US Statement of Use Extensions: 2026 USPTO Rules

After the USPTO issues a Notice of Allowance, you get six months to file a complete Statement of Use or a six-month extension. You can request up to five extensions in total, which sets a hard 36-month outer limit from the Notice of Allowance. Later extensions need good cause. Each extension request costs $125 per class, and the Statement of Use itself costs $150 per class, both filed through the USPTO's online system. The rules also allow one "insurance" extension, filed with the Statement of Use or after it, to keep time in hand if the examiner questions your proof.

You likely know the cadence. What most owners miss are the failure modes. Below is the practical playbook we use for intent-to-use clients, with dates, fees, what to say in good-cause statements, and when we pull the insurance trigger.

What are the SOU deadlines and the extension cap in 2026?

You have six months from the Notice of Allowance to either file the Statement of Use or request an extension. You may then file additional six-month extensions, up to a total of five. That creates a non-extendable outer limit of 36 months from the Notice of Allowance to submit a complete Statement of Use. If you do not file a complete SOU or a valid extension on time, the application is abandoned, and you cannot file an SOU after the 36-month cap.

• Notice of Allowance date: the first six-month window starts.
• End of each window: file either the SOU or another six-month extension.
• Absolute stop at 36 months from the Notice of Allowance for a complete SOU.

How many extensions can you request, and what qualifies as good cause?

Up to five six-month extensions are allowed. The first request is straightforward. Later requests must include a good-cause statement, which explains concrete, ongoing steps to get the trademark into use in commerce. Vague intent language will not do.

Examples that typically support good cause:

• Signed or pending manufacturing agreements, tooling, or packaging orders.
• Beta testing or pilot sales with a defined rollout plan and dates.
• Active distributor or retailer negotiations, including draft purchase orders.
• Regulatory steps that affect launch timing, such as label approvals or safety testing.
• Website build, app store listing preparations, or logistics contracts tied to a go-live date.

Weak statements:

• "We still intend to use the trademark." Too bare.
• "We are considering changes." Non-committal.
• "We were busy." No ongoing commercial steps.

Try this structure:

• What you are launching, with the exact goods or services as filed.
• The specific tasks completed since the last period, with dates.
• The next milestones in the coming six months, also with dates.

As counsel, we attach brief exhibits when helpful, for example a redacted purchase order or a screen capture of pre-launch product pages. You do not need to over-share, but substance helps.

What must a complete SOU include?

A complete Statement of Use has three parts:

• A verified statement that the trademark is in use in commerce for the listed goods or services in each class.
• A proper specimen of use for each class.
• The USPTO fee of $150 per class.

Specimens are the most common tripwire. If you are not sure what the USPTO will accept for your goods or services, start with our Specimen Guide, which shows accepted and rejected examples by product type, and read Specimen Refused? How to Fix It.

What is an insurance extension, and when should you use it?

An insurance extension is the one extension request you may file together with the Statement of Use, or after it while time remains in the same six-month period (37 CFR 2.89(e)(1); TMEP 1108.03). If the examiner finds a problem that has to be fixed before the SOU deadline, such as proof of use, the extension moves that deadline out by six months, and a replacement specimen then only has to show use that began before the new deadline (37 CFR 2.59(b)(2); TMEP 1109.16(a)). If the SOU is accepted, the extension goes unused and its fee is not refunded. Only one is allowed, no further extensions can follow it, and it cannot take the deadline past 36 months from the Notice of Allowance.

Timing decides how much it buys. File an ordinary extension on the last day of your current period and the SOU the next day, and the SOU sits at the start of a fresh six-month period. You can then file the insurance extension later in that period, before it ends, if the SOU has not been accepted. This works while at least two extensions remain, because the insurance extension cannot pass the 36-month limit.

When we recommend it:

• You are in use and confident, but the specimen or dates might draw questions.
• You are filing for several classes and the proof is stronger in some than in others. The insurance extension must cover every class in the Notice of Allowance, unless you delete classes or divide them out (TMEP 1108.03).
• Your specimen is new to the category, for example software onboarding flows for SaaS services.

How we execute it for clients:

1. Calendar the last day of the extension period. File an ordinary extension that day.
2. File the SOU the very next day, covering every class in the Notice of Allowance, or with a request to divide for any class not yet in use.
3. Before that new six-month period ends, if the SOU has not been accepted, file the insurance extension. If it is not your first extension, the good-cause statement can say you believe the SOU shows valid use but will need more time if the USPTO finds it defective (37 CFR 2.89(e)(2)).
4. If an examining attorney refuses the specimen or asks for more, reply by the date in the Office action. A replacement specimen can show any use that began before the extended deadline.

How much do SOU extensions cost, and how should you plan by class?

Each SOU extension request costs $125 per class. That fee repeats with each request. If you have three classes and you extend three times, you will pay 3 classes x 3 requests x $125 per class. The Statement of Use itself is $150 per class on top. Build both into your budget.

Two practical tips from our files:

• If you are already in use in some classes but not others, file the SOU for the classes in use together with a request to divide out the rest (USPTO fee $100 per new application), and extend only the divided part. Without the request to divide, the USPTO gives you time to divide or delete, and then deletes the classes the SOU does not cover (37 CFR 2.88(a)(2); TMEP 1109.03, 1110.07).
• Draft goods and services precisely at filing. Overbroad identifications are harder to support with in-commerce specimens a year later.

What happens if you miss a deadline or hit the 36-month cap?

If you fail to file either a complete SOU or a valid extension on time, the application is abandoned. If the miss was unintentional, a petition to revive is sometimes available within two months of the notice of abandonment; the USPTO fee is $250. Once the 36-month outer limit from the Notice of Allowance passes, no petition can help, and you cannot file an SOU for that application. Your practical option is to refile. You may lose your original priority date and may face new citations that were not there before.

The risk is highest in the last extension period. An insurance extension cannot take the deadline past 36 months, so an SOU filed in that period has no spare time behind it. If the proof on file fails and nothing acceptable was in use before the deadline, the practical route left is a new application.

How We Help

We are an attorney-led team. We calendar every SOU date, prepare good-cause narratives with concrete evidence, and file with the USPTO. If an examining attorney raises issues, we handle the response. If you want us to take this off your plate, start here: Statement of Use filing service. More common questions about the process are answered in our FAQ.

Related reading:

• US Statement of Use: Deadlines, Proof That Passes and What Gets Refused
• Trademark Office Actions Explained: Types, Deadlines, and How to Respond
• Trademark Specimens: What the USPTO Accepts and Rejects