New Year, New Fees: USPTO Surcharges and Fee Increases for Trademark Filings in 2025

The USPTO is instituting new trademark surcharges and raising existing trademark fees for applications and other types of trademark filings. Increases for Madrid Protocol applications and World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO") renewals will take effect on February 18, 2025. 

While the single electronic base application fee of $350 will not change, applicants must meet two new requirements to secure this filing fee, namely: (i) the application must be complete at the time of filing; and (ii) the application must contain pre-approved descriptions of goods and services from the USPTO's Trademark Next Generation ID Manual ("ID Manual"). If the applicant does not comply with these requirements, the applicant will need to pay new surcharges.

For example, applicants whose applications are missing information at the time of filing (e.g., applicant's address; email address; mark description; first-use dates, if applicable; etc.) will be charged an additional $100. Applicants who choose to use the free-form text box to complete the descriptions of goods and services, rather than the pre-approved descriptions in the ID Manual, will be charged $200 per class for the first 1,000 characters. Each additional group of 1,000 characters beyond the first 1,000 characters will trigger another $200 surcharge. Simply put, free-form equals more fees.

For applicants who have specific goods and services descriptions that are not presently contained in the ID Manual, the minimum application fee will start at $550. These new surcharges can be particularly expensive for foreign applicants whose U.S. applications are based on foreign applications or foreign registrations with exceptionally lengthy descriptions.

Applications filed under the Madrid Protocol will not be subject to the new surcharges because WIPO currently cannot collect surcharges. However, the new base fee for Madrid Protocol applications will increase from $500 to $600.

The USPTO is also increasing fees for processing amendments to allege use and statements of use, as well as several post-registration maintenance filing fees, such as renewals, declarations of use, and declarations of incontestability. Below is a summary of the new fee schedule for electronic filings:

In light of these fee changes, brand owners should consider taking advantage of the current lower fees by filing new applications and handling maintenance filings (if the maintenance window is already open) ahead of January 18, 2025. After January 18, 2025, applicants are encouraged to work with their trademark counsel when preparing applications in order to avoid surcharges for missing information, to determine whether pre-approved descriptions are available, and/or to obtain advice on concise free-form descriptions that will incur the least amount of surcharges.