The government fee starts at $350 per class, but that is the floor, not the total. Surcharges, extra classes, and attorney fees are where the real number lives. Here is what to actually budget.
If you are trying to budget for a trademark, you have probably seen the number $350 thrown around. That is real, but it is only the starting fee for one class of goods or services. The amount you actually pay depends on how many classes you file, how clean your application is, and whether you hire an attorney.
For most small businesses, the true cost of federal trademark registration lands somewhere between a few hundred dollars if you file cleanly on your own and a few thousand once professional help and complications enter the picture. Here is exactly where the money goes so you can plan a real budget instead of a guess.
The One Big Change You Need To Know For 2026
Before the numbers, one important update. In January 2025 the USPTO scrapped its old two-tier system. If you have read older guides mentioning a TEAS Plus fee of $250 and a TEAS Standard fee of $350, that language is out of date. There is no TEAS Plus fee in 2026, because the tiers were replaced with a single base fee plus surcharges.
So any advice built around “file TEAS Plus to save money” no longer applies. The new system keeps the base fee low but adds charges when your application is not clean, which we will get into below. Knowing this alone saves you from planning around a fee structure that no longer exists.
How Much Does It Cost To Register A Trademark With The USPTO In 2026?
The base government fee to register a trademark with the USPTO in 2026 is $350 per class of goods or services, filed through the USPTO’s Trademark Center. That $350 is the floor for a single, clean, complete application in one class.
The reason the total climbs is that “per class” and “clean” both matter. If your brand needs protection in more than one category, you pay $350 for each one. And if your application triggers any surcharges, those stack on top.
So the honest answer to how much a trademark costs for a small business is that $350 is the minimum, not the expected final number. Our trademark registration covers what actually goes into a complete filing.
What Are The USPTO Filing Fees For A Trademark Application?
The USPTO trademark filing fee for 2026 starts at $350 per class, and then a set of surcharges can apply depending on how you fill out the application. These are the ones that catch most filers:
- $100 per class if your application is missing required information at the time of filing.
- $200 per class if you write your own description of goods or services instead of picking from the USPTO’s pre-approved ID Manual.
- $200 per extra 1,000 characters if your description of goods and services runs long.
So a single-class application where you write a custom description actually costs $550, not $350, because of that $200 surcharge. The way to stay at the base fee is to file in one class, use the pre-approved descriptions, and complete every required field. You can confirm the current numbers directly on the USPTO trademark fee page, since fees do change.
There is also a timing wrinkle. If you file before you are actually using your mark in business, called an intent-to-use application, you pay more later: an extra $150 per class when you file your proof of use, and $125 per class if you need an extension. This is common for coaches and creators launching a brand before it is live, and our post on trademarks for coaches and course creators speaks to that timing directly.
How Much Does A Trademark Attorney Charge In New York?
A trademark attorney’s fee is separate from the government fee, and in New York it typically runs from a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars for a standard application, depending on the attorney and what is included. Many attorneys charge a flat fee for the filing itself, then separate fees if complications come up.
What you are paying for is not just filling out a form. A good attorney runs a proper search before you file to catch conflicts that could sink your application, picks the right classes and descriptions to keep you on the base fee, and handles any pushback from the USPTO. That trademark attorney fee in New York often pays for itself by preventing a rejected filing, since USPTO fees are non-refundable if your application fails.
What Is The Total Cost Of Federal Trademark Registration Including Attorney Fees?
Adding it up, the total cost of trademark registration for a straightforward single-class application usually falls somewhere around $1,000 to $2,000 when you include both the government fee and an attorney’s flat fee. More complex situations can run higher, past $5,000, if your application hits an office action, needs multiple classes, or involves a dispute.
Here is a realistic way to think about the trademark registration total cost. Take the $350 base fee, multiply by the number of classes you need, add any surcharges you cannot avoid, then add your attorney’s fee on top. A clean one-class filing with flat-fee help sits at the low end. A multi-class filing with a custom description and an office action response sits at the high end. Budgeting toward the middle keeps you safe.
Are There Cheaper Options For Filing A Trademark Without An Attorney?
Yes. You can file directly with the USPTO yourself and pay only the government fees, which is the cheapest route on paper, potentially just the $350 base fee for a clean single-class application. For a simple, low-risk brand, some owners do this successfully.
The catch is what a DIY filing risks. If your search misses an existing conflict, you can lose your non-refundable fee and have to start over. If you write your own description, you may trigger surcharges or draw an office action you are not equipped to answer.
So the cheaper option is genuinely cheaper only when your situation is simple and clean. The moment there is any real money riding on your brand, the savings from skipping an attorney can vanish the first time something goes wrong. If your brand is central to a licensed practice, our look at trademarks for healthcare practices shows why getting it right the first time matters.
The Bottom Line
Federal trademark registration in 2026 starts at $350 per class in government fees, but the real cost of federal trademark registration depends on your class count, whether you avoid the surcharges, and whether you hire an attorney.
A clean, single-class DIY filing can be a few hundred dollars, while a represented, more complex registration commonly runs $1,000 to $2,000 or more. Budget for the full picture, not just the headline fee, and remember that the cheapest filing is only a bargain if it actually succeeds.
Ready To Protect Your Brand Without Overpaying?
J. Cameron Law, PLLC helps business owners across the country with federal trademark searches and applications, so you file the right way the first time and avoid the surcharges and rejections that quietly run up the cost.
Whether you are trademarking a new name, protecting a brand you have built for years, or just trying to understand what you will actually spend, the right guidance keeps your filing clean and your budget predictable.
