How to Trademark a Business Name in the US

You spent months picking your business name. You bought the domain, printed the signs and built a following. Then a cease-and-desist letter arrives from a company in another state with a similar name and an earlier federal registration. Rebranding now would cost far more than the trademark filing you never got around to.

Registering your business name with your state, or forming an LLC, does not give you trademark rights across the country. A federal trademark registration from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) does. This guide walks through the 3 phases that matter: search, file and monitor, plus the scam letters that start arriving the moment your application becomes public.

This is general information, not legal advice. A trademark attorney can review your search results and draft your application, which often prevents costly refusals.

What a trademark does, and what it does not

A trademark protects a word, phrase, logo or other identifier that tells customers who is behind a product or service. For a business name, it gives you the right to stop others from using a confusingly similar name for related goods or services.

It helps to separate 4 things people often confuse:

You can use the ™ symbol on any name you claim as a trademark. You may use ® only after the USPTO registers the mark.

Step 1: Check whether the name is protectable

Not every name can be registered. Examiners look at how distinctive it is:

• Strongest: Made-up words (fanciful) or real words with no connection to what you sell (arbitrary), like a tech company named after a fruit.
• Usually OK: Suggestive names that hint at a benefit without describing it.
• Hard to register: Descriptive names that simply describe the product, like “Fast Plumbing” for plumbing services. These often need years of use to qualify, or go on the Supplemental Register.
• Not registrable: Generic terms for the product itself, such as “Coffee Shop” for a coffee shop.

Surnames and geographic names have their own limits. If your name is mostly descriptive, consider registering a distinctive logo alongside it, or picking a stronger name before you invest more in it.

Step 2: Search for conflicts

The most common reason for refusal is a likelihood of confusion with an existing mark: a similar name used for related goods or services. A good search covers:

1. The USPTO Trademark Search system. Search exact matches, phonetic spellings, plurals and close variants. Check both live and pending applications.
2. State trademark databases in your main markets.
3. Unregistered use. Search the web, app stores, marketplaces, social platforms and domain registrations. A business using the name before you may have common-law rights in its area even without a registration.

Look beyond identical names. “Brite Bean Coffee” and “Bright Beans Café” could conflict. A clothing brand and a coffee shop with the same name may not, unless the goods are related or one mark is famous.

Key takeaway: A clean search before you file is the cheapest trademark protection you can buy. Fees are generally not refunded if your application is refused, so search first.

Step 3: List your goods, services and filing basis

Classes and the ID Manual

Every application must list the specific goods or services you use the name with, organized into numbered international classes. A bakery might file in Class 30 (baked goods) and Class 43 (café services). A software company might use Class 9 (downloadable software) and Class 42 (software as a service).

Use the USPTO’s ID Manual (the Trademark ID Manual of acceptable identifications) to pick pre-approved wording. That matters for cost: writing your own free-form description adds a surcharge.

Filing basis

You need a legal basis for filing:

• Use in commerce (Section 1(a)): You already sell under the name across state lines or in a way Congress can regulate. You submit a specimen, such as a photo of packaging, a website page with a way to buy or a screenshot of the service being advertised.
• Intent to use (Section 1(b)): You plan to use the name but have not launched. This reserves your filing date. You file a statement of use, with a specimen and fee, after you launch and before your deadlines expire.

Step 4: File in USPTO Trademark Center

Since January 18, 2025, Trademark Center is the only way to file a new trademark application electronically. Before you start:

• Create a USPTO.gov account and verify your identity. The USPTO requires one-time identity verification for filers, online through ID.me or through a paper process.
• Know the attorney rule. Applicants domiciled outside the US, including all Canadian applicants, must use a US-licensed attorney.
• Have your details ready: owner name and entity type, domicile address, the mark, your goods and services, filing basis and specimen.

Here is how the 2025 USPTO fee structure works for electronic applications:

The USPTO says most applicants pay only the base fee. Paper filings cost far more. Fees change periodically, so check the USPTO fee schedule before filing. Attorney fees are separate and vary widely by firm and complexity.

Step 5: Get through examination, then maintain your mark

Examination and publication

After filing, an examining attorney reviews your application. Processing times change, and the USPTO posts current waits on its Trademarks dashboard. Expect the whole process to take many months.

If the examiner finds a problem, you receive an office action explaining the refusal or required changes. You must respond by the deadline in the office action or the application is abandoned. Common issues include likelihood of confusion, descriptiveness, unacceptable specimens and unclear goods or services wording.

Once approved, the mark is published in the Official Gazette. Anyone who believes they would be harmed has 30 days to oppose or request more time. If nobody opposes, use-based applications proceed to registration and intent-to-use applications receive a notice of allowance, which starts the clock for your statement of use.

Monitoring and maintenance

Registration is not permanent unless you keep it alive. Federal registrations require:

• Section 8 declaration between the 5th and 6th anniversaries of registration, confirming the mark is still in use. Miss it and the registration is canceled.
• Combined Section 8 and 9 renewal between the 9th and 10th anniversaries, and every 10 years after that.

Also watch for copycats. Set alerts for new applications similar to yours, search marketplaces periodically and act early. The USPTO does not police your trademark for you.

How to spot trademark scam letters

Your application is public record, including your name and address. Private companies use it to send official-looking notices offering “registration in a trademark register,” “monitoring” or “renewal” services, often with invoices and deadlines. The USPTO warns:

• Official USPTO email comes from an @uspto.gov address, but scammers spoof that address too, so a matching domain alone proves nothing.
• Every official communication, including office actions and payment requests, appears in the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system under your application. If it is not in TSDR, it is not from the USPTO.
• USPTO employees never ask for payment by wire transfer, gift card or cash, or for payment to a third-party address.
• Report suspicious notices to TMScams@uspto.gov, and file a complaint with the FTC if you lost money.

The same habits that protect you from phishing emails apply here: verify through the official website, not the link or phone number in the message.

Where to start this week

1. Run a knockout search in the USPTO Trademark Search system for your exact name and close variants.
2. Search the web and marketplaces for unregistered users of similar names in related industries.
3. List what you sell and match it to ID Manual entries and classes.
4. Gather a specimen if you are already selling, such as a product page or packaging photo.
5. Verify your identity on your USPTO.gov account.
6. File in Trademark Center, or hire a trademark attorney if your search turned up anything close.
7. Calendar your deadlines for office action responses, statements of use and maintenance filings.

Once your name is protected, make it consistent everywhere customers find you, from your business website to your Google Business Profile. If you use AI tools to design logos or slogans, read who owns AI-generated content before you file.

Conclusion

Trademarking a business name comes down to search, file and monitor. Search hard before you file, use ID Manual wording to keep fees at the $350-per-class base, answer every office action on time and calendar your maintenance filings. Then treat every unexpected trademark invoice as suspicious until TSDR proves otherwise. For key legal and business terms, see our glossary.

This is not legal advice.

Sources

• USPTO: Summary of 2025 trademark fee changes — $350 base fee and surcharges effective January 18, 2025
• USPTO: TEAS initial application forms retiring — Trademark Center as the filing system for new applications
• USPTO: Identity verification for trademark filers — ID.me and paper verification
• USPTO: Foreign-domiciled applicants must have a US-licensed attorney — attorney requirement
• USPTO: Keeping your registration alive — Section 8 and Section 9 deadlines
• USPTO: Recognizing common scams — scam solicitation warnings, TSDR check and reporting