The Complete Guide to USPTO Trademark Classes and Their Uses

A trademark can be any word, phrase, symbol, design, or combination of these things that identifies a business' goods or services, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the federal agency for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks.

The USPTO uses trademark classes to organize goods and services in applications, assess fees, and compile a database for registered and pending trademarks that can be searched. Each category of goods or services is assigned a number from 1 to 45—also known as an international class.

Determining how goods and services are classified is an essential part of the trademark process, which business owners can tackle themselves or hire an attorney who specializes in trademarks to help with.

“Clients get really hung up on classes," William Scott Goldman of the Goldman Law Group says. “There tends to be a huge disconnect with this issue." Goldman has more than 30 years of trademark experience and almost 20,000 successful USPTO filings. “Type in 'goods and services' [on the USPTO website], and the class is in there," he explains.

Filing and receiving a trademark can take between three months and three years. A reasonable estimate for many businesses is about a year, according to the USPTO. There are two initial filing options. A business needs to decide which one is best for its goals. The initial applications cost $250 or $350, depending on which application is chosen. There are subsequent fees to maintain the trademark and a $150 fee to continue the process if an application has entered abandoned status, and the business owner wants to revive it.

There's a fee for each classification. So the more classifications there are, the higher the fee. Finding the correct classifications for the trademark will give the business owner more legal protection.

Goldman offers this insight to save money: Submit an application for a website in Class 35 (CL 35) in order to cover multiple products under one government fee, rather than paying $250-$350 each in fees for several individual classes.

For non-legal experts who can't afford an attorney or prefer not to hire one, the trademark experience can be a little daunting, says Leigh Coggiola-Belza, the CEO of Leaxy and Breast Leak Leisurewear. She has two registered trademarks: Leaxy, which she filed on her own, then hired a trademark attorney, and Breast Leak Leisurewear, which she registered herself.

“Determining the classification was one of the hardest parts, in terms of ensuring that everything our brand/trademark may possibly look to cover in the future was covered," Coggiola-Belza says.

"'Goods and services' was the hardest, especially in the early stages of creating a company," she explains. “You're still ironing out the details of everything your brand will offer to consumers, but it definitely helped me think about the bigger picture."

While identifying a trademark class may be more straightforward than other aspects of the trademark process for some, 50% of applications are kicked back to the business owner for more information, according to Goldman. For individuals doing it on their own, the rate is 75%. When you work with LegalZoom, attorney support from start to finish gives you a better chance for success.

Determining how goods and services are classified is an essential part of the trademark process, which business owners can tackle themselves or hire an attorney who specializes in trademarks to help with.

Understanding U.S. trademark categories will help make your trademark process more efficient and deliver better results.

Trademark class list

Product ('goods') classes

Class 1: Chemical products. Chemicals used in industry, science, and photography, as well as in agriculture, horticulture, and forestry; unprocessed artificial resins; unprocessed plastics; manures; fire extinguishing compositions; tempering and soldering preparations; chemical substances for preserving foodstuffs; tanning substances; adhesives used in industry.

Class 2: Paint products. Paints, varnishes, lacquers; preservatives against rust and against deterioration of wood; colorants; mordants; raw natural resins; metals in foil and powder form for painters, decorators, printers, and artists.

Class 3: Cosmetics and cleaning products. Bleaching preparations and other substances for laundry use; cleaning, polishing, scouring, and abrasive preparations; soaps; perfumery, essential oils, cosmetics, hair lotions; dentifrices.

Class 4: Lubricant and fuel products. Industrial oils and greases; lubricants; dust absorbing, wetting, and binding compositions; fuels (including motor spirit) and illuminants; candles and wicks for lighting.

Class 5: Pharmaceutical products. Pharmaceutical and veterinary preparations; sanitary preparations for medical purposes; dietetic substances adapted for medical use, food for babies; plasters, materials for dressings; material for stopping teeth, dental wax; disinfectants; preparations for destroying vermin; fungicides, herbicides.

Class 6: Metal products. Common metals and their alloys; metal building materials; transportable buildings of metal; materials of metal for railway tracks; nonelectric cables and wires of common metal; ironmongery, small items of metal hardware; pipes and tubes of metal; safes; goods of common metal not included in other classes; ores.

Class 7: Machinery products. Machines and machine tools; motors and engines (except for land vehicles); machine coupling and transmission components (except for land vehicles); agricultural implements other than hand-operated; incubators for eggs.

Class 8: Hand tool products. Hand tools and implements (hand operated); cutlery; side arms; razors.

Class 9: Computer and software products and electrical and scientific products. Scientific, nautical, surveying, photographic, cinematographic, optical, weighing, measuring, signaling, checking (supervision), life-saving, and teaching apparatus and instruments; apparatus and instruments for conducting, switching, transforming, accumulating, regulating, or controlling electricity; apparatus for recording, transmission, or reproduction of sound or images; magnetic data carriers, recording discs; automatic vending machines, and mechanisms for coin-operated apparatus; cash registers, calculating machines, data processing equipment, and computers; fire extinguishing apparatus.

Class 10: Medical instrument products. Surgical, medical, dental, and veterinary apparatus and instruments, artificial limbs, eyes, and teeth; orthopedic articles; suture materials.

Class 11: Environmental control instrument products (lighting, heating, cooling, cooking). Apparatus for lighting, heating, steam generating, cooking, refrigerating, drying, ventilating, water supply, and sanitary purposes.

Class 12: Vehicles and products for locomotion by land, air, or water. Vehicles; apparatus for locomotion by land, air, or water.

Class 13: Firearm products. Firearms, ammunition, and projectiles, explosives, fireworks.

Class 14: Jewelry products. Precious metals and their alloys and goods in precious metals or coated therewith, not included in other classes; jewelry and precious stones; horological and chronometric instruments.

Class 15: Musical instrument products. Musical instruments

Class 16: Paper and printed material products. Paper, cardboard, and goods made from these materials, not included in other classes; printed matter; bookbinding material; photographs; stationery; adhesives for stationery or household purposes; artists' materials; paintbrushes; typewriters and office requisites (except furniture); instructional and teaching material (except apparatus); plastic materials for packaging (not included in other classes); printers' type; printing blocks.

Class 17: Rubber products. Rubber, gutta-percha, gum, asbestos, mica, and goods made from these materials and not included in other classes; plastics in extruded form for use in manufacture; packing, stopping, and insulating materials; flexible pipes, not of metal.

Class 18: Leather products (not including clothing). Leather and imitations of leather, and goods made of these materials and not included in other classes; animal skins, hides; trunks and traveling bags; umbrellas, parasols, and walking sticks; whips, harnesses, and saddlery.

Class 19: Non-metallic building material products. Building materials (non-metallic); nonmetallic rigid pipes for building; asphalt, pitch, and bitumen; nonmetallic transportable buildings; monuments, not of metal.

Class 20: Furniture products. Furniture, mirrors, picture frames; goods (not included in other classes) of wood, cork, reed, cane, wicker, horn, bone, ivory, whalebone, shell, amber, mother-of-pearl, meerschaum, and substitutes for all these materials, or of plastics.

Class 21: Houseware and glass products. Household or kitchen utensils and containers; combs and sponges; brushes (except paintbrushes); brush-making materials; articles for cleaning purposes; steel-wool; unworked or semi-worked glass (except glass used in building); glassware, porcelain, and earthenware not included in other classes.

Class 22: Ropes, cordage, and fiber products. Ropes, string, nets, tents, awnings, tarpaulins, sails, sacks, and bags (not included in other classes); padding and stuffing materials (except rubber or plastics); raw fibrous textile materials.

Class 23: Yarns and threads. Yarns and threads, for textile use.

Class 24: Fabrics and textile products. Textiles and textile goods not included in other classes; beds and table covers.

Class 25: Clothing and apparel products. Clothing, footwear, headgear.

Class 26: Lace, ribbons, embroidery, and fancy goods. Lace and embroidery, ribbons and braid; buttons, hooks, eyes, pins, and needles; artificial flowers.

Class 27: Floor covering products. Carpets, rugs, mats and matting, linoleum, and other materials for covering existing floors; wall hangings (non-textile).

Class 28: Toys and sporting goods products. Games and playthings; gymnastic and sporting articles not included in other classes; decorations for Christmas trees.

Class 29: Meat and processed food products Meat, fish, poultry, and game; meat extracts; preserved, frozen, dried, and cooked fruits and vegetables; jellies, jams, compotes; eggs, milk, and milk products; edible oils and fats.

Class 30: Staple food products. Coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, rice, tapioca, sago, artificial coffee; flour and preparations made from cereals, bread, pastry, and confectionery; ices; honey and treacle; yeast, baking powder; salt, mustard; vinegar; sauces (condiments); spices; ice.

Class 31: Natural agricultural products. Agricultural, horticultural, forestry products, and grains not included in other classes; live animals; fresh fruits and vegetables; seeds, natural plants, and flowers; foodstuffs for animals; malt.

Class 32: Light beverage products. Beer, mineral and aerated waters, and other nonalcoholic drinks; fruit drinks and fruit juices; syrups and other preparations for making beverages.

Class 33: Wines and spirits (not including beer). Alcoholic beverages (except beer).

Class 34: Smoker's products. Tobacco; smokers' articles; matches.

Service classes

Class 35: Advertising, business, and retail services. Advertising; business management; business administration; office functions.

Class 36: Insurance and financial services. Insurance; financial affairs; monetary affairs; real estate affairs.

Class 37: Construction and repair services. Building construction; repair; installation services.

Class 38: Communication services. Services that allow people to communicate with one another by a sensory means.

Class 39: Transportation and storage services. Transport; packaging and storage of goods; travel arrangement

Class 40: Treatment and processing of materials services. Treatment of materials.

Class 41: Education and entertainment services. Education; providing of training; entertainment; sporting and cultural activities.

Class 42: Computer and software services and scientific services. Scientific and technological services and research and design relating thereto; industrial analysis and research services; design and development of computer hardware and software.

Class 43: Restaurant and hotel services. Services for providing food and drink; temporary accommodations.

Class 44: Medical, beauty services, and agricultural services. Medical services; veterinary services; hygienic and beauty care for human beings or animals; agriculture, horticulture, and forestry services.

Class 45: Personal, legal, and social services. Legal services; security services for the protection of property and individuals; personal and social services rendered by others to meet the needs of individuals.

Obsolete trademarks classes

If the owner of a trademark doesn't use the trademark for three years or more, it's considered a "dead" or "abandoned" trademark.

There are some conditions under which a dead or abandoned trademark can be revived to get trademark approval. Some business owners may be interested in using an abandoned trademark, and it's important to know common law rules can still pertain to a dead trademark.

Common mistakes made during the trademark process:

1. Business owners don't do an in-depth search for trademark classifications.

2. Novices tend to pay too much attention to trademark classes when that has minimal bearing on approval, Goldman says. Selecting proper specimens of use, and choosing an adequately strong mark that's not potentially similar in appearance, sound or meaning to any other registrations/applications for the relevant goods/services is much more important. Fanciful or arbitrary marks are much more enforceable than those that are considered suggestive or descriptive.

2. Don't assume the application will automatically be approved. The application must meet federal requirements.

3. Some business owners are not aware the trademark is a public record.

4. Overpaying fees. Submit an application for a website in Class 35 (CL 35) in order to cover multiple products under one government fee, rather than paying $250-$350 each in fees for several individual classes, attorney Goldman says. The more classifications included for the trademark, the higher the fee.

5. Business owners believe choosing a classification is a scary process. Determining trademark classifications can be both tedious and inspiring, according to Coggiola-Belz, Leaxy CEO. "Seeing the breadth of ideas [on the USPTO site] was inspiring," she says. "It gave me the confidence to go for it."

The trademark ID Manual

Business owners can start the trademark process by searching the USPTO's ID Manual. The manual is an online database to find and choose the correct class and acceptable identifications of goods and services as well as other related information.

The manual has more specifics than The following breakdown of trademark classes is a general list, but the manual has more specific information and is updated every Thursday.

FAQ

1. Do I need to hire a trademark attorney to choose a trademark classification? 

Business owners can go through the process on their own, but a trademark attorney will have the knowledge to help guarantee a successful trademark application, avoid common problems, and usually save time.

2. How much does a trademark application cost?

The initial USPTO applications cost $250 or $350, depending on which application is chosen. Costs for hiring a trademark attorney vary, and a client can be charged hourly or request a flat fee.

3. Can I apply for a trademark online?

Yes, complete the application online and submit it using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). You can pay the fee by credit card, EFT, or through an existing USPTO deposit account.

4. What does it mean if the USTPO returns my application or asks for more information?

This is not unusual. Answer the questions and continue the process.

5. How long does it take to get a trademark?

There is no definite timeline, but three months to three years is a good estimate.

Nice trademark

The Nice agreement, named for a committee of experts in Nice, France, lists the classifications for international trademarks. They are published in the World Intellectual Property Organization's Nice Classification Publication.

The USPTO site has additional information on the process, which includes searching the ID Manual and another database to apply for an international trademark.

Why choose LegalZoom?

It's easy to get the right protection. LegalZoom can help you register a trademark, search the federal database to avoid infringement, file a statement of use, and monitor activity.