Choosing classes is where filing your own trademark turns into a cost decision. Every class adds a fee, and some choices can't be undone after you file. It is also easy to misunderstand what you are buying: a class is a filing category, not a fence around your name.
This guide covers how to find the right classes for what you actually sell, what each one costs at filing and at renewal, and the rules that limit what you can change later.
What a class is, and what it isn't #
The USPTO uses the international Nice Classification: "There are 34 classes of goods and 11 classes of services" (WIPO). The current edition, NCL 13-2026, took effect on January 1, 2026 (WIPO), and WIPO has announced that NCL 13-2027 will take effect on January 1, 2027 (WIPO). Entries move between versions now and then, so check the current one when you file.
The law is explicit that classes are administrative. The classification exists "for convenience of Patent and Trademark Office administration, but not to limit or extend the applicant's or registrant's rights" (15 U.S.C. §1112). When an examiner decides whether two marks conflict, "the classification of goods and services has no bearing on the question of likelihood of confusion"; what matters is how the goods and services are actually described (TMEP §1207.01(d)(v)).
Class numbers do not define the scope of protection. A registration may support an objection to a confusingly similar mark for related goods or services in another class, while unrelated goods within the same class may coexist. The same works against you: a mark registered in a class you never considered can still block your application if the goods are related. Trademark Likelihood of Confusion: Factors and Examples explains how relatedness is judged.
Find your classes from what you actually sell #
Start from your products and services, not from a list of class titles. The USPTO's Trademark ID Manual lists pre-approved descriptions, each with its class. Search it for the plain name of each thing you sell. Here is where some common founder products sit, with the ID Manual wording as checked on October 2, 2026 (entries are revised from time to time):
| What you sell | ID Manual entry | Class |
|---|---|---|
| T-shirts, hats | "T-shirts"; "Hats" | 25 |
| Mugs | "Mugs" | 21 |
| Stickers, art prints, printed books | "Stickers"; "Art prints"; "Printed books in the field of {subject}" | 16 |
| Candles | "Candles" | 4 |
| Cosmetics, everyday skin care | "Cosmetics"; "Non-medicated skin care preparations" | 3 |
| Medicated skin care | "Medicated skin care preparations" | 5 |
| Jewelry | "Jewelry" | 14 |
| Handbags | "Handbags" | 18 |
| Phone cases, mobile apps, digital downloads | "Cell phone cases"; "Downloadable software in the nature of a mobile application for {function}"; "Downloadable image files containing {content}" | 9 |
| Software as a service | "Software as a service (SAAS) services featuring software for {function}" | 42 |
| An online store | "On-line retail store services featuring {goods}"; "Online retail clothing store services" | 35 |
| Online courses | "Educational services, namely, providing on-line {classes, seminars, workshops} in the field of {subject}" | 41 |
| Coffee; beer; wine | "Coffee"; "Beer"; "Wine" | 30; 32; 33 |
| A restaurant or café | "Restaurant services" | 43 |
Two distinctions catch people. First, classification depends on the actual nature and function of the goods: non-medicated skin care is class 3, medicated skin care is class 5. Second, goods and services are separate. T-shirts are goods in class 25, but "imprinting messages on T-shirts" is a printing service in class 40, and the ID Manual entry for it notes that the T-shirts themselves "are goods in Class 25." An online store is a service in class 35, separate from the products it sells. Whether a business that sells only its own products should also claim class 35 is a strategy question worth asking an attorney.
What each class costs #
The USPTO's base application fee "for each class… is $350 if the application meets the requirements" (USPTO fee schedule). The current fees took effect on January 18, 2025 (USPTO). Three surcharges can apply, each per class:
- $100 for insufficient information. The USPTO assesses it "for all active classes in an application, even if classes are later deleted or added."
- $200 for describing goods or services in the free-form text box instead of choosing ID Manual entries. Copying an ID Manual entry and pasting it into the free-form box still counts as free-form, and so does leaving a fill-in-the-blank part of an ID Manual entry empty or filling it with unrelated goods or services.
- $200 for each additional 1,000 characters of free-form text beyond the first 1,000, counting "punctuation and spaces." Once you enter any free-form text in a class, everything in that class counts, including entries you picked from the ID Manual.
The USPTO's own advice is the simplest: "The easiest way to avoid additional fees is to… use the ID Manual in Trademark Center to identify your goods and services" (USPTO: additional fees).
Classes keep costing money after registration, because maintenance fees are also per class: $325 per class for the declaration of use due between the fifth and sixth years, and $650 per class for the combined declaration and renewal every ten years (USPTO fee schedule). Filing late, in the six-month grace period, adds $100 per class to a declaration of use and $200 per class to a combined declaration and renewal (USPTO: maintenance definitions).
Intent-to-use applications add two fees along the way: $150 per class when you file the allegation of use, and $125 per class for each request to extend the statement-of-use deadline (USPTO fee schedule).
Put together, at base fees and without surcharges: a brand filing on an intent-to-use basis for T-shirts (class 25) and mugs (class 21) would pay $700 at filing, $300 with its allegation of use, $650 for the first declaration of use, and $1,300 at each ten-year renewal.
Rules that limit what you can change later #
These rules describe applications filed directly with the USPTO under Section 1 or Section 44. Applications that arrive through the Madrid Protocol under Section 66(a) follow different rules: their classification is set by WIPO's International Bureau, and classes cannot be added (37 C.F.R. §2.85(d)).
- Everything you list needs a real intent to use it. The USPTO says "you must have a good faith or bona fide intent to use the trademark on all the goods and services listed," and a use-based application must already be "using the trademark in commerce for all the goods and services listed" (USPTO: goods and services). The application is signed under a warning that willful false statements are punishable by fine or imprisonment (TMEP §804.01(b)). Listing products just in case you expand someday is not a safe way to reserve a name.
- You can narrow, never broaden. "The applicant may amend the application to clarify or limit, but not to broaden, the identification of goods and/or services" (37 C.F.R. §2.71(a)). Once you delete an item, it "may not be reinserted in a later amendment" (TMEP §1402.06(a)).
- New classes only for items already listed. A class "may be added if any of the items originally recited are properly classified in class(es) not originally indicated," with the fee for each new class (TMEP §1403.02(c)). A new product line usually means a new application.
- Every class needs its own proof of use, when your filing basis calls for it. A multi-class application must include the fee for each class and, for use-based classes, "dates of use and one specimen for each class." For an intent-to-use application, you pay the application fee when filing and submit the specimens later, with the allegation of use and its per-class fee (37 C.F.R. §2.86).
File accurately, search widely #
The classes you file in should match what you sell or have a genuine plan to sell. The classes you search should be wider, because conflicts cross class lines. The USPTO's coordinated classes are built for this; the USPTO describes them as "a tool that can help you find trademarks with goods and services that may be related to yours" (USPTO: coordinated classes). For clothing in class 25, the USPTO's coordinated international classes are 14, 18, 24, 35, and 42. For staple foods such as coffee in class 30, they are 1, 5, 29, 31, 32, 33, 35, 42, and 43.
In expert mode, USPTO Trademark Search lets you filter results by coordinated class; How to Check If a Brand Name Is Trademarked in the US walks through the search itself.
A note for apparel brands #
Class 25 has a trap of its own: how the mark appears on the product. According to the USPTO, "a slogan prominently displayed on the front of a t-shirt may be considered merely ornamental use and not trademark use," while a small design "on the pocket or breast portion… may create the commercial impression of a trademark" (USPTO: ornamental refusal). The same page lists ways to overcome an ornamental refusal, including submitting a different verified specimen or showing that the mark has acquired distinctiveness.
In practice, use your brand name on labels, tags, and packaging, not only as a print across the chest, and make sure the specimen you file shows it that way.
Frequently Asked Questions #
How many classes should I file in? #
As many as match the goods and services you use or genuinely intend to use, and no more. Each class adds a $350 filing fee and its own maintenance fees later ($325 per class for the first declaration of use, $650 per class at each ten-year renewal), and each needs its own proof of use. Classes you might enter years from now are usually better covered by a new application when the plans are real.
Does filing in my class stop others from using my name in other classes? #
Not by itself. Classes don't decide conflicts; relatedness of the actual goods and services does (TMEP §1207.01(d)(v)). Your registration can reach related goods in other classes, and unrelated goods in your own class may be fine for someone else.
Can I add a class after I file? #
For an application filed under Section 1 or 44, only for items you already listed that belong in a class you didn't indicate, and you pay the fee for each new class (TMEP §1403.02(c)). You cannot add new goods, because amendments can only clarify or limit the list (37 C.F.R. §2.71(a)).
What happens if I choose the wrong class? #
For Section 1 or 44 applications, an application can be amended during examination "to delete, correct, or add classes, when appropriate" (TMEP §1403.02). The fix costs time and, if a class is added, another fee. Using ID Manual entries from the start avoids most of this.
Do I need class 25 if I print designs on shirts? #
If you sell the shirts under your brand, the shirts are goods in class 25. A printing service for other people's shirts is a separate service in class 40, according to the ID Manual's own note on that entry.
Related reading #
- How to Check If a Brand Name Is Trademarked in the US, to search before you pick classes.
- Trademark Likelihood of Confusion: Factors and Examples, on why related goods matter more than class numbers.
- Brand Launch Trademark Checklist: 12 Pre-Launch Checks, including your filing basis.
This is general information, not legal advice. Classification and filing strategy depend on your goods, services, and plans. For a specific application, talk to a qualified trademark attorney.
External resources #
- USPTO Trademark ID Manual, pre-approved descriptions with their classes.
- USPTO trademark fee information, current per-class fees and surcharges.
- USPTO: Using coordinated classes, for searching related classes.
- WIPO Nice Classification, the international class system.
