To maintain a federal trademark registration, the owner must keep using the mark and file required documents during fixed USPTO windows. A Section 8 declaration is due between years five and six. A combined Section 8 declaration and Section 9 renewal is due between years nine and ten, then during each successive ten-year cycle.
The deadlines run from the registration date, not the application filing date. The USPTO may send reminders, but the owner remains responsible for timely filing.
The standard maintenance schedule
- Years 5–6: Section 8 declaration of continued use or excusable nonuse
- After five continuous years: optional Section 15 declaration of incontestability, if eligible
- Years 9–10: combined Sections 8 and 9 filing
- Every ten years afterward: another combined Sections 8 and 9 filing
- Six months after each ordinary window: grace period with additional fees
The USPTO’s maintenance schedule distinguishes required Section 8 and 9 filings from the optional Section 15 declaration. Filing Section 15 does not replace Section 8 or renewal.
What a Section 8 filing requires
The owner generally identifies the goods or services still in use, submits a specimen for each class, pays the class-based fee, and signs a verified declaration. Items no longer in use should be deleted unless the strict excusable-nonuse requirements apply.
As of November 5, 2026, the USPTO lists $325 per class for a timely Section 8 declaration and $425 per class during the grace period. Verify the current fee and form before filing.
What the ten-year filing adds
The combined filing includes the continued-use declaration under Section 8 and the renewal request under Section 9. The USPTO currently lists $325 per class for each component when timely filed, with added fees during the grace period. Multi-class registrations multiply the class-based charges.
Budget point: A combined Sections 8 and 9 filing contains separate statutory components. Do not budget as though the quoted fee for one component covers the entire renewal.
Audit the registration before filing
- Confirm the current owner and entity name.
- Compare every registered item with current sales or services.
- Delete unsupported goods or services unless excusable nonuse applies.
- Confirm the mark shown in use still matches the registration.
- Select a current specimen for each class.
- Check webpage URLs and access dates where applicable.
- Review correspondence information and attorney status.
- Calculate class, grace-period, and optional filing fees.
A maintenance filing is not the place to add products or services. The registration can usually be narrowed, but its scope cannot be broadened through renewal.
Choose specimens carefully
For goods, specimens commonly include product labels, packaging, or qualifying point-of-sale displays. For services, advertising or webpages may qualify when they directly associate the mark with the services. The specimen must show the registered mark used for goods or services that remain in the registration.
Review trademark specimen examples and preserve the underlying business record. The USPTO may audit or request additional information.
What happens if the deadline is missed?
The six-month grace period permits a late filing with added fees. After the grace period, the USPTO generally lacks authority to waive or extend the statutory deadline. A canceled or expired registration cannot be revived through the application-revival procedure; the owner normally must file a new application.
A lost registration does not automatically erase every common-law right, but the owner loses important federal registration benefits and receives a new filing date if it reapplies.
When attorney help is useful
Professional review helps when ownership changed, some listed items are no longer sold, use was interrupted, the logo evolved, or a specimen is uncertain. Counsel can evaluate excusable nonuse, deletion strategy, chain of title, and whether new applications are needed.
Use TSDR’s Maintenance tab to identify the next filing window, then calendar an internal review at least six months before it opens.