How to Register a Trademark with the USPTO: Steps, Basis & Fees

A federal trademark registration gives you nationwide rights in your brand, the exclusive presumption of ownership, and the ability to use the ® symbol. Registration is handled entirely through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and while the process is straightforward, each step has rules that can make or break an application. Here is how it works.

Step 1: Search before you file

Before spending anything, run a clearance search to make sure no confusingly similar mark already exists. Use the USPTO Trademark Search system, and remember it covers only the federal register — a full search also checks common-law and state marks.

Step 2: File through TEAS

Applications are filed electronically through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). You will identify the mark, the owner, the goods or services, and the correct international class(es) — fees are charged per class, so class selection affects both cost and scope.

Step 3: Choose a filing basis

Every application needs a legal basis, most commonly:

  • Use in commerce (Section 1(a)): the mark is already being used in commerce, and you submit a specimen showing that use.
  • Intent to use (Section 1(b)): you have a bona fide intent to use the mark but haven't yet; you file a Statement of Use later, after a Notice of Allowance.

Step 4: Examination

A USPTO examining attorney reviews the application, typically several months after filing. If there is a problem — most often a likelihood of confusion with an existing mark or a descriptiveness refusal — the office issues an office action you must answer, generally within three months.

Step 5: Publication and opposition

If the mark clears examination, it is published in the Official Gazette for a 30-day opposition period, during which third parties can challenge it before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Step 6: Registration and maintenance

After opposition closes (and, for intent-to-use marks, after the Statement of Use), the mark registers. Registration is not permanent: you must file a Section 8 declaration of continued use between years 5 and 6, and a combined Section 8 and 9 declaration and renewal every 10 years.

The bigger picture

Registration is a process with real deadlines and legal judgment calls at each step — the material covered in depth in the Wysebridge trademark guide and IP Law Certificate.