# Filing basics and fees

> What a US application contains, which filing basis fits your situation, what the USPTO charges as of the January 2025 fee rule, and what happens between filing and registration.

Published 2026-10-21

Canonical: https://distinctive-mark.com/guides/filing-basics-and-fees/

A US trademark application is filed online in **Trademark Center**. Since January 18, 2025, it has been the only system for new applications, and the older TEAS application forms are retired. You need a USPTO.gov account. The fees below come from the [USPTO fee schedule](https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/fees-and-payment/uspto-fee-schedule) and [37 C.F.R. §2.6](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/37/2.6), checked on the date at the top of this page.

## Choose a filing basis

The **basis** is the legal ground for your application. Each class of goods or services needs at least one.

- **Use in commerce, §1(a).** You already sell the goods or offer the services under the mark in commerce that Congress can regulate, such as interstate or foreign trade. You must give the dates of first use and a **specimen**, a real example of the mark in use ([15 U.S.C. §1051(a)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1051)).
- **Intent to use, §1(b).** You have a **bona fide** (genuine, provable) intention to use the mark in commerce. Registration waits until you file proof of use. This lets you secure a filing date before launch.
- **Foreign application or registration, §44(d) and §44(e).** If you filed in another treaty country within the last six months, you can claim that earlier date as your US priority date (§44(d)). If you hold a registration from your home country, it can be the basis for US registration (§44(e)) ([15 U.S.C. §1126](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1126)).
- **Madrid Protocol, §66(a).** Requests to extend an international registration to the United States arrive through WIPO, not through Trademark Center. See [Madrid designations into the US](/guides/madrid-designations-into-the-us/).

## What the application contains

1. **The owner.** The person or company that controls the nature and quality of the goods, with its legal entity type and **domicile address**, meaning its principal place of business ([37 C.F.R. §2.189](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/37/2.189)). A filer is not the owner just because they file.
2. **The mark.** Either **standard characters**, which protects the wording in any style, or a **special form** drawing for a logo or stylized text, with a written description and any color claim.
3. **Goods and services.** Identify them in clear, specific terms and in the correct international classes. Choosing entries from the USPTO's **ID Manual** avoids a surcharge and many objections.
4. **Basis, specimen and dates** as above.
5. **A signed declaration** that the facts are true, made under penalty of the federal false-statement statute ([37 C.F.R. §2.33](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/37/2.33)).

## Fees (electronic filing)

| Item | Fee | Rule |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Base application, per class | $350 | §2.6(a)(1)(iii) |
| Surcharge: insufficient information, per class | $100 | §2.6(a)(1)(iv) |
| Surcharge: free-form identification instead of the ID Manual, per class | $200 | §2.6(a)(1)(v) |
| Surcharge: each further 1,000 characters of free-form text, per affected class | $200 | §2.6(a)(1)(vi) |
| Amendment to allege use or statement of use, per class | $150 | §2.6(a)(2), (a)(3) |
| Six-month extension to file a statement of use, per class | $125 | §2.6(a)(4) |
| Three-month extension to answer an Office action | $125 | §2.6(a)(28)(ii) |

A filing that covers three classes therefore starts at $1,050 (3 × $350; [37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(iii)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/37/2.6)) before any surcharge. Fees are charged per class, so goods you do not sell add cost without adding protection.

## What happens next

1. **Examination.** An examining attorney reviews the application. In the first half of fiscal 2026, the average wait for a first action was 4.45 months ([USPTO, May 5, 2026](https://www.uspto.gov/subscription-center/2026/reducing-trademark-pendency-improving-processing)). If there is a problem, you receive an **Office action**, a letter explaining it. You have three months to respond, extendable once by three months ([37 C.F.R. §2.62](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/37/2.62)). See [responding to an Office action](/guides/responding-to-an-office-action/).
2. **Publication.** An approved mark is published in the *Official Gazette*. Anyone who believes they would be damaged has 30 days to oppose, or to ask for more time ([15 U.S.C. §1063](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1063)).
3. **Registration or notice of allowance.** A §1(a) or §44(e) application then registers. A §1(b) application receives a **notice of allowance**. You then have six months to file a statement of use, extendable in six-month steps up to 36 months in total ([37 C.F.R. §§2.88, 2.89](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/37/2.89)).

Miss a deadline and the application is abandoned. A petition to revive, filed within two months of the notice of abandonment with a $250 fee, can restore it if the delay was unintentional ([37 C.F.R. §2.66](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/37/2.66)).

## Who may file

You may file for your own business without an attorney if you are domiciled in the United States. If your domicile is outside the United States, US-licensed counsel is required ([37 C.F.R. §2.11(a)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/37/2.11)). Be careful with filing services that are not law firms. The USPTO has issued orders against filers who engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, signed documents improperly or invented fees ([USPTO, May 12, 2026](https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USPTO/bulletins/4167753)). See [spotting trademark scams](/guides/spotting-trademark-scams-and-invented-fees/).

## When an attorney earns their fee

A simple §1(a) application for one class with ID Manual entries is within reach of a careful owner. An attorney earns the fee when the goods span several classes, when the identification must be drafted for products the ID Manual does not describe, when you are choosing between bases or claiming foreign priority, and in every case where you are domiciled abroad.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Fees change by rule. Check the fee schedule before you pay.