Meta description: Learn how to trademark a business name in 2026: search, classes, USPTO fees, filing, timelines, office actions, registration and enforcing your rights.
If you want to know how to trademark a business name in the US, the short version is this: confirm nobody is already using a similar name for related goods or services, pick the right class, file an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) through Trademark Center, and then respond to the examining attorney until your mark registers. The government filing fee starts at $350 per class, and the whole process usually takes the better part of a year.
The details are where founders lose time and money: weak names get refused, sloppy descriptions trigger surcharges and missed deadlines kill applications. This guide covers each step with current USPTO fees and timelines.
One note before you start: this article is general information, not legal advice. Trademark law has plenty of edge cases, so check with a trademark attorney or the USPTO before you make decisions you cannot undo.
What A Trademark Protects (And What An LLC, DBA Or Domain Does Not)
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, design or combination that identifies the source of your goods or services. It protects how you use a name in the market, not the word itself in general. Many founders wrongly assume they own their name once the company paperwork is done.
Trademark vs LLC, DBA And Domain Name
Here is how they compare, based on USPTO and US Small Business Administration guidance:
| What you registered | What it does | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| LLC or corporation (entity name) | Reserves the name in your state’s business registry, which can protect it at a state level | Does not stop a company in another state, or even yours, from using a similar brand name in the market |
| DBA (“doing business as”) | Lets you legally operate under a name other than your entity name; often required by states | Provides no legal protection for the name on its own |
| Domain name | Stops anyone else from using that exact web address while you keep renewing it | Does not stop a competitor from using the same name on a different domain or on products |
| Federal trademark registration | Gives you nationwide rights in the name for the goods or services listed | Does not cover unrelated goods or services, or give you rights to the word everywhere |
So the honest answer to “trademark vs LLC” is that you usually want both. The LLC is your legal entity. The trademark is your brand protection.
Using a name in commerce gives you some common law rights, but only where you actually do business. Federal registration extends them nationwide.
Step 1: Check How Strong Your Business Name Is
Before you search or file anything, look at the name itself. The USPTO groups marks on a spectrum from strong to weak, and where your name falls has a big effect on whether it can be registered.
| Category | Strength | USPTO example |
|---|---|---|
| Fanciful (invented words) | Strongest | Exxon for petroleum, Pepsi for soft drinks |
| Arbitrary (real word, unrelated to the product) | Strong | Apple for computers |
| Suggestive (hints at a quality) | Strong | Coppertone for sun-tanning products |
| Descriptive (describes the product) | Weak, registrable only in limited circumstances | “Creamy” for yogurt |
| Generic (the common name for the product) | Not registrable | “Bagel shop” for a bagel shop |
Descriptive names are easy to understand but hard to protect. If you are still choosing a name, lean toward suggestive, arbitrary or invented options. If you are already attached to a descriptive name, consider pairing it with a distinctive logo. A name and visual identity work together, which is why your logo is the foundation of your brand identity alongside the name you protect.
Step 2: Run A Clearance Search In The USPTO Trademark Search System
The USPTO’s free Trademark Search system (at tmsearch.uspto.gov) replaced the older TESS database. Use it to see whether anyone has registered or applied for a similar mark for related goods or services.
You are not just looking for exact matches. The USPTO refuses applications when there is a “likelihood of confusion,” meaning the marks are similar and the goods or services are related enough that consumers might think they come from the same source. The USPTO’s own examples: “T. Markey” and “Tee Marquee” sound alike even though they are spelled differently, and T-shirts and hats are treated as related goods.
A practical search routine looks like this:
- Search the exact name, plus spelling variants, plurals and phonetic equivalents.
- Search the distinctive part of the name on its own (for example, “Lumora” from “Lumora Analytics”).
- Filter or review results in your class and in related classes.
- Search the web, social platforms and state registries for unregistered users.
If you find a close match in a related field, adjust the name now rather than fight a refusal later.
Step 3: Choose Your Classes And Describe Your Goods Or Services
Every application lists the specific goods or services the mark covers, grouped into 45 international classes. Classes 1 to 34 cover goods and classes 35 to 45 cover services. A software company, for example, might file in a class for downloadable software and a class for software-as-a-service, which means two classes and two fees.
Use the USPTO’s Trademark ID Manual, which contains pre-approved descriptions. Choosing from it keeps your costs down, because writing your own free-form description triggers a surcharge. Be accurate rather than broad: you need to actually use (or genuinely intend to use) the mark for everything you list.
Step 4: Decide Between Use In Commerce And Intent To Use
You can file on one of two main bases:
- Use in commerce: You already sell goods or provide services under the name. You submit a specimen, such as a product label, packaging or a web page showing the mark used to sell or advertise your services. Use has to be in the ordinary course of trade, not a token sale made just to reserve the name.
- Intent to use: You have a good faith (bona fide) intention to use the name but have not launched yet. This lets you stake your claim early. Once the mark is approved, the USPTO issues a notice of allowance, and you must file a statement of use within six months, or request extensions. The maximum total extension time is 36 months from the notice of allowance date.
Keep records of your preparations (designs, product plans, domain purchases), since your intent can be challenged later.
Step 5: Verify Your Identity And File Through USPTO Trademark Center
All new applications are filed online through Trademark Center. Before you can file, you need a USPTO.gov account, and anyone who files or edits trademark forms must have a verified account. Verification is done online through ID.me (with a selfie or a video chat agent) or on paper with a notarized form, which the USPTO says takes two to three weeks to process. Do this before your planned filing date so it does not hold you up.
In the application you will provide:
- The owner’s name and address (the company, if the LLC or corporation will own the brand)
- The mark itself, either as standard characters (the name in any font) or as a special form (a stylized logo)
- Your goods or services and classes
- Your filing basis, plus a specimen and dates of first use if you are filing on use
- A signed declaration and payment
Do you need a lawyer? If you are domiciled in the US, you are not required to have one, although the USPTO suggests considering it. If you are domiciled outside the US, you must be represented by a US-licensed attorney.
How Much Does It Cost To Trademark A Business Name?
Under the USPTO fee schedule in effect since January 2025, every application pays a base fee per class, plus surcharges if it falls short. The current amounts on the USPTO fee schedule for electronic filings are:
| Fee | Amount (per class) |
|---|---|
| Base application | $350 |
| Surcharge: insufficient information | $100 |
| Surcharge: free-form text description instead of the ID Manual | $200 |
| Surcharge: each additional 1,000 characters beyond the first 1,000 | $200 |
| Statement of use (intent to use filings) | $150 |
| Extension of time to file a statement of use | $125 per request |
| Section 8 declaration (maintenance) | $325 |
| Section 9 renewal | $325 |
| Section 8 grace period fee | $100 |
For example, a founder filing in one class, using an ID Manual description and a complete application, pays $350. The same founder filing in two classes on an intent to use basis, then filing a statement of use for both, pays $700 to file plus $300 for the statements of use, before any extensions. Attorney fees, if you use one, are on top of government fees.
How Long Does A Trademark Take?
Expect months, not weeks. According to the USPTO, average first-action pendency (the wait before an examining attorney first reviews your application) fell to about 4.45 months in the first half of fiscal year 2026, and total processing time averaged about 10 months. Your timeline will vary with your filing basis and whether you get an office action.
| Stage | Typical timing |
|---|---|
| Filing to first examination | About 4 to 5 months (USPTO average, first half of FY 2026) |
| Responding to an office action | 3 months from the issue date, with an optional 3-month extension for a fee |
| Publication and opposition window | 30 days from publication in the Official Gazette |
| Use-based application | Registers after the opposition period if nobody opposes |
| Intent to use application | Notice of allowance about 8 weeks after publication; registration about 2 months after an approved statement of use |
Step 6: Respond To Office Actions
An office action is a letter from the examining attorney explaining what is wrong with your application. It may be a minor fix, like clarifying your goods description, or a substantive refusal, such as likelihood of confusion or a finding that your name is merely descriptive.
You must respond within three months of the issue date. You can buy a single three-month extension. If you miss the deadline, the application is abandoned, and you have only two months to petition to revive it. Substantive refusals often call for legal arguments and evidence, so this is the point where many self-filers bring in an attorney.
Step 7: Survive Publication And Opposition
Once the examiner approves your mark, it is published in the Trademark Official Gazette, a weekly USPTO publication. Anyone who believes they would be harmed by your registration has 30 days to file an opposition or ask for more time to oppose. A clean clearance search in Step 2 is your best insurance here.
Step 8: Register And Use The ® Symbol Correctly
Use-based applications register after the opposition period, and the USPTO issues a registration certificate. Intent to use applicants must first file their statement of use with a specimen showing real use.
You can use “TM” (for goods) or “SM” (for services) at any time, even before filing, to signal that you claim the name. Once your mark is registered, switch to ®, and use it only with the goods or services listed in your registration. Using ® before registration is a mistake to avoid.
Step 9: Keep Your Registration Alive With Maintenance Filings
A trademark registration can last indefinitely, but only if you keep using the name and file on time:
- Between years 5 and 6 after registration: file a Section 8 declaration of use ($325 per class).
- Between years 9 and 10: file a combined Section 8 declaration and Section 9 renewal ($325 each per class).
- Every 10 years after that: repeat the combined Section 8 and 9 filing.
Each deadline has a six-month grace period with an extra fee. Miss the grace period and the registration is canceled. Calendar these dates the day your certificate arrives.
Rebrands are the other common way registrations get lost. If you change the name or logo, you may need a new filing rather than an update, so plan the trademark work as part of the project. The challenges of a tech rebrand include exactly this kind of overlooked legal step.
Step 10: Monitor And Enforce Your Trademark
The USPTO does not police your mark for you. A name you never defend gets weaker, and a brand customers confuse with a copycat loses the trust you built. A protected, consistently enforced name is the base everything else in your brand reputation sits on.
A simple policing routine:
- Run a search in the USPTO Trademark Search system every quarter for new applications similar to yours.
- Set up web alerts for your name and close variants.
- Watch marketplaces, app stores and social platforms, which often have their own trademark complaint processes.
What To Do When Someone Copies Your Business Name
When you find a business using a confusingly similar name, the usual first step is a cease and desist letter: a written demand that they stop, sent before any lawsuit. It creates a paper trail and resolves many disputes without court.
To draft one, you can start from the free cease and desist letter template from HighFlyers. It is a free PDF with no signup. The template page explains when a letter makes sense (trademark infringement is one of the main uses), what to include, such as your contact details, the specific conduct, your demands, a clear deadline and a statement reserving your rights, and how to send it so you can prove delivery.
Keep the tone factual. A sample opening might read: “We own U.S. Trademark Registration No. [number] for [MARK] for [goods or services]. Your use of [THEIR NAME] for [their goods or services] is likely to cause confusion with our mark.” Then state exactly what you want, such as stopping use within 14 days. Have a trademark attorney review the letter before you send it. An overreaching letter can backfire.
Trademarking A Business Name From Outside The US
If your company is based outside the US, you have two routes. You can file directly with the USPTO, in which case you must be represented by a US-licensed attorney. Or you can use the Madrid System administered by WIPO, which lets you file a single international application and pay one set of fees to seek protection in multiple countries, including the US. The system covers 133 countries.
To use Madrid, you need a connection to a member country (nationality, domicile or a business there) and an existing application or registration in that country’s trademark office. The USPTO’s fee for a Madrid application designating the US is $600 per class.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I trademark a business name myself?
Yes. If you are domiciled in the US, you are not required to hire an attorney, and many founders file simple, single-class applications on their own. If you are domiciled outside the US, you must use a US-licensed attorney. An attorney is worth considering if your name is descriptive or your search turns up close matches.
How much does it cost to trademark a business name?
The USPTO base application fee is $350 per class. Surcharges of $100 to $200 per class apply for incomplete information or custom descriptions, and intent to use filings add a $150 statement of use fee per class. Attorney fees, if you use one, are extra.
How long does a trademark take to get approved?
The USPTO reported average first-action pendency of about 4.45 months and total processing of about 10 months in the first half of fiscal year 2026. Office actions, oppositions and intent to use filings can add months to that.
Is an LLC the same as a trademark?
No. Forming an LLC registers your entity name with a state, which can protect it at a state level. A federal trademark gives you nationwide rights to use the name for specific goods or services. Most businesses benefit from both.
Can I trademark a name I’m not using yet?
Yes, with an intent to use application, as long as you have a genuine intention to use it. The mark will not register until you file a statement of use showing real use, and you have up to 36 months from the notice of allowance (with extensions) to do so.
Conclusion
Knowing how to trademark a business name comes down to a clear sequence: pick a distinctive name, search properly, choose accurate classes from the ID Manual, file through Trademark Center with a verified account, respond to office actions on time, and then maintain and defend the registration for as long as you use the name. The fees are modest next to a rebrand forced by someone else’s earlier rights, so start as soon as the name is settled and bring in an attorney when a refusal or dispute comes up.
