search covers EUIPO's register, national registers of all 27 member states, and international registrations designating the EU through the Madrid Protocol (the international system that lets you extend a trademark filing to multiple countries through a single application). That's a lot of ground.

EUIPO's own database (eSearch plus) is a starting point, but it only covers EU-level registrations. You need to check national registers too. For a detailed walkthrough, see the European trademark search guide.

2. Your Nice classification

Every trademark application must specify the goods and services the mark will cover, organized by Nice classes, the international classification system used by nearly every trademark office worldwide. There are 45 classes total: 1 through 34 cover goods, 35 through 45 cover services.

Getting the classification right matters for two reasons. First, it determines your scope of protection. Second, it directly affects your fees (more on that below). If you classify too narrowly, you leave gaps in your protection. If you classify too broadly, you're paying for classes you don't need and increasing your risk of conflict with existing marks.

EUIPO's Fast Track filing option requires you to select goods and services terms from the Harmonised Database (HDB), a pre-approved list of classification terms. Using HDB terms speeds up examination significantly. For a comprehensive breakdown of classes and strategy, see the Nice classification reference guide.

3. Your mark type

EUIPO accepts several types of marks:

• Word marks protect the text itself, regardless of font or styling. Most common and broadest protection for a name.
• Figurative marks protect a specific logo or design, with or without text.
• Shape marks, sound marks, motion marks, and others are available but less common.

For most businesses filing their first EUTM, a word mark is the right choice. It gives you the flexibility to update your logo without refiling. If your logo or design is a critical part of your brand identity, consider filing both a word mark and a figurative mark.

4. A representation of your mark

For word marks, this is simply the text. For figurative marks, you need a JPEG file of your logo meeting EUIPO's format requirements (clear, high-resolution, on a white background). For non-traditional marks like sound or motion marks, EUIPO has specific file format requirements listed on their website.

The EUIPO Registration Process, Step by Step

Here are the 6 steps from filing to registration. The entire process takes 4 to 6 months if no one opposes your mark, or 12 to 18 months if it's challenged.

Step 1: File your application

You file online through EUIPO's e-filing portal. There are two paths:

• Fast Track requires payment at filing, at least one goods/services term from the Harmonised Database, and an acceptable mark representation. If you meet all criteria, your application enters accelerated examination.
• Standard filing allows custom goods/services descriptions but takes longer to process.

Online filing costs EUR 850 for one class. Paper filing costs EUR 1,000. There is no reason to file on paper unless you have no other option.

Step 2: Formalities and absolute grounds examination

EUIPO checks your application for completeness and examines it on absolute grounds only. This means they check whether your mark is:

• Distinctive enough to function as a trademark
• Not purely descriptive of your goods or services
• Not deceptive, contrary to public policy, or otherwise barred

The critical difference from the US system: EUIPO does not examine relative grounds. Unlike the USPTO, which will reject your application if it finds a confusingly similar existing mark, EUIPO leaves that to the market. Earlier rights holders must monitor publications and file oppositions themselves. EUIPO won't do it for them.

This is why searching matters even more in the EU. The office won't protect you from conflicts. You have to find them yourself.

Step 3: Search reports (optional)

Some EU member state offices send search reports identifying potentially conflicting national marks. This used to be mandatory but is now optional. You can request it during filing, but many applicants skip this step and conduct their own comprehensive search beforehand.

Step 4: Publication

If your application passes examination, it's published in the EU Trade Marks Bulletin. This is a public notice to the world: "This mark has been applied for. If you have a problem with it, speak now."

Step 5: Opposition period (3 months)

After publication, there's a 3-month window during which anyone with earlier rights can file an opposition. This is the most unpredictable part of the process. If no one opposes, you move directly to registration.

If an opposition is filed, you enter a structured proceeding that can take 12 to 18 months to resolve. There's a mandatory "cooling-off" period where the parties can try to reach an agreement before formal proceedings begin. Many oppositions settle during this phase.

Step 6: Registration

If the opposition period passes without challenge (or if you win the opposition), EUIPO registers your mark and issues a registration certificate. Your protection runs from the filing date, not the registration date, so you're covered retroactively.

How Much Does EU Trademark Registration Cost?

The base costs are straightforward:

A single-class online application costs EUR 850. Two classes cost EUR 900. Three classes cost EUR 1,050. Each additional class beyond the third adds EUR 150.

For comparison, a US trademark application costs USD 250 to USD 350 per class in government fees, but only covers one country. When you factor in the per-country value, the EUTM is significantly cheaper. EUR 850 divided by 27 countries is roughly EUR 31 per country.

Attorney fees are separate and vary widely. Expect EUR 1,000 to EUR 3,000 for a straightforward single-class filing with a European trademark attorney, depending on the firm and jurisdiction. Non-EEA applicants will need to factor in the cost of their mandatory EU representative.

There are no maintenance fees between filing and renewal. Once you've paid the filing fee, you don't pay again until renewal at the 10-year mark.

How Long Does EU Trademark Registration Take?

Three scenarios:

Fast Track, no issues: As little as 3 to 4 months. If you use pre-approved HDB terms, pay at filing, and no one opposes, this is the fastest path.

Standard filing, no opposition: Typically 4 to 6 months. Non-HDB terms require manual classification review, which adds a few weeks.

Opposition filed: 12 to 18 months, sometimes longer. The mandatory cooling-off period alone can take several months, and if parties can't agree, formal proceedings add more time.

For comparison, USPTO applications typically take 8 to 12 months even without opposition, making EUIPO Fast Track one of the faster major-office registration paths.

After Registration: Renewal and Use Requirements

Your EUTM registration lasts 10 years from the filing date and can be renewed indefinitely in 10-year increments. Renewal fees are similar in structure to filing fees.

Two ongoing obligations to know about.

Genuine use. You must put your trademark to genuine use in the EU within 5 years of registration. If you don't, your mark becomes vulnerable to cancellation for non-use.

"Genuine use" doesn't mean token or symbolic use. It means real commercial use of the mark in connection with the goods or services you registered. You don't need to use the mark in all 27 member states, but use in just one country may be enough.

Seniority claims. If you already have national trademark registrations in EU member states, you can claim "seniority" for your EUTM. This links your EU registration to your national ones, allowing you to let the national registrations lapse while preserving their earlier filing dates. It's a useful tool for consolidating a portfolio, but timing matters. Consult a trademark attorney if you're considering this strategy.

5 Mistakes That Delay or Kill EU Trademark Applications

I've seen these patterns repeat across hundreds of filings. Every one of them is avoidable.

1. Filing without searching. The most common and most expensive mistake. EUIPO doesn't check for conflicts with existing marks. If someone opposes your application after publication, you've lost your filing fee and months of time. A thorough trademark search before filing costs a fraction of what a failed application costs.

2. Wrong Nice classification. Filing in the wrong class means your mark isn't protected for what you actually sell. Filing too broadly triggers conflicts with marks you'd never compete with. Both outcomes are bad. Take the time to get classification right, and use EUIPO's Harmonised Database terms when possible.

3. Descriptive or generic marks. EUIPO rejects marks that directly describe the goods or services. "FAST DELIVERY" for a logistics company won't make it past absolute grounds examination. Your mark needs to be distinctive. Coined words, suggestive terms, and arbitrary names have the best chance.

4. No EEA representative. If you're based outside the European Economic Area and file without appointing an EEA representative, your application will be flagged. This is a formalities deficiency that's easy to fix but adds unnecessary delay.

5. Paper filing. It costs EUR 150 more. It takes longer to process. It doesn't qualify for Fast Track. Unless you genuinely cannot file electronically, there's no upside.

EUTM vs. Madrid Protocol: Which Route Should You Choose?

The EUTM isn't the only way to get trademark protection in Europe. The Madrid Protocol is an international filing system administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that lets you extend an existing "home" trademark registration to multiple countries through a single application.

The key differences:

A EUTM is a single, unitary right covering all 27 EU member states. You file it directly with EUIPO. A Madrid Protocol designation to the EU achieves the same territorial coverage but is filed through WIPO and depends on your home registration.

The Madrid Protocol makes more sense when you want coverage in the EU plus non-EU countries (like the UK, Switzerland, or Japan) through one filing process. The EUTM makes more sense when your focus is purely on EU protection and you want a standalone right that doesn't depend on a home registration.

There's also a vulnerability to consider. Madrid Protocol designations are subject to "central attack" during the first 5 years. If your home registration is cancelled, all international designations based on it can fall too. A EUTM has no such dependency.

For a detailed comparison of costs, timelines, and strategic considerations, see the Madrid Protocol vs. direct filing guide.

Start with a Search

If you want to register a trademark in the EU, this is one of the best deals in intellectual property. One filing, 27 countries, EUR 850. The process is well-structured, the timelines are reasonable, and the EUIPO e-filing system is genuinely good.

But none of that matters if your mark conflicts with an existing registration. The single most important thing you can do before filing is run a comprehensive trademark search covering EUIPO, national registers, and Madrid Protocol designations to the EU. A thorough search saves you the filing fee and months of waiting if a conflict exists. It also gives you the confidence to invest in your brand knowing it's on solid ground.

National trademark filings across EU member states grew 14.6% in the first half of 2026, with France (17.4%) and Germany (15.2%) leading the surge. If you're considering EU protection, start with the search. Everything else follows from there.

Signa provides an API for comprehensive trademark search across EU and global registers, covering EUIPO, national offices, and WIPO Madrid designations in a single query. Learn more at signa.so.