If you’re wondering how much does a trademark cost, you’re asking the right question at the right time. You’ve got a brand name you believe in, and you’re ready to protect it. But before you file anything, you want to know what this is actually going to cost. That’s a smart instinct, and the answer is more straightforward than most of what you’ll find online.
Here’s the short version: a single-class federal trademark registration cost runs anywhere from $350 (if you do everything yourself) to $4,500 or more with an experienced attorney handling the full process. What drives that range is a combination of government fees, whether you invest in a proper clearance search, and whether you hire professional help.
Let me walk you through each piece so you can plan accordingly. (If you prefer video, I cover how much IP protection costs in a quick overview.)
USPTO Trademark Fees: $350 Per Class
Every trademark application starts with a government filing fee paid to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. As of January 2025, the USPTO restructured its fee system. The old two-tier setup (TEAS Plus at $250 and TEAS Standard at $350) is gone. Now there’s a single base fee of $350 per class of goods or services.
That’s worth emphasizing: per class. If your business sells physical products (Class 25, for apparel) and also offers consulting services (Class 35), that’s two classes and two filing fees. Many businesses only need one class, but some businesses may need two or three classes, so factor that in when you’re budgeting.
There are also surcharges that can add up if your application isn’t prepared carefully:
- Non-standard identification of goods/services: +$200 per class. This kicks in when you write a free-form description instead of selecting from the USPTO’s pre-approved Trademark ID Manual.
- Excessive character surcharge: +$200 per 1,000 characters beyond the first 1,000 used to describe your goods and services.
- Paper filing: $850 per class. There’s really no reason to file on paper in 2026, but it’s worth knowing the penalty exists.
If you’re filing an intent-to-use application (meaning you haven’t started using the mark in commerce yet), you’ll also need to file a Statement of Use later at $150 per class, with extensions available at $125 per class if you need more time.
How Much Does a Trademark Search Cost?
Before you spend $350 or more on a filing fee, you want to know whether your mark is likely to be approved. That means doing a trademark search. If you’re not familiar with the process, I wrote a detailed walkthrough here: A Guide to Successful Trademark Searches.
There are a few levels of searching:
DIY Search: Free
Anyone can search the USPTO’s database at no cost. It’s a useful starting point, but interpreting the results can take practice. You’re not just looking for exact matches. You need to catch phonetic similarities, visual similarities, and marks in related classes. Understanding “likelihood of confusion” is what separates a surface-level search from one that actually protects you.
Professional Clearance Search: $500 to $1,500
A comprehensive search covers federal registrations, state registrations, common law uses, domain names, and phonetic equivalents. If you hire professional help, a comprehensive search can run between $500 to $1,500+ depending on the scope.
Is this step worth the money? In most cases yes. Spending $500 to $1,500 on a clearance search before you file is a lot cheaper than spending thousands responding to office actions, or worse, defending an opposition and having to rebrand anyway after you’ve already printed packaging and built a website around a name you can’t keep.
Trademark Attorney Cost
This is where the range gets wide, and it’s also where the decision matters most.
DIY Filing
You can absolutely file a trademark application yourself. The USPTO’s system is online, and if your situation is straightforward (one mark, one class, goods or services that fit neatly into the ID Manual), you might be fine. Your total cost to trademark a name this way: $350 – $500.
The risk is that trademark applications have a lot of places where things can go sideways. Around 30-40% of applications receive an office action from the USPTO examiner, and the most common reasons are things like likelihood of confusion with existing marks, issues with how you described your goods and services, or specimen refusals. If you’re not sure how to handle those, you may end up hiring an attorney to fix problems that could have been avoided.
Budget Filing Services: $500 to $1,000 (Plus Government Fees)
Services like LegalZoom and Trademark Engine offer low flat fees, sometimes as low as $99 to $399 plus the USPTO filing fee. They can be a reasonable option for very simple filings. Just know what you’re getting: someone will fill out the form based on information you provide, but they’re typically not doing a comprehensive clearance search, and they’re not giving you strategic advice about how to describe your goods and services to maximize protection. If you give them the wrong information, they will file your application wrong. Sometimes things can be fixed, but often they can’t and you have to start over.
I talk about the 3 biggest mistakes brand owners make in a separate video, and budget filing services are responsible for a lot of them. I see this in my practice all the time. Someone comes to me after a budget service filed their application, and the description of goods is either too narrow (doesn’t cover what they actually sell) or too broad (triggers an office action), or the application lists the individual as the owner instead of the business entity. The common problems with trademark applications tend to show up a few months after filing, and by then, fixing them costs more than doing it right the first time would have.
Experienced Trademark Attorney: $1,000 to $2,500 (Plus Government Fees)
A full-service trademark attorney typically charges a flat fee in this range for a single-class application. That usually includes reviewing your mark, advising on the best filing strategy, preparing the application, and handling routine communications with the USPTO.
Some attorneys include a clearance search in that flat fee. Others charge separately for the search. It’s worth asking upfront so you can compare the scope of service.
What you’re really paying for is someone who’s seen hundreds of applications, knows which descriptions work and which trigger problems, and can advise you on things like filing basis, class selection, and how to describe your goods and services for the strongest protection without triggering extra fees. And perhaps most importantly, they can help you avoid the trademark scams that are unfortunately very prevalent. I’ve seen even the most sophisticated business people fall victim to these, and it hurts every time knowing it could have been avoided.
Office Action Response Costs
This is the cost that catches people off guard. If the USPTO examiner has an issue with your application, they’ll send an office action, and you have three months to respond.
Costs for responding vary a lot depending on the issue:
- Simple issues (minor description fixes, missing information): $500 to $1,000
- Complex refusals (likelihood of confusion, descriptiveness, specimen issues): $1,500 to $3,500
There’s no additional USPTO fee just for responding, but if you need to request an extension, that’s $125 per class.
This is one of the biggest reasons I encourage founders to invest in a proper clearance search and a well-prepared application upfront. A $1,000 attorney fee to file it right is a lot less than a $1,000 fee to file it plus a $2,500 fee to respond to an office action that shouldn’t have happened.
Maintenance and Renewal Fees
Here’s the part most cost guides skip. A trademark registration isn’t a one-time purchase. There are mandatory maintenance filings, and if you miss them, your registration gets cancelled.
Between Years 5 and 6: $325 Per Class
You’ll need to file a Section 8 Declaration of Use, proving you’re still using the mark in commerce. Miss the deadline and there’s a six-month grace period, but it adds $100 per class.
Every 10 Years: $650 Per Class
At the 10-year mark (and every 10 years after), you file a combined Section 8 and Section 9 renewal. That’s $325 + $325 per class.
Total Cost of Ownership
For a single-class trademark over the first 10 years, your maintenance costs add up to roughly $975 ($325 at year 5-6, plus $650 at year 10). It’s not a huge number, but it’s worth budgeting for so you don’t get surprised.
State vs. Federal Trademark Registration Cost
Some founders ask about state trademark registration as a cheaper alternative. State trademark filing fees range from $10 to $125 depending on the state, with processing times of one to five months or longer in some states.
A state registration only protects you in that one state. Federal registration covers all 50 states and U.S. territories, gives you the right to use the ยฎ symbol, creates a legal presumption of ownership, and gets your mark into the federal database where it’ll show up in other people’s searches.
If you’re selling online or plan to expand beyond your home state, federal registration is almost always the better investment. I explain why your brand isn’t legally protected without it in more detail. For a deeper look at what trademark registration actually gives you, this post on brand vs. trademark covers the distinction well.
International Trademark Protection
If you’re selling internationally or plan to, you can use the Madrid Protocol to extend your U.S. registration to other countries. The basic WIPO fee is approximately $750 for a black-and-white mark, with individual country designation fees ranging from $100 to $850+ per country per class. Attorney fees for international filings typically run $1,500 to $5,000 depending on how many countries you’re targeting.
International protection is its own topic, but the key point for budgeting is that it’s a separate cost on top of your U.S. registration.
Putting It All Together: How Much Does a Trademark Cost?
Here’s a realistic look at what different approaches cost for a single-class federal trademark:
- DIY (filing fee only): ~$350 – $500
- Budget service + filing fee: $850 to $1,500
- Full-service attorney + filing fee: $2,000 to $4,500+
- Add 10-year maintenance: +$975
The right approach depends on your situation. If you’re not sure whether you even need a trademark yet, it’s worth figuring that out first.
FAQs
Can I file a trademark myself to save money?
You can, and for simple situations it can work fine. The downside is that you assume all the risk on your own. The most expensive trademark applications I see are the ones where someone filed on their own, got an office action they didn’t expect, and then had to hire an attorney to sort it out, start over from scratch, or even rebrand entirely. If your mark and goods/services are straightforward, or your business is mostly a side hustle or hobby, DIY is reasonable. If there’s any complexity, or you’re building a long-term brand with real enterprise value, the attorney fees more than pay for themselves. A trademark registration done right for a brand with high consumer recognition is one of the highest ROI business assets you can get.
Why do trademark attorneys charge so much more than online services?
You’re paying for expert judgment, not just form-filling. An experienced attorney will catch issues before they become problems, choose the right filing basis, draft descriptions that maximize your protection, and advise you on classes you might not have considered. The form itself takes 20 minutes. The strategy behind it is what you’re paying for.
Online services are just streamlining the form filling process for you. They take what you give them and file it with no feedback on whether it was the right way to file your application. With slightly more effort you can just go file the application yourself by submitting all the same information in the form directly.
How long does the whole process take?
From filing to registration, expect 8 to 12 months if everything goes smoothly. If you get an office action, add a few months. The timeline doesn’t change your costs much, but it’s worth knowing so you’re not wondering why it’s taking so long.
Are the fees really per class? What counts as a class?
Yes, every USPTO fee is per class. The USPTO divides all goods and services into 45 classes (34 for goods, 11 for services). If your business spans multiple categories, you’ll need multiple classes. For example, if you sell software (Class 9) and offer software-as-a-service (Class 42), that’s two classes.
Is a trademark worth the cost?
For most businesses that rely on their brand name to attract customers, yes. A federal trademark registration gives you the exclusive right to use that name nationwide in your category, the ability to stop others from using confusingly similar names, and leverage in e-commerce platforms like Amazon Brand Registry. If you’re wondering about patent costs too, I did a full breakdown of patent costs that might be helpful.
Trademark costs are predictable if you understand the components. The filing fee is fixed. Attorney fees vary but are transparent if you ask the right questions. The wildcards are office actions (which good preparation minimizes) and the number of classes you need.
I’d be happy to help you figure out what trademark protection makes sense for your business and what it would cost in your specific situation. Here’s a link to my calendar. Feel free to grab a time that’s convenient for you.
