From the name in your head to the ® on your label.
Six steps from an idea to a federal registration. You do the first two in one sitting, we do the search and the drafting, and nothing gets filed until you have read it and said yes.
Every legal fee is flat and agreed in writing before work begins. USPTO filing fees are separate and paid to the government. Below the steps: the two ways to file, the full timeline, what can slow it down, what to have ready and every fee.
Written by Gabrielle Maria Crawford, Esq., Founder and Managing Attorney · Updated October 24, 2026
- Step 01 · You
Choose
Pick the package that fits where your brand is: Seed if the name is still being decided, Grove if you are ready to file. Sign the engagement letter and pay on the same page. Not sure which one? Email us first and we’ll tell you.
- Seed $650 or Grove $2,600
- Engagement letter signed on the page
- Pay by card on the same page
Today
about ten minutes
- Step 02 · You
Tell us
Right after payment you get a short questionnaire about the brand: who owns it, what you sell, where you sell it, and when you started using the name. These answers become the application, so they matter more than they look.
- Owner: you or your company
- What you sell, in your own words
- Where and since when
Same day
one short form
- Step 03 · Us
Search
A full search of federal records, all fifty states and real-world use, read the way the USPTO reads it: sight, sound and meaning. You get a written opinion on the risk before a dollar goes toward a filing.
- Federal, state and common-law search
- Written opinion letter
- Questions answered by email
Seed includes one courtesy search of an alternative name if the first comes back high risk.
Under two weeks
from your questionnaire
- Step 04 · Both
Approve
We draft the application: owner, classes, the description of goods and services, the filing basis and the specimen. You read it before anything is filed. Several of these choices can’t be corrected after filing, which is why you see them first.
- Application drafted for your review
- Nothing filed without your yes
- USPTO fee $350 per class
When you say go
you set the pace
- Step 05 · USPTO
Examination
The USPTO assigns a serial number, then an examining attorney reviews the application against the law and against every existing mark. If they raise an issue, called an Office Action, there are three months to respond. Grove covers procedural responses; Harvest also covers substantive ones.
- Serial number on filing
- Every USPTO deadline tracked for you
- Office Action responses per your package
USPTO averages, data as of October 1, 2026: about 4.3 months to a first action, about 10.4 months from filing to a final outcome.
About 4 months
until the first review
- Step 06 · USPTO
Register
Once approved, the mark is published in the Official Gazette, and anyone who objects has 30 days to oppose. If no one does, the registration issues and you can use the ®.
- Published for a 30-day opposition window
- Registration certificate
- Maintenance dates tracked from day one
Filing before you have started selling? There is one more step, a Statement of Use, before registration.
About 3 months
after publication
Already selling, or not yet?
Every application has a filing basis. It decides what you file now, what you file later, and when the registration can issue.
Use in commerce
You are already selling the goods or offering the services under the name to customers in more than one state, or across a border. The application includes the date you first used the name and a specimen, which is a photo or screenshot showing the name on the product, the packaging or the page where people buy. Once approved and published, it registers.
- Dates of first use
- A specimen showing real use
- Registers after publication
Intent to use
You have a real plan to use the name but haven’t launched. Filing now holds your place in line from today’s date. After the USPTO approves the mark and it survives publication, you get a Notice of Allowance, then six months to start using the name and file a Statement of Use. Five six-month extensions are available if launch takes longer.
- Priority from your filing date
- Statement of Use: $150 per class
- Up to three years after allowance to launch
How long each stage takes.
Our part takes weeks. The USPTO’s part takes months. Here is the whole path, including the parts that only happen to some applications.
| Stage | What happens | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Search and written opinion | Federal, state and common-law search, read and explained in writing. | Under two weeks |
| Drafting and your approval | We draft every part of the application. You read it and say go. | You set the pace |
| Filing | The application goes to the USPTO and gets a serial number. | Same day |
| First examination | An examining attorney reviews the application and searches the register. | About 4 months |
| Office Action, if there is one | Three months to respond, extendable once by three more for a $125 USPTO fee. | 3 to 6 months |
| Publication | The mark appears in the Official Gazette. Anyone who objects has 30 days to oppose or ask for more time. | 30 days |
| Registration, if already selling | The certificate issues and you can use the ®. | About 3 months after publication |
| Registration, if filed before selling | Notice of Allowance, then a Statement of Use once you launch. | Up to 3 years after allowance |
| Keeping it alive | A declaration of continued use between years five and six, then a renewal every ten years. | For as long as you use it |
USPTO timing changes with its backlog. The averages above are USPTO data as of October 1, 2026.
The Office Actions we see most.
An Office Action is not a rejection. It is the examining attorney asking a question or raising a problem. Procedural ones are usually quick to answer. Substantive ones take legal argument, and they are what the search is designed to predict.
Likelihood of confusion
SubstantiveThe most common refusal. The examining attorney finds an existing mark that is similar enough, for related enough goods or services, that buyers could be confused. Answering takes a written legal argument with evidence. This is the risk the search exists to measure.
Merely descriptive
SubstantiveThe name describes the product, its quality or its purpose, like Creamy for yogurt. Answering means arguing that the name is suggestive, or moving the application to the Supplemental Register.
Specimen refused
Procedural or substantiveThe photo or screenshot doesn’t show the name used as a brand: a name printed only as decoration, a mockup, or a page with no way to buy. Often fixed with a better specimen, sometimes not.
Description of goods and services
ProceduralThe wording is too broad or in the wrong class. Fixed by amendment, but only by narrowing. You can never add goods that weren’t in the original description.
Disclaimers and clarifications
ProceduralThe USPTO asks you to disclaim a generic word, like Pilates or Coffee, or to describe the logo in words. Usually a quick response.
Grove covers every procedural response. Harvest also covers substantive responses. Under Grove, a substantive response is quoted in writing before any work begins.
Six things the application needs.
You don’t need any of this before you start. The questionnaire walks you through it. Having it handy makes step two take minutes.
- The ownerThe exact legal name of the person or company that controls the products, with its state of formation.
- The markThe name exactly as you use it, and whether there is a logo you want protected too.
- What you sellEvery product or service under the name, in plain words. We turn it into USPTO language.
- DatesWhen you first used the name anywhere, and when you first sold across state lines.
- Proof of useA photo of the label, tag or packaging, or a screenshot of the page where customers buy.
- Other namesAny second-choice names. Seed includes one courtesy search if the first comes back high risk.
What it costs, start to finish.
Two bills, every time: the legal fee for the work, and the government fee for the filing. Ours are flat. The USPTO’s are set by the USPTO and are the same no matter who files.
| Package | What it covers | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Seed | Full search and written opinion. Credits toward Grove or Harvest. | $650 |
| Sprout | Search, opinion and a one-class application. | $1,800 |
| Grove | Two classes, specimen review and every procedural Office Action. | $2,600 |
| Harvest | Everything in Grove plus substantive Office Actions. | $3,700 |
| Each class beyond two | Grove and Harvest. | $300 |
| Orchard | Ongoing monitoring, deadlines and portfolio counsel. | $495 a month |
| Filing | What it covers | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Application | Per class, paid when we file. | $350 |
| Insufficient information surcharge | Per class, if required details are missing at filing. | $100 |
| Free-form description surcharge | Per class, for each 1,000 characters past the first 1,000. | $200 |
| Statement of Use | Per class, for intent-to-use applications. | $150 |
| Extension to file a Statement of Use | Per class, per six-month extension. | $125 |
| Extension to answer an Office Action | One three-month extension. | $125 |
| Declaration of use, years 5 to 6 | Per class. | $325 |
| Renewal, every 10 years | Per class, filed with a declaration of use. | $325 + $325 |
USPTO fees from the USPTO fee schedule as of October 2026, electronic filing. We write descriptions from the USPTO list where we can, which avoids the free-form surcharge.
A registration is not one and done.
A registration lasts as long as you keep using the name and keep filing. Miss a maintenance deadline and it is cancelled, even if the brand is thriving.
- Use the ®Only on the goods and services in the registration, and only once it has issued.
- Years 5 to 6File a declaration that the mark is still in use, with a current specimen. $325 per class.
- Every 10 yearsRenew, with another declaration of use. There is a six-month grace period, with a surcharge.
- Watch for copycatsThe USPTO doesn’t police your mark. You do, or we do it for you under Orchard.
- Keep the owner currentIf the business changes hands or the brand moves to a new company, record the assignment.
- Expand with the brandNew products in new classes need new filings. The registration never grows on its own.
How registration works, answered.
How long does it take to register a trademark?
At current USPTO timing, about four months to a first review and about ten months from filing to a final outcome, as of October 1, 2026. A clean application from a brand that is already selling often registers in about a year. Filing before launch adds the time it takes to launch and file proof of use.
Do I have to be selling before I file?
No. An intent-to-use application holds your place in line from the filing date while you build. The registration issues after you launch and file a Statement of Use.
What is the difference between TM and ®?
Anyone can use TM to claim a name as a brand. The ® is only for federally registered marks, and only for the goods and services in the registration. Using it before registration can cause problems.
What is an Office Action?
A letter from the USPTO examining attorney raising an issue with the application. You have three months to respond, and one three-month extension is available for a $125 fee. Missing the deadline abandons the application.
What happens if someone opposes my application?
After publication, anyone who believes they would be harmed has 30 days to oppose or ask for more time. An opposition is a proceeding before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and it is quoted separately in every package.
Can I change my application after it is filed?
Some things. You can narrow the goods and services and correct minor errors. You can’t broaden the goods, materially change the mark, or fix an application filed by the wrong owner, which is why the drafting step matters.
How many classes do I need?
One for each kind of goods or services you sell or genuinely plan to sell under the name. The USPTO charges per class. The search and the questionnaire tell us which ones you need.
Do I have to get on a call?
No. You can start online, ask questions by email, and get the search and the application in writing. A call with the attorney is there if you want one.
What does the search cover?
Federal applications and registrations, the trademark records of all fifty states, and real-world use of names that were never registered, such as businesses, domains, social accounts and marketplaces.
What if the search says my name is risky?
The written opinion explains the risk and what it would take to file anyway. If you would rather pick a different name, Seed includes one courtesy search of an alternative.
Does a US registration protect me in other countries?
No. Trademark rights are country by country. A US filing can be extended to many other countries through the Madrid Protocol, and filing abroad within six months keeps your US priority date.
What do I need to do after registration?
Keep using the name, use the ®, watch for copycats, and file a declaration of use between years five and six and a renewal every ten years. Missing those filings cancels the registration.
Go deeper on The Zest.
- Why the search comes before the filing
- Filing before you launch: intent to use
- What an Office Action is and how to answer it
- Specimens: proving the name is in use
- Writing the description of goods and services
- What a trademark costs in 2026
- Mistakes we see in do-it-yourself applications
- Protecting the name after registration
Questions about a step? Read the FAQs or email hello@citrus.legal.
Ready for step one?
Pick your package and sign in one sitting, or email us first if you are not sure which fits.