Guide · Basics

How often do you have to renew a trademark?

A U.S. trademark registration isn't a "set it and forget it" document, but it also isn't something you renew every year. It runs on a specific maintenance rhythm — one early filing, then a renewal every decade — and if you learn the pattern once, you'll never have to look it up again. Here's the full timeline in plain English, plus a mental model that fits in your head.

Published 2026-07-14 · fees verified vs USPTO

The short answer: "6, 10, then every 10"

Most people expect a yearly bill, like a domain name or a business license. Trademarks don't work that way. After your mark registers, there are only two kinds of maintenance filing you ever have to make, and they land on a predictable schedule you can memorize in one line: 6, 10, then every 10.

That's shorthand for: one Declaration of Use around year six, a combined declaration-plus-renewal at year ten, and then that same combined filing every ten years after — for as long as you keep using the mark. There is no annual fee, no monthly anything. Just those checkpoints.

Your first deadline: the Section 8 (years 5–6)

The first thing you owe the USPTO after registration is a Section 8 Declaration of Use. It's due between the fifth and sixth anniversary of your registration date — a full one-year window, not a single day. This filing isn't a renewal; it's a sworn statement that you're still using the mark in commerce on the goods and services in your registration, backed by a specimen showing that use.

Trips people up because it doesn't line up with a "round" number. You register, five quiet years pass with no bills, and then a deadline appears that many owners forget exists. Miss it, and the registration is cancelled — not renewed late, cancelled — so this is the checkpoint that most often catches DIY registrants off guard. If you want the step-by-step, our guide on how to file a Section 8 yourself walks through the whole form.

The government fee for the Section 8 is currently $325 per class — verify the amount on the USPTO fee schedule, since it changes. If your registration covers multiple classes, you pay per class.

Year 10: the combined Section 8 & 9 renewal

The second checkpoint is the one most people picture when they hear "trademark renewal." It's due between the ninth and tenth anniversary of registration, and it bundles two things into one filing: another Section 8 Declaration of Use (still using it?) plus the Section 9 renewal application (formally extending the registration for another ten-year term).

People ask "what's the difference between Section 8 and Section 9?" — and the honest answer is that at year ten you file them together, so the distinction rarely matters in practice. Section 8 proves ongoing use; Section 9 renews the term. At the ten-year mark they arrive as one combined submission with one deadline. The fee is again charged per class — verify the current amount on the official maintenance page.

After that first renewal, the pattern simply repeats: the combined Section 8 & 9 comes due again every ten years — at your 20th anniversary, 30th, 40th, and onward. Same window (the year before each decade mark), same combined filing, same per-class fee. Once you've done it at year ten, every future renewal is the same motion.

A registration can last forever — but only if you keep filing

Here's the part that surprises new owners: unlike a patent or a copyright, a trademark registration has no expiration date built in. It can live indefinitely — a hundred years, longer — as long as you do two things: keep filing the maintenance paperwork on schedule, and keep actually using the mark in commerce. Some of the oldest registered marks in the country have been renewed continuously for over a century.

The catch is that both conditions are load-bearing. Stop using the mark, and it can be challenged for abandonment even if you keep paying. Skip a maintenance filing, and the registration is cancelled — and a registration cancelled for a missed §8 or §9 deadline cannot be revived. There's no late-fee button, no petition to reinstate on the merits; the only way back is a brand-new application that starts your priority date over. We cover exactly what's lost in what happens if your trademark expires.

The grace period and the per-class surcharge

Every maintenance deadline — the year-six Section 8 and each ten-year renewal — comes with a six-month grace period after the on-time window closes. Missing the on-time date isn't instantly fatal; you can still file during those extra six months. But it costs more: you pay the regular fee plus a per-class surcharge for filing late.

What the grace period is not is a safety net you should plan around. The clock never stops, there's no notification when the grace period is running out, and when those final six months elapse with no filing, the registration is gone for good. Treat the grace period as an emergency lane, not a due date. For the full breakdown of on-time versus late costs, see our trademark renewal cost guide.

Filing your application was not a renewal

It's worth clearing up a common mix-up: the original application and registration process is a one-time event, not a renewal. When you first applied, searched, cleared examination, and got your certificate, that established the registration. It didn't reset any renewal clock or count as your first maintenance filing.

The maintenance timeline above runs entirely off your registration date — the day the certificate issued — and the very first thing due on that clock is the year-six Section 8. So if you've just registered, nothing is owed for about five years. If you're a few years in, count forward from your registration date, not from when you applied. And note that the messy, unpredictable part of trademarks — office actions, oppositions, examiner back-and-forth — happens during that initial application, not during renewals. Once you're registered, maintenance is comparatively boring: a form, a specimen, a fee, on a schedule.

One related filing: Section 15 (optional, not a renewal)

You'll sometimes see a third filing mentioned alongside the maintenance deadlines: the Section 15 Declaration of Incontestability. It's easy to confuse with the required filings, so here's the clean distinction — Section 15 is optional, and it's a one-time filing, not a renewal.

It becomes available after your mark has been in continuous use for five years post-registration, which is why many owners file it together with their first Section 8 (the timing lines up). Filing it strengthens your rights: an incontestable registration is much harder for a competitor to challenge on certain grounds. But it's a bonus, not a requirement — skipping it doesn't endanger your registration the way skipping a Section 8 does. Think of Section 8 and Section 9 as the filings that keep your mark alive, and Section 15 as an optional upgrade that makes it stronger.

Frequently asked questions

How often do you have to renew a trademark?

After the first Declaration of Use (Section 8) due between your 5th and 6th anniversary, the combined renewal (Section 8 & 9) is due between the 9th and 10th anniversary — then again every 10 years, indefinitely. An easy way to remember it: "6, 10, then every 10." There is no annual fee.

Does a trademark ever expire if I keep renewing it?

No. A U.S. registration has no built-in expiration date. It can last indefinitely — for generations — as long as you keep filing the maintenance paperwork on time and keep genuinely using the mark in commerce. Miss a required filing, though, and it's cancelled, and a registration cancelled for a missed deadline can't be revived.

Is filing my trademark application the same as renewing it?

No. The original application and registration is a one-time process that establishes your registration — it isn't a renewal and doesn't count as your first maintenance filing. Your renewal clock runs off your registration date, and the first thing due on it is the Section 8 Declaration of Use between years 5 and 6.

What's the difference between a Section 8 and a Section 9?

Section 8 is a Declaration of Use — a sworn statement, with a specimen, that you're still using the mark. Section 9 is the renewal that extends the registration for another 10-year term. You file Section 8 alone at year 6, then Sections 8 and 9 together at year 10 and every 10 years after.

General information, not legal advice. RenewMark is an independent service and is not affiliated with the USPTO. Fees and rules change — confirm your specifics against the official record at tsdr.uspto.gov and uspto.gov before relying on anything here.