How to Track a Trademark Application in USPTO TSDR

Q: Stage 3: Publication and opposition

An approved mark is published in the Official Gazette for a 30-day opposition period, during which any party who believes they would be harmed can file an opposition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. TSDR shows the publication date so you can count the window.

Q: Stage 5: Maintenance after registration

Registration is not the finish line. The owner must file a Section 8 declaration of continued use between the fifth and sixth years, then a combined Section 8 and 9 declaration and renewal every ten years. A Section 15 declaration can make the registration incontestable after five years of continuous use. Missed maintenance filings cancel the registration.

Filing a trademark application is the start of a months-long process, and TSDR is how you follow it. Knowing the stages an application passes through — and what each status means — lets you spot problems early and never miss a deadline. Here is the full lifecycle and how to track it.

Stage 1: Filing and the wait for examination

After you file, the application sits in a queue before a USPTO examining attorney reviews it — historically several months. In TSDR the status reads as a new application awaiting examination. Nothing is required from you yet; you are watching for the review to begin.

Stage 2: Examination

The examining attorney reviews the application against the Trademark Act. Two things can happen:

Approval for publication — no objections, and the mark advances.
An office action — a written objection you must answer. Since December 3, 2022, the standard response deadline is three months, extendable once by three months for a fee. Missing it abandons the application, so this is the deadline to watch most closely.

Stage 3: Publication and opposition

An approved mark is published in the Official Gazette for a 30-day opposition period, during which any party who believes they would be harmed can file an opposition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. TSDR shows the publication date so you can count the window.

Stage 4: Registration — or a Statement of Use

What happens next depends on your filing basis:

Use-based applications (the mark is already in commerce) proceed to registration after opposition closes.
Intent-to-use applications receive a Notice of Allowance and must file a Statement of Use, with a specimen showing the mark in commerce, before registration issues.

Stage 5: Maintenance after registration

Registration is not the finish line. The owner must file a Section 8 declaration of continued use between the fifth and sixth years, then a combined Section 8 and 9 declaration and renewal every ten years. A Section 15 declaration can make the registration incontestable after five years of continuous use. Missed maintenance filings cancel the registration.

Tracking it all in TSDR

Check the mark in TSDR at each transition, read the prosecution history for the exact dates, and calendar the next deadline the moment a status changes. Following an application end to end in TSDR is the clearest way to learn how the registration process actually works.