A trademark in California costs $70 per class of goods or services if you register with the California Secretary of State, or $350 per class and up if you register federally through the USPTO. Most business owners spend somewhere between a few hundred dollars for a self-filed state application and several thousand once a search, an attorney, and federal protection are added in. What you actually pay depends on how many classes you need, whether you go state or federal, and how much help you hire.
California State Registration: $70 Per Class
The California Secretary of State charges $70 for each classification of goods or services you register a trademark or service mark in.1California Secretary of State. Frequently Asked Questions Cover two classes, pay $140. The application requires a description of the mark, the goods or services it covers, and a specimen showing how you actually use it in commerce.2California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 14207
A state registration lasts five years from the filing date. You can renew during the six months before expiration for another five-year term, at the same $70 per class, and keep renewing indefinitely as long as you’re still using the mark.1California Secretary of State. Frequently Asked Questions
State registration only protects your mark inside California. It does not stop someone in another state from using the same name, and it does not prevent someone else from federally registering the same mark. For a neighborhood business with no plans to expand, it’s an affordable start. For anyone selling online or across state lines, it isn’t enough on its own.
Federal Registration: $350 Per Class and Up
The USPTO switched to a single base application fee of $350 per class on January 18, 2025, replacing the old TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard system.3United States Patent and Trademark Office. Summary of 2025 Trademark Fee Changes That $350 is a floor. Several surcharges can raise it:
- $100 per class if your application is incomplete or missing required information.
- $200 per class if you write your own description of goods or services instead of picking pre-approved entries from the USPTO’s Trademark ID Manual.
- $200 per affected class for every additional 1,000 characters of free-form text beyond the first 1,000.
A well-prepared single-class application using the ID Manual runs $350. A messier two-class filing with free-form descriptions can hit $1,100.3United States Patent and Trademark Office. Summary of 2025 Trademark Fee Changes Using the ID Manual is the simplest way to keep costs at the floor.
Intent-to-Use Applications Cost More Overall
If you want to reserve a mark you haven’t started using yet, you can file an intent-to-use application. The base fee is still $350 per class, but you pay again once you actually begin using the mark. A Statement of Use costs $150 per class.4United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Fee Information If you need more time, each six-month extension is $125 per class, and the USPTO allows up to five.5United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Fee Schedule File in one class, take two extensions, then file your Statement of Use: $350 + $125 + $125 + $150 = $750 in government fees.
Ongoing Maintenance Fees
Registration isn’t a one-time cost. Both state and federal trademarks require ongoing filings, and missing a deadline can cancel your registration.
California
Renew every five years within the six-month window before expiration, at $70 per class.1California Secretary of State. Frequently Asked Questions Miss it and the registration lapses.
Federal
The USPTO has three key deadlines:6United States Patent and Trademark Office. Keeping Your Registration Alive
- Between years 5 and 6, file a Section 8 Declaration of Continued Use at $325 per class.3United States Patent and Trademark Office. Summary of 2025 Trademark Fee Changes
- Between years 9 and 10, file a combined Section 8 Declaration and Section 9 Renewal at $650 per class.5United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Fee Schedule
- Every 10 years after that, file the same combined Section 8 and Section 9, again at $650 per class.
Those are the electronic filing rates; paper costs more. The Section 8 filing between years 5 and 6 catches people off guard, because most business owners assume nothing is due until the 10-year mark. Skip it and the USPTO cancels the registration. You can also file an optional Section 15 Declaration of Incontestability alongside the Section 8 for $250 per class, which strengthens the mark against certain legal challenges.5United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Fee Schedule
Search and Attorney Costs
The government fees are only part of what most trademark owners pay.
Trademark Searches
A search checks whether your proposed mark conflicts with existing registrations, pending applications, or unregistered uses. The USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Search System is free, but it won’t catch common law uses or close variations. Professional search services run roughly $200 to $1,800, with comprehensive searches that include attorney analysis typically falling in the $500 to $1,500 range. Skipping the search to save money is a false economy when a conflict discovered later means starting over and losing your filing fees.
Attorney Fees
You can file yourself, and plenty of people do. Hiring an attorney becomes worth it when your mark is unusual, you’re filing in multiple classes, or you need to respond to a USPTO office action. Hourly rates generally run $225 to $500 or more. Flat-fee packages for straightforward applications typically run $750 to $3,000 including the search. Responding to an office action can add $200 to $2,000. The USPTO itself charges nothing for the response, so any expense there is legal fees.
What Drives Your Total
Classes are the biggest lever. A coffee shop trademarking its name only for restaurant services pays for one class. Add branded merchandise and packaged beans and you may need three, which triples the government filing fees at both the state and federal level.
Application quality is the second lever. A clean federal application using the ID Manual is $350 per class with no surcharges. A rushed one with vague descriptions and missing information can add $300 or more per class before an attorney is even involved.
State versus federal is the third. A California-only registration at $70 per class works for a local business staying local. State registration will not, however, prevent someone else from federally registering the same mark and eventually forcing you to rebrand. Most businesses with any online presence or growth plans are better served by federal registration despite the higher price.
Doing it yourself versus hiring help is the last. The USPTO rejects a significant share of applications, and each rejection costs time and potentially the filing fees. A flat attorney fee looks expensive until you weigh it against filing twice.