Some abandoned trademark applications can be revived when the applicant’s delay was unintentional and the petition is filed on time. Revival is not available for every abandonment. The required filing depends on whether the applicant missed an Office action, a Statement of Use deadline, an extension request, or another procedural step.
Start by reading the Notice of Abandonment and the underlying application record in TSDR. The status label alone does not identify every document needed to restore the application.
Why did the application abandon?
- No timely response to an Office action
- No timely Statement of Use or extension request
- An incomplete response that did not address every issue
- A filing or payment problem
- A deliberate decision not to continue the application
The USPTO’s revival guidance provides different petition forms and requirements for missed responses and missed intent-to-use filings. A voluntary decision to abandon generally cannot be recast as an unintentional delay.
How long do you have to petition?
A petition generally must be filed within two months after the USPTO issues the Notice of Abandonment. If the applicant did not receive the notice, the petition generally must be filed within two months after learning of the abandonment and no later than six months after the abandonment date shown in TSDR.
Act promptly: Do not treat the outer six-month limit as the ordinary deadline. Once you learn of the abandonment, the two-month period generally controls.
What must accompany the petition?
For a missed Office action, the applicant generally submits the petition, required declaration, petition fee, and a complete response to the outstanding action. The response must address the original refusals and requirements; revival does not eliminate them.
For a missed Statement of Use or extension deadline, the petition must include the filing needed to keep the application alive, the relevant fees, and a statement that the delay was unintentional. If several extension periods were missed, additional extension requests and fees may be required.
As of November 5, 2026, the USPTO lists a $250 electronic petition-to-revive fee. Other response, extension, Statement of Use, or class fees may also apply. Confirm the current trademark fee information before filing.
When revival is not available
- The abandonment was intentional rather than the result of an unintentional delay.
- The petition deadline has expired.
- An intent-to-use application reached the absolute 36-month limit after the Notice of Allowance without a Statement of Use.
- The applicant cannot truthfully make the required declaration.
- A different petition or request is required for the procedural problem.
A registration canceled for failure to file required maintenance documents is also different from an abandoned application. Those statutory maintenance deadlines generally cannot be revived through an application petition.
Should you revive or refile?
Revival can preserve the original filing date, which may be important if later applications were filed. Refiling starts a new application with a new filing date, but it may be preferable when the mark, owner, goods or services, or strategy has materially changed.
- Revival may fit when the existing application remains accurate and the petition is timely.
- Refiling may fit when the original owner was wrong or the mark materially changed.
- A new filing may be necessary when the petition deadline or intent-to-use limit expired.
- A fresh clearance review is prudent before refiling because the legal landscape may have changed.
A revival checklist
- Open TSDR and download the Notice of Abandonment and prior Office actions.
- Identify the exact missed filing and the date you learned of abandonment.
- Calendar the petition deadline immediately.
- Gather receipts, emails, and facts supporting an unintentional-delay declaration.
- Prepare the complete missing response or intent-to-use filing.
- Confirm all required petition and class fees.
- Submit the correct USPTO form and verify the receipt in TSDR.
Attorney review can be valuable when priority matters, several deadlines were missed, the abandonment notice was not received, or the declaration facts are uncertain. Counsel can distinguish revival from other petition routes and compare revival with a new filing.
Check the official record now using the application-status process, then identify the earliest possible petition deadline.