Trademark Registration in Georgia: Requirements, Fees, and Renewal

Trademark registration in Georgia runs through the Secretary of State’s Corporations Division, costs $15 per class of goods or services, and protects a mark you are already using within the state for ten years before renewal. The application is short, the review is straightforward, and the registration gives you a clean path to sue infringers in Georgia courts. It does not protect you outside Georgia.

What You Can Register

Georgia will register a trademark (for goods) or service mark (for services) that is distinctive and actively in use in the state. Several categories of marks are ineligible by statute:¹

Marks that merely describe the product or deceptively misdescribe it. “Cold Ice Cream” for ice cream is the classic example.
Marks that are primarily geographic or primarily a surname.
Immoral, deceptive, or scandalous content, including matter that disparages people, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols.
Flags, coats of arms, or official insignia of the United States, any state, county, municipality, or foreign nation.
The name, signature, or portrait of a living person, unless that person has given written consent.
Marks so similar to one already registered in Georgia or with the USPTO that consumers would likely confuse them.

The strongest marks are invented words or real words applied to something unrelated to their ordinary meaning. Suggestive marks, which hint at a product quality without describing it, also qualify but get thinner protection. The closer a mark sits to a plain description of what you sell, the harder it is to register and defend.

The Use-in-Commerce Requirement

Georgia does not let you reserve a mark for future plans. The mark has to be in actual use in Georgia on the day you file. For goods, that means the mark appears on the products, their containers, labels, or associated displays, and those goods are being sold or distributed in the state. For services, the mark has to identify services you are actually selling or performing in Georgia.²

Search Before You File

The $15 filing fee is non-refundable, so run a clearance search before you submit anything. The Georgia Corporations Division runs a public database you can search by mark name, description, registrant, or class.³

That database only covers Georgia state registrations. A conflicting federal registration will also get your application refused, so check the USPTO’s trademark database as well. The USPTO suggests a broader clearance that also includes the Trademark Official Gazette and a general internet search for unregistered common-law use in your industry.⁴ Marks that sound alike despite different spelling, or that mean the same thing in different languages, can be close enough to trigger a refusal.

What the Application Requires

Georgia’s application collects the following information by statute:⁵

Your full legal name and business address. If an entity is filing, you must also list the state where the entity was formed.⁶
A clear description of the goods or services the mark identifies, how the mark is used with them, and the class they fall under.
The date the mark was first used anywhere, and the date it was first used in Georgia. These dates set your priority against anyone who files later.
Three copies of the mark as it currently appears in use. For products, that usually means labels, tags, or packaging photos. For services, acceptable specimens include advertisements, website pages, brochures, or business cards showing the mark alongside the services offered.⁶

You sign and verify the application. Accuracy matters: filing false or fraudulent information in a registration can expose you to damages under Georgia law.⁷

Filing and Fees

Applications go to the Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division. You can file online through the Secretary of State’s portal or mail a paper application. Each application needs a non-refundable $15 fee payable to the Secretary of State.⁵

If one mark covers more than one class of goods or services, file a separate application for each class, each with its own $15 fee.⁶ A business selling both clothing and restaurant services under one brand name would file two applications in two different classes.

The Secretary of State reviews the application for compliance with the statutory requirements and checks that your specimens match the mark described. If everything is in order, the office issues a certificate of registration, which serves as evidence that the registration is valid and that you own the mark.⁸

Why Applications Get Rejected

The most common problem is similarity to an existing mark. Georgia will refuse registration if your mark so closely resembles one already on file that consumers could confuse the two, even when the marks are not identical.¹ Other frequent grounds for rejection include filing a mark that merely describes the product, submitting specimens that don’t clearly show the mark in use, and failing to show the mark is already active in Georgia. Incomplete applications and missing fees cause delays. Because the fee is non-refundable, it is cheaper to catch these problems before you submit.

How Long Registration Lasts and How to Renew

A Georgia trademark registration lasts ten years from the date of registration.⁹ To renew, file a renewal application within the six months before expiration. There is no grace period. Miss that window and the registration lapses, which means starting over with a new application.

The renewal fee is $15, and the renewal application must include a statement that the mark is still in active use within Georgia.⁹ You cannot renew a mark you’ve stopped using just to keep competitors away from it.

What Registration Lets You Do

Georgia law gives a registered owner the right to sue anyone who uses a confusingly similar mark on related goods or services without consent. If the infringer knew the mark was registered and used it anyway, you can recover $10,000 in liquidated damages without having to prove actual financial losses.¹⁰ Georgia courts can also issue injunctions ordering an infringer to stop using the mark, and the state’s anti-dilution provision allows a court to enjoin use of a similar mark even without direct competition, where there is a likelihood of injury to business reputation or dilution of the mark’s distinctive quality.¹¹

The $10,000 liquidated damages provision is available only to owners of marks registered under Georgia’s state system. The certificate itself works as evidence of validity and ownership, which makes enforcement cleaner than relying on common-law rights alone.

Georgia Registration Only Covers Georgia

A Georgia state registration protects your mark only inside Georgia. It does nothing in Alabama, Florida, or anywhere else. Federal registration through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office protects a mark in all 50 states and gives stronger enforcement tools. The practical differences:

Federal law allows “intent-to-use” applications, letting you claim priority on a mark you plan to use, as long as you eventually prove actual use in interstate commerce. Georgia requires actual use before filing.¹²
The USPTO charges $350 per class as of 2025, compared to Georgia’s $15.¹³
A Georgia registration does not block someone else from obtaining a federal registration for the same or a similar mark. If that happens, the federal registrant can gain priority over you outside your existing area of use.

If your business operates only within Georgia, state registration is a low-cost way to document your claim and unlock the state’s enforcement provisions. If you sell across state lines, ship nationally, or advertise widely online, federal registration is the stronger move, and many owners file both.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 10-1-441 – Ineligibility of Trademark or Service Mark for Registration
2
FindLaw. Georgia Code Title 10 Commerce and Trade 10-1-440 – Definitions
3
Georgia Secretary of State. Trademark Search – Georgia Corporations Division
4
United States Patent and Trademark Office. Comprehensive Clearance Search for Similar Trademarks
5
Justia. Georgia Code 10-1-442 – Application for Registration of Marks; Filing Fee
6
Georgia Secretary of State. Trademark and Service Mark Application and Forms
7
Justia. Georgia Code 10-1-449 – Damages for Fraud or False Representation in Registering Mark
8
Justia. Georgia Code 10-1-444 – Certificate of Registration
9
Justia. Georgia Code 10-1-445 – Duration of Registration; Renewal; Fee
10
Justia. Georgia Code 10-1-450 – Civil Action for Infringement of Registered Mark
11
Justia. Georgia Code 10-1-451 – Injunctions Against Infringement; Dilution
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1051 – Application for Registration; Verification
13
United States Patent and Trademark Office. Summary of 2025 Trademark Fee Changes