In short
You can use TM for goods or SM for services at any time, even before you file. The registered symbol is for after the USPTO registers your trademark, and only for the goods or services listed in the registration. Federal law also ties recovery of profits and damages to giving notice of registration.
The rule in one paragraph
The USPTO's own guidance is short. Every time you use your trademark, you can use a symbol with it, and that lets consumers and competitors know you are claiming the mark as yours. You can use TM for goods or SM for services even if you have not filed an application to register. Once the USPTO registers your trademark, you use the ® symbol. (USPTO: What is a trademark?)
TM and SM are claims you make yourself. The ® is something the USPTO has to grant first.
Filing is not registering
A filed application is not a registration. Your application can sit in the queue, receive an office action, or be refused, and none of those stages is a registered trademark. Where your application sits in the process shows up as a status code, and the registered symbol belongs to the stage where the USPTO has actually registered the mark, not the stage where you paid the fee.
Until then, TM or SM is the correct symbol. It does not need an application, a fee or anyone's permission. Using a name also gives you some common law rights, though only where you trade.
Even after registration, the symbol has limits
The USPTO adds a second condition that many sellers miss: you may only use the registration symbol with the trademark for the goods or services listed in the federal registration. (USPTO: What is a trademark?)
So a registration for one product category does not license the ® next to the same name on a different category. The Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure even has a section titled Improper Use of Registration Symbol (TMEP 906.02), which is worth reading if you are unsure about your own case.
Where you place it is flexible. The USPTO says you may use it anywhere around the trademark, although most owners set it as a superscript or subscript to the right of the mark.
Why the symbol is worth getting right
The statute gives the registered symbol a job beyond looking official. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1111, a registrant may give notice that the mark is registered by displaying the words "Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office" or "Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.", or the letter R enclosed within a circle. (15 U.S.C. § 1111)
It then attaches a consequence. In an infringement suit under that chapter, a registrant who failed to give such notice cannot recover profits or damages unless the defendant had actual notice of the registration.
That is the practical reason owners add the symbol once they are entitled to it, and the reason to hold off until then.
A short checklist for your listings and packaging
Check the current status of your mark in the USPTO's own system before adding the ® anywhere. If it does not say registered, use TM or SM.
Match the symbol to the goods. If your registration covers some products and not others, the ® follows the goods listed.
Check the platform rules separately. What Amazon Brand Registry requires is a registration question, not a symbol question, and each marketplace sets its own requirements.
Not sure what stage your mark is at? A free brand audit is a no-pressure way to find out. This is general information, not legal advice about your situation.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The USPTO says you can use TM for goods or SM for services even if you have not filed an application to register your trademark. The symbol is a claim that you consider the mark yours.
TM is used with goods and SM is used with services. Both are the owner's own claim and neither means the mark is registered.
Once the USPTO has registered your trademark, you use the ® with it. The USPTO also limits the symbol to the goods or services listed in the registration.
The USPTO's guidance is to use it once the mark is registered. A pending application is not a registration, so TM or SM is the symbol that fits until the USPTO registers the mark.
Yes, under federal law. 15 U.S.C. § 1111 says a registrant that fails to give notice of registration cannot recover profits or damages in an infringement suit unless the defendant had actual notice of the registration.
The USPTO says you may place the registration symbol anywhere around the trademark. Most owners use a superscript or subscript to the right of it.
No. My Trademark Vault is an independent service and is not affiliated with the USPTO. Any government fee is paid to the USPTO.
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This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Trademark outcomes depend on the specific facts of each application.