Trademark Registration Cost: USPTO Fees and Payment Plans

You built something worth protecting. Your brand name, your logo, the identity you have spent months or years developing. Now you are wondering whether a trademark is worth the cost. The honest answer: trademark registration is an investment, and the price depends on what you are registering, how many categories your business falls into, and whether you hire an attorney. This post breaks down every layer of that cost so you can make a clear-eyed decision.

The Real Cost Breakdown: USPTO Fees Plus Attorney Fees

The cost of trademark registration has two parts. First, there are the government filing fees paid to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Second, there are the professional fees you pay an attorney to prepare and manage the application. These are not the same thing, and confusing them is one of the most common mistakes first-time applicants make.

USPTO Filing Fees

The USPTO charges a per-class filing fee. Most small businesses file in one class, meaning one category of goods or services. The current fee runs approximately $250 to $350 per class, depending on the application type. If your business sells both products and services in different categories, each additional class costs more. These fees go directly to the federal government and are non-refundable, even if your application is denied or abandoned.

That last point matters. If you file incorrectly and the USPTO rejects your application, you do not get that filing fee back. The clock restarts and the money is gone.

Attorney Fees

An attorney handles the trademark search, application preparation, correspondence with the USPTO, and any issues that come up during the review process. These services reduce your risk of losing your filing fee and significantly improve your odds of a successful registration.

At Surge, our trademark registration service is built around a 12-month flat-fee plan so you are never surprised by a bill mid-process. Here is what that looks like:

• Word mark (standard pricing): $470 the first month, then $160 per month for 11 months. Members pay $450 the first month, then $140 per month for 11 months.
• Logo mark (standard pricing): $495 the first month, then $175 per month for 11 months. Members pay $460 the first month, then $150 per month for 11 months.
• Both word and logo mark (standard pricing): $915 the first month, then $320 per month for 11 months. Members pay $875 the first month, then $280 per month for 11 months.

USPTO filing fees are separate and billed in addition to the plan above. These fees are approximately $250 to $350 per class. Additional classes beyond the first are $395 each under the standard plan.

The first-month payment covers the trademark search. If the search turns up a serious conflict and registration is not viable, the plan is cancelled and no further monthly payments are due. You get honest advice up front instead of a surprise at the end.

Ready to find out what your specific trademark would cost? Book a free consultation and we will walk through your brand, your industry, and your options without any pressure.

Why the 12-Month Payment Plan Makes Sense

Trademark registration is not a one-day event. After you file, the USPTO typically takes eight to twelve months to examine an application and issue a registration, assuming no complications. The 12-month payment plan is designed to mirror that timeline almost exactly.

This means you are paying for the service while the service is actively happening. The search and filing work happens in month one. The waiting period, brand monitoring, and any correspondence with the USPTO happens across the remaining months. You are not paying a lump sum upfront for something that will take nearly a year to complete.

For small business owners in Iowa and central Texas who are watching cash flow closely, this structure matters. A few hundred dollars per month is manageable in a way that a four-figure payment on day one often is not. See our full flat-fee pricing page for details on all services and membership discounts.

What Is Included in the Monthly Plan

• Trademark search: A professional search to identify conflicts before you spend money on the USPTO filing fee.
• Filing in one class: Preparation and submission of your application to the USPTO.
• Legal advice after the search: An honest assessment of your likelihood of success, including alternative options if the news is not good.
• Silver-level office action response: If the USPTO sends a substantive objection during your registration period, one Silver-level response is included.
• Brand monitoring: Active monitoring for conflicting marks throughout the 12-month period.

The Cost of Not Trademarking

It is tempting to put trademark registration off. The business is new, money is tight, and it feels like a problem for later. But the cost of waiting often exceeds the cost of registering.

Consider what happens if another business registers a similar name in your industry while you are waiting. You may be forced to rebrand. That means new signage, updated websites, revised marketing materials, new business cards, and months of rebuilding name recognition with your customers. Rebranding a small business can easily cost more than registering a trademark would have in the first place, and that does not count the lost momentum.

Without a registered trademark, your ability to stop infringers is limited. You may have some common-law rights in your local area, but they are difficult and expensive to enforce. A registered trademark gives you a federal presumption of ownership, the right to use the registered trademark symbol, and a much stronger legal position if someone copies your brand.

Legal disputes over brand identity are costly regardless of who is right. Attorney fees, court costs, and the distraction of litigation can damage a small business even when you win. A trademark filing is far less expensive than defending your brand in federal court after the fact.

Why DIY Trademark Filing Is Risky

The USPTO allows anyone to file a trademark application directly. The online system is accessible and the forms are not complicated on the surface. So why not just do it yourself?

Because the details are where most applications fail, and mistakes are expensive.

The Most Common DIY Mistakes

• Wrong class selection: Filing in the wrong class of goods or services means your trademark offers no protection for what you actually do. Correcting this requires a new filing and a new fee.
• Inadequate specimen: The USPTO requires proof that you are actually using the mark in commerce. Submitting an inadequate specimen is one of the most common reasons applications are rejected.
• Missing conflicts: A basic Google search is not a trademark search. Professional searches cover the USPTO database, state registrations, and common-law uses. Missing a conflict at the start can mean losing your filing fee and restarting from scratch after months of waiting.
• Office action abandonment: When the USPTO has questions or objections, it sends an office action. You have a strict deadline to respond. DIY filers who do not know how to respond effectively, or who miss the deadline entirely, abandon their application and lose the filing fee. This is the leading cause of abandoned trademark applications.

If an office action comes up outside the included Silver response in the 12-month plan, Surge handles additional responses at flat rates: Bronze at $495 (members $445), Silver at $795 (members $720), and Gold at $995 (members $895). You always know what you are paying before any work begins.

What You Are Really Paying For

When you hire an attorney for trademark registration, you are paying for professional judgment at every step. That means a search that actually identifies risks, an application strategy that improves your odds of approval, and someone who knows how to respond if the USPTO pushes back. You are also protecting the USPTO filing fee itself. Losing that fee on a rejected DIY application often costs more than professional filing would have.

Getting a Quote and Next Steps

Every trademark situation is a little different. The cost depends on what you are registering, how many classes apply to your business, and whether you are registering just a name, just a logo, or both. Surge serves small business owners across Iowa and central Texas, and we work with clients at every budget level.

The first step is a free consultation. We will look at your brand, identify any obvious conflicts, explain which filing strategy makes sense for your business, and give you a clear number before any work begins. There is no obligation and no pressure to commit on the spot.

If you want to protect what you have built, the best time to start is now, before someone else files first. Schedule your free consultation with Surge Business Law and get the information you need to make a confident decision.