Trademark Costs Compared: US, UK, EU, India, and China in 2026

Here is the short answer. In 2026 the government fee to file one trademark in one class is USD 350 at the USPTO, GBP 205 at the UKIPO, EUR 850 at the EUIPO (which covers all 27 European Union countries), INR 9,000 for a company at the Indian registry (INR 4,500 for an individual, startup, or small enterprise), and about CNY 270 at CNIPA. Every office charges per class, and every office charges again later in the life of the trademark. The sections below give the full lifecycle for the United States, the filing and opposition fees for the other four, a reference table for other common countries, and the order we suggest filing in when the budget is limited.

We are an attorney-led team. Below is how we budget and steer clients, always keeping government fees separate from our professional work. Our current Total for each country, government fees plus our flat professional fee, is on the pricing page.

The Five-Country Comparison at a Glance

Government fees to file one trademark in one class, plus the cost of adding classes. Renewals and other later fees follow in each country's section.

Two things to notice. The EUIPO fee looks high until you divide it by 27 countries. And a foreign company filing in India usually pays the INR 9,000 rate. The INR 4,500 rate is open to a foreign entity only if it meets the Startup India turnover and age criteria and declares so.

What are the 2026 USPTO filing fees per class?

Since 18 January 2025 the USPTO has had a single base application. TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard no longer exist. Start with USD 350 per class for a base application that meets the requirements for a Section 1 or Section 44 filing. Surcharges apply when you do not use the ID Manual, when your description is very long, and when the filing is incomplete.

• Base application: USD 350 per class.
• If you do not use the ID Manual: add a per-class surcharge.
• If the goods or services text exceeds 1,000 characters: add USD 200 for each additional 1,000 characters, per class.
• If required information is missing: add a per-class surcharge.
• Use filings for Section 1(b) cases: a Statement of Use or Amendment to Allege Use is USD 150 per class. Each extension of time to file the Statement of Use is USD 125 per class.

How do surcharges change the per-class cost?

They add up fast. The two most common adders we see are custom identifications and lengthy descriptions. If you can use the ID Manual and keep your text concise, you save money without giving up coverage.

A scenario we handled for a consumer brand, anonymized here. The client had two classes. Their draft goods and services ran to about 1,500 characters per class and used custom wording. We rewrote the text to stay under 1,000 characters and mapped it to the ID Manual while preserving scope. That removed two surcharges per class and saved USD 800 in government fees on day one.

Here is the math if you do not optimize:

• Base application: USD 350 per class
• Custom ID surcharge: a per-class surcharge
• 1,500 characters triggers one 1,000-character surcharge: a per-class surcharge
• Later, if filing a Statement of Use: USD 150 per class
• One SOU extension: USD 125 per class

That totals USD 1,025 per class across the application and use stage. For a two-class filing, the government outlay would be USD 2,050.

The United States Filing Lifecycle, With Deadlines and Fees

Use this to budget cash flow and set calendar holds. All fees are per class.

Other one-off USPTO fees that come up: recording an assignment costs USD 40, and a petition to revive an application abandoned by mistake costs USD 250.

What are the USPTO maintenance costs after registration?

You have three main checkpoints. Between years 5 and 6 you file a Section 8 declaration of use, or a Section 71 declaration if your United States protection came through WIPO's Madrid System (the Madrid Protocol), optionally combined with a Section 15 incontestability claim. At year 10, and every ten years after, you file a renewal with a Section 8 declaration. All are per class.

• Section 8 or 71 declaration of use: USD 325 per class. Grace-period surcharge if late: a per-class surcharge.
• Section 15 incontestability: USD 250 per class. A combined Section 8 and 15 filing is USD 575 per class.
• Year-10 renewal: combined Section 9 renewal plus Section 8 declaration is USD 650 per class.

Practical tip. If your proof of use is thin in some countries, do not copy that weakness into your United States Section 8 declaration. Prune the goods and services to what you use in commerce. You avoid a later audit and keep the registration clean.

How do fees in the United Kingdom, the European Union, India, and China work in 2026?

Each office uses a per-class model with a separate renewal every 10 years. Some add pricing by type of owner or subclass rules that change how many classes you need.

United Kingdom

The UKIPO's fee schedule changed on 1 April 2026. A United Kingdom application now costs GBP 205 for one class and GBP 60 for each further class. Renewal is GBP 245 for one class plus GBP 60 for each further class, every 10 years. Recording an assignment (form TM16) is GBP 60. Filing an opposition (form TM7) is GBP 125 where it relies only on an earlier identical or similar trademark (sections 5(1) and 5(2)), and GBP 250 where it includes any other ground. The United Kingdom examines on absolute grounds only and notifies earlier owners rather than refusing on their behalf, so a clearance search matters more, not less. Our United Kingdom trademark service includes the United Kingdom address for service that overseas owners need.

European Union

One EU trademark covers all 27 Member States. Filing is EUR 850 for one class, EUR 50 for the second, and EUR 150 for each class after that. Opposition is EUR 320. Recording a transfer is free of charge, and recording a license is EUR 200. Renewal is per class every 10 years; the current renewal Total is on our renewal service page. Draft the goods and services list for your marketplace footprint. Details of the process are on our EU trademark service.

India

India charges INR 4,500 per class for individuals, startups, and small enterprises, and INR 9,000 per class for companies and other entities. Foreign companies pay the INR 9,000 rate unless they meet the Startup India turnover and age criteria and declare so. Opposition is INR 2,700 per class by e-filing, and recording an assignment on form TM-P is INR 9,000. Renewal is every 10 years from the filing date; the Total is on our renewal page. See our India trademark service for the filing process and the address-for-service requirement.

China

CNIPA charges about CNY 270 per class for an online application covering up to 10 items of goods or services, with a small fee for each extra item. Opposition and recording an assignment are each CNY 500. China's subclass system matters more than the headline fee: if your core goods fall in different subclasses, you may need more items or more classes to get the coverage you need. China is first-to-file, so file before you launch or before your factory does. The Total, with our professional fee, is on the China trademark service page.

Other Countries You May Be Budgeting For

Government fees to file one class in the other countries we file in most often:

Should you consider WIPO's Madrid System to save on fees?

Maybe. WIPO's Madrid System lets you file one international application through your home office and choose many countries at once, with one renewal date. You pay WIPO a basic fee plus a fee for each country, set by that country, and the amounts are in Swiss francs. The WIPO route is usually worth it from about three countries up and when you have a solid home trademark to build it on. It is usually not worth it for one or two countries, or when a target country is not a member. We run the WIPO calculator against direct filing for every client before recommending a route.

Filing in the Right Order When the Budget Is Limited

The pattern that works for most small businesses in 2026:

1. File in your home country first. For brands based in the United States that is the USPTO at USD 350 per class with ID Manual wording. That filing anchors your priority date.
2. Use the six-month priority window. Under the Paris Convention, applications you file in other countries within six months of the first one are treated as filed on the same day. That gives you six months to see early sales and decide where to go next without losing your place in the queue.
3. File China early if you make or sell there. It is first-to-file, so a squatter who files first can block your own listings.
4. Add the European Union and other countries in a second wave, direct or through WIPO, once revenue justifies them.
5. Start with one class and a word mark. A word mark protects the name in any font or color. Add a logo, more classes, and more countries as the business grows.

Think of it as concentric circles: home country at the center, next launch countries in the inner ring, everything else in the outer ring, funded by the success of the ring before it.

What fee traps do we see most often, and how do you avoid them?

Most over-spend comes from writing sprawling descriptions, skipping the ID Manual, or letting a five-year maintenance filing slip. All are avoidable.

• Keep goods and services under 1,000 characters per class where possible. This is the cleanest way to avoid the USD 200 long-text surcharge in the United States.
• Use the ID Manual where it fits. If custom wording is necessary, we tighten the text and split only where it earns protection.
• File complete applications. The USD 100 insufficiency surcharge is a painful way to learn checklist discipline.
• Be honest about use. For United States Sections 8 and 15, trim to what you can support with specimens.
• China specific. Plan around subclasses.
• European Union and United Kingdom specific. Do not rely on class headings to cover everything. They rarely do.
• Everywhere. Every extra class multiplies every later fee too: the SOU, the maintenance filings, the renewals, and each country you add through WIPO. Build a per-class, per-country model before you file.

Work With an Attorney Team That Budgets Before You File

You should not be surprised by government fees. We set the budget before we draft. An experienced attorney writes your identification, keeps you under the costly thresholds, and handles the USPTO's questions for a clear, up-front professional fee you see first. GTC was founded in 2016. Our in-house attorneys file and maintain trademarks in the countries and regions where you trade.

• Start a United States filing with us: United States trademark filing
• Plan renewals and Section 8 or 15 filings: Trademark Renewal
• Read more on SOUs and extensions: Statement of Use (SOU): What It Is, When to File, and How to Avoid Abandonment
• If the United Kingdom is on your roadmap, see: How to Register a UK Trademark: Complete 2026 Guide