How much does it cost to register a trademark in one class?

The USPTO base filing fee is $350 per class, effective January 2025. That covers one class, and each additional class is another $350. Extra surcharges of $100 or $200 per class apply only if you omit required information or write a custom goods description instead of using the ID Manual.

Can I add a class to my trademark application after I file?

Only in limited cases. If a good or service was already in your application but assigned to the wrong class, you can add the correct class for $350. You cannot add genuinely new goods or services, that exceeds the original scope and needs a brand-new application with new fees and a new date.

What happens if I choose the wrong trademark class?

You generally do not get your money back, USPTO fees are non-refundable. A true misclassification can be corrected within the original scope, but registering for the wrong goods entirely leaves your brand unprotected where you operate and can force a new filing. Vague descriptions can also trigger a refusal.

Trademark Classes Explained: The Nice Classification

Trademarks are organized into 45 classes, 34 for goods and 11 for services. The USPTO charges $350 per class, and your protection only covers the classes you actually register in.

Every trademark lives in a class, and the USPTO charges you $350 for each one you file in. Forty-five classes exist. Most people need one or two. Pick wrong, and you either overpay or, worse, leave the part of your business you actually care about unprotected.

Key takeaway: your protection only reaches the classes you register in. A trademark on your clothing line does nothing for the app you launch under the same name.

What a class actually is

It is a category. The Nice Classification, used by the USPTO and most of the world, splits everything into 45 buckets: classes 1 through 34 for physical goods, 35 through 45 for services. Clothing is class 25. Software is class 9. Advertising and retail services are class 35. The fee is per class, so two categories means two fees, $700, not $350.

The 2025 fee change

If you read an older guide, ignore what it says about "TEAS Plus" and "TEAS Standard" at $250 and $350. The USPTO scrapped that two-tier system in January 2025. There is now one base fee, $350 per class, plus surcharges if you cut corners: $100 if you leave required fields blank, and $200 per class if you write your own description of goods instead of picking a pre-approved one. File cleanly and you pay the $350 and nothing more.

Picking the right one

Match the description, not the keyword. The USPTO's ID Manual is a searchable list of pre-approved goods and services, each already tied to its class, and using it avoids that $200 surcharge. A single brand can span several classes, an apparel company selling clothing (25), running a store (35), and shipping an app (9) needs three. Goods and services never share a class.

What if you get it wrong

The fees are gone either way, no refunds. Put an item in the wrong class and you can usually fix it within the original scope for another $350. What you cannot do is bolt on goods or services you never listed, those need a fresh application, new fee, new filing date. So the cheap insurance is getting the classes right the first time, ideally with someone who has filed a few hundred of these.