Renew Your Trademark with USPTO
A federal trademark doesn't stay alive on its own. The USPTO requires maintenance filings on a fixed schedule — miss a deadline and your registration can be cancelled, forcing you to reapply from scratch and lose your original priority date.
Maintenance filing deadlines
- Years 5–6
Section 8 Declaration of Use
File a Section 8 declaration confirming your mark is still in use in commerce. This is the first mandatory maintenance filing after registration.
- Years 9–10
Combined Section 8 & 9 Renewal
File a combined declaration of continued use and application for renewal to keep your registration active for another 10 years.
- Every 10 years after
Ongoing renewal
Repeat the combined Section 8 & 9 filing every 10 years to keep your federal registration alive indefinitely.
What's included in a renewal
A renewal isn't just clicking a button. The USPTO needs current evidence that your mark is still in commercial use, in the same classes you originally registered. Our filing partner handles the paperwork end-to-end:
- Review of your USPTO record and confirmation of your current filing deadline
- Preparation of the required declaration and renewal paperwork
- Submission of specimens showing your mark in current commercial use
- Filing with the USPTO and payment of the government fee
- Confirmation of successful filing and updates on USPTO acceptance
What happens if you miss a deadline
Cancellation
Miss the Section 8 window and the USPTO cancels your registration — the mark returns to the public register as unclaimed.
Grace period fees
A six-month grace period exists after each deadline, but additional per-class fees apply and the deadline is unforgiving.
Loss of priority
If you have to reapply from scratch, you lose your original filing date — competitors who filed after you can now jump ahead.
Why file early
The Section 8 window opens in year five and closes in year six. Filing early in that window gives you time to correct any specimen issues the examining attorney flags — without racing the clock on a deadline you can't extend. The same logic applies to the combined Section 8 & 9 renewal in years nine and ten.
Trademark maintenance is one of the few areas of business paperwork where being early costs you nothing and being late can cost you the brand you spent years building.
Don't let your registration lapse.
Renewal is completed securely with our partner, TrademarkPlus.com.