Trademark Renewal & Maintenance Deadlines: How to Keep Your Federal Registration Alive

Getting a trademark registration certificate can feel like the finish line. You cleared the search, navigated examination, made it through the opposition period, and received a federal registration number. Your brand now has the benefits of a federal registration.

But a registration is not permanent simply because the certificate issued. Federal law requires registration owners to make periodic maintenance filings that confirm the mark remains in use. Miss the required filing window—and then the limited grace period—and the registration can be canceled or expire. That is a painful surprise for an owner who has spent years building a brand.

Regaining a federal registration may require a new application, new fees, and a new examination process. The new application will not carry the original registration date, and intervening uses or applications may create additional complications.

The good news is that the timeline is predictable. Once the registration date is calendared, ongoing maintenance is manageable.

Quick Answer: When Do You Have to Renew a Trademark?

A U.S. federal trademark registration remains in force only if its owner files required maintenance documents on time:

• Between the fifth and sixth anniversaries of registration: file a Section 8 Declaration of Use.
• Between the ninth and tenth anniversaries of registration: file a combined Section 8 Declaration of Use and Section 9 Application for Renewal.
• Every ten years after that: file the combined Section 8 and Section 9 submission again.

Each window is followed by a six-month grace period. Late filings during that grace period require additional USPTO fees. Missing both the regular window and the grace period can result in cancellation or expiration of the registration.

Registration Is a Beginning—Not a Finish Line

Trademark rights are tied to use. A federal registration gives an owner important nationwide benefits, but the registration must continue to reflect a mark that is actually being used in commerce for the goods and services it covers. That is why the USPTO requires declarations under oath and specimens showing real-world use of the mark.

These filings are more than administrative checkboxes. They require the owner to confirm that the registration remains accurate and that the mark is still being used for the listed goods or services.

Three filings are especially important in the life of a typical registration. Two are required. One is optional but can provide meaningful protection.

The Maintenance Schedule at a Glance

Years 5–6: The Section 8 Declaration of Use

The first required maintenance filing is the Section 8 Declaration of Use. It must be filed between the fifth and sixth anniversaries of the registration date. The governing statute is 15 U.S.C. § 1058.

In the declaration, the registration owner states under oath that the mark is in use in commerce in connection with the goods or services identified in the registration. The owner also submits a specimen: evidence showing how consumers encounter the mark in the real world.

The right specimen depends on the nature of the offering. For goods, it might be a product label, packaging, a tag, or a point-of-sale display. For services, it might be a website page, advertisement, brochure, or other material that shows the mark used in connection with the services. A logo in isolation, a mockup, or an internal document may not establish the required trademark use.

Review the Entire Registration Before Filing

The Section 8 filing is a good time to compare the registration against the business as it exists today. If the company is no longer using the mark on some listed goods or services, those goods or services generally must be deleted. Keeping them in the registration because they were once offered—or because they may be offered again someday—can create serious filing risk.

That review matters especially for multi-class registrations. USPTO fees are typically charged per class, and the use inquiry applies class by class. A business may have ongoing use in one class but not another.

What if Use Was Interrupted?

The law recognizes that some nonuse may be excusable, but this is a narrow exception. A temporary interruption outside the owner’s control, combined with an intent to resume use, may qualify in the right circumstances. It is not a way to reserve a mark that the owner has stopped using or to preserve goods and services merely because the owner hopes to return to them later.

If use has paused, the owner should assess the facts before signing a declaration. The question is not simply whether the interruption was temporary; it is whether the nonuse is legally excusable under the circumstances.

After Five Years: The Optional Section 15 Declaration of Incontestability

A registration owner may be eligible to file a Section 15 Declaration of Incontestability after the mark has been in continuous use for five consecutive years following registration and the other statutory conditions are met. The relevant provision is 15 U.S.C. § 1065.

Section 15 is optional. A registration is not canceled because its owner does not submit one. But when the requirements are satisfied, filing can be valuable: it can make the registration incontestable as to the covered goods and services, subject to important statutory qualifications and exceptions.

What Incontestability Does—and Does Not—Do

Incontestability can limit certain grounds on which a registration may later be challenged. For example, it can restrict a challenge that the registered mark is merely descriptive. That can be a meaningful advantage for a brand that has been used consistently and has become an important business asset.

It does not make a registration bulletproof. Incontestable registrations can still be challenged or limited on statutory grounds, including abandonment, genericness, fraud, and certain prior-rights claims. It also does not prevent another party from raising defenses in an infringement dispute.

Because the timing commonly aligns, many owners evaluate Section 15 when they prepare their first Section 8 filing. The two filings may be submitted together, but they do different jobs: Section 8 keeps the registration alive; Section 15 is the optional request for incontestable status.

Years 9–10, Then Every Decade: The Section 8 and Section 9 Renewal

The next major deadline falls between the ninth and tenth anniversaries of registration. At that point, the owner must file a combined submission consisting of:

• a Section 8 Declaration of Use, again confirming current use and providing a specimen; and
• a Section 9 Application for Renewal, which renews the registration for another ten-year term. Section 9 is governed by 15 U.S.C. § 1059.

The combined filing is required. The Section 8 portion demonstrates continuing use; the Section 9 portion renews the registration. The same combined filing is due every ten years after that: between years nineteen and twenty, twenty-nine and thirty, and so on.

In principle, a federal registration can continue indefinitely. In practice, it remains in force only if the owner keeps using the mark and makes each required filing on time.

Do Not Treat Renewal as a Formality

The ten-year renewal is not a filing to handle from memory at the last minute. Before signing, review the identification of goods and services, confirm the correct owner information, and collect specimens that show current trademark use. If the business has changed names, assigned the mark, reorganized, changed entity type, or narrowed its offerings, those facts may need attention before the submission is made.

A clean calendar system is usually the simplest protection. Calendar the opening and closing dates of each filing window, the end of the grace period, and a reminder far enough in advance to allow time to collect evidence and resolve ownership or use questions.

A Different Path for Madrid Protocol Registrations

Not every U.S. registration follows the standard Section 8 / Section 9 sequence. A U.S. registration based on an international registration under Section 66(a) of the Trademark Act—commonly called a Madrid Protocol registration—uses a related but separate maintenance track.

For those registrations, the owner files a Section 71 Declaration of Use with the USPTO instead of a Section 8 declaration. The owner must also separately keep the underlying international registration in force through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The ordinary domestic Section 9 renewal procedure is not the vehicle for renewing the U.S. extension of protection.

That distinction is important. Owners of Madrid-based registrations should check both USPTO and WIPO records, rather than relying only on the maintenance schedule that applies to a registration issued from a domestic application.

What Does Trademark Maintenance Cost?

USPTO maintenance fees are charged per class. That means the cost of keeping a registration alive increases with the number of International Classes in the registration. Under the fee amounts identified in the USPTO schedule effective January 18, 2025:

The USPTO also imposes additional per-class charges for filings made during a grace period. Fees can change, and the correct amount depends on the filing being made and the registration’s particular circumstances. Confirm the current amount on the USPTO trademark fee information page before submitting any maintenance document.

The government fee is only one cost to consider. Preparing the filing may require a review of the registration’s ownership history, the current goods and services, and evidence of use. That work is often much less expensive than losing a registration and starting a new application from the beginning.

What Happens If You Miss a Deadline?

The USPTO provides a six-month grace period after the end of the regular filing window. A filing made during that period requires additional fees. The grace period is useful, but it should be treated as a last safeguard—not the planned filing date.

If the owner misses both the regular window and the grace period, the consequences are significant:

• Failure to submit the required Section 8 declaration can result in cancellation of the registration.
• Failure to submit the required Section 9 renewal can result in expiration of the registration.
• The registration generally cannot be restored through the type of petition-to-revive procedure available for certain abandoned applications during examination.

The owner may need to file a new trademark application, pay new filing fees, undergo examination again, and potentially confront intervening applications or third-party use. A new application also does not preserve the old registration date. That can matter when competitors have entered the market, expanded their use, or filed for similar marks after the original registration issued.

Do Not Assume a Late Filing Can Always Be Fixed

Owners sometimes discover a missed deadline only after a lender, buyer, investor, marketplace, or prospective licensee asks for proof that the registration is live. By then, a missed grace period may have already ended the registration.

The better approach is to treat registration maintenance as part of brand-asset management. Assign responsibility to a specific person or firm, maintain reliable reminders, and keep current records of how each registered mark is used.

A Practical Maintenance Checklist

Before filing a Section 8, Section 15, Section 9, or Section 71 submission, work through the following questions:

• Is the registration still owned by the correct legal entity? Review mergers, conversions, assignments, name changes, and ownership changes.
• Is the mark still being used exactly as registered? Small variations may be acceptable in some circumstances, but a material change can create issues.
• Is the mark still in use for every listed good and service? Identify offerings that should be deleted rather than claimed without support.
• Do you have strong specimens? Collect materials showing actual marketplace use of the mark with the relevant goods or services.
• Are the filing dates calendared correctly? Calculate from the registration date—not from the application filing date, first-use date, or certificate-receipt date.
• Does the registration have a special filing basis? Madrid Protocol registrations and registrations affected by ownership changes deserve particular attention.
• Have you checked the current USPTO fee schedule? Government fees and surcharge rules can change.

The Simplest Rule: Calendar the Registration Date

The most useful number to preserve is the registration date printed on the certificate and shown in the USPTO record. From that date, calendar the five-to-six-year Section 8 window, the nine-to-ten-year combined Section 8/9 window, each later ten-year window, and the end of each six-month grace period.

Then do not wait until the final week. Review use early, gather specimens while they are readily available, and address changes in ownership or the goods and services before the deadline approaches. Trademark maintenance is predictable—but only when someone is responsible for it.

Keep the Registration Working for the Business

A federal trademark registration can be one of a company’s most durable assets. It helps protect the goodwill associated with the brand, supports enforcement, and can add value in licensing, financing, investment, and sale discussions. But those benefits depend on an active registration that accurately reflects real commercial use.

If you have a registration approaching a maintenance deadline, need to evaluate whether your current use supports the listed goods and services, or have discovered that a deadline was missed, speak with trademark counsel promptly. Early review gives you the widest range of options.

Sources

• USPTO — Keeping your registration alive
• USPTO — Maintaining your federal registration
• USPTO — Trademark fee information
• USPTO — Madrid Protocol · WIPO — Madrid System
• 15 U.S.C. § 1058 · § 1059 · § 1065

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about U.S. federal trademark registration maintenance. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Filing requirements, evidence of use, fees, and deadlines may change and may vary based on the facts of a particular registration.