In short
A federal trademark registration stays alive only if you keep using the mark and file maintenance documents on the USPTO's schedule: a Section 8 declaration between years five and six, then Sections 8 and 9 between years nine and ten and every ten years after. Miss the deadline and the six-month grace period ends, and the registration is canceled or expires.
A registration has to be kept alive
The USPTO is direct about this: once you own a trademark registration, you must use the trademark in commerce and file certain documents at regular intervals to show you are still using it. If you do not file them before the deadline, the registration is canceled or expires. (USPTO: Keeping your registration alive)
Showing use once, with the specimen you filed to get registered, is not enough. The USPTO says you must regularly demonstrate use throughout the life of the trademark if you want to keep its benefits. If you are new to the idea, use in commerce is defined in our glossary.
The deadlines
For registrations that are not based on the Madrid Protocol, the USPTO lists three required filings. Between the fifth and sixth years after the registration date, file a Declaration of Use and/or Excusable Nonuse under Section 8. Between the ninth and tenth years, file the first Declaration of Use together with an Application for Renewal under Sections 8 and 9. After that, repeat the Sections 8 and 9 filing every ten years, in the 19th to 20th year, the 29th to 30th year, and so on. (USPTO)
If a deadline lands on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday, the USPTO treats a filing received on the next business day as timely. It also suggests filing at the beginning of the year in which the filing is due, so there is time to fix correctable errors without paying an additional fee if the USPTO rejects the filing.
The USPTO sends courtesy email reminders, but it says you must file on time even if you never get one. Our Section 8 declaration glossary entry gives the short definition.
What it costs, and who you pay
These are fees paid to the USPTO, not to My Trademark Vault. On the USPTO fee schedule page we checked in October 2026, the electronic fees are $325 per class for a Section 8 declaration, $325 per class for a Section 9 renewal application, and $250 per class for the optional Section 15 declaration. Grace period fees are $100 per class for Section 8 and $100 per class for Section 9. (USPTO fee schedule)
Fees change, so confirm the current amount on the USPTO page before you file. The per-class pricing is also why a registration that covers several classes costs more to maintain, a point worth keeping in mind when you choose trademark classes at the start.
The six-month grace period
There is a six-month grace period after each deadline. You can file during it, but you pay an additional fee. If you do not file before the end of the grace period, the registration is canceled or deemed expired. (USPTO)
The grace period is a safety net with a price, not a plan. If a lapse has already happened to an application rather than a registration, see reviving an abandoned application instead.
Mistakes that put a registration at risk
The USPTO flags three common ones. First, ownership: if the owner named in your filing does not match the USPTO's records, the filing can be refused, so record any sale or name change first. Second, goods and services: do not claim goods or services you no longer use. You must delete them, and if you delete them after filing a required document but before it is accepted, a fee of $250 per class with deletions applies. Third, specimens: a specimen that does not show proper use can lead to refusal and cancellation. (USPTO)
The USPTO also runs a Post Registration Audit Program. If your filing is selected, you may have to prove use for every good and service in the audited classes and delete anything you cannot prove.
If you stop using the mark for some goods between required filings, the USPTO says to delete them promptly with a Section 7 request, which carries no fee for that deletion.
Optional: Section 15 and what about Madrid
A Section 15 declaration of incontestability is optional. It is available to a mark on the Principal Register that meets certain legal requirements, including at least five years of continuous use in commerce, and it can be combined with the Section 8 filing. See the Section 15 declaration entry for the definition.
Registrations based on the Madrid Protocol follow a different path. The USPTO says to check whether the serial number begins with 79; if so, file Section 71 declarations on the same year windows, and renew the international registration directly with the International Bureau of WIPO, not through the USPTO.
Watch for look-alike notices
The USPTO warns that registrants may receive unsolicited mailings from private companies around the time maintenance filings are due. Some of these may be from legitimate companies, but it says many are fraudulent, and that official USPTO email comes only from the @uspto.gov domain. Its page links to a list of known scammers.
The USPTO's own forms are the place to file. Once you are registered, correct use of the ® symbol is covered in TM versus the registered symbol, and not yet sure your name is clear to register? A free brand audit is a no-cost first look. This is general information, not legal advice about your registration.
Frequently asked questions
It can last as long as you keep using the mark and file the required maintenance documents on time. The USPTO requires a Section 8 declaration between years five and six, and Sections 8 and 9 filings between years nine and ten and every ten years after.
Per the USPTO, a Section 8 declaration states that you are still using the mark (or have an excusable reason for not using it). Section 9 is the renewal application. From the ten-year point on they are filed together.
The USPTO gives a six-month grace period after each deadline. You can file during it by paying an additional fee. If you do not file by the end of the grace period, the registration is canceled or expires.
On the USPTO fee schedule checked in October 2026, an electronic Section 8 declaration and a Section 9 renewal are each $325 per class, with $100 per class grace period fees. Fees are paid to the USPTO and can change, so check the current schedule.
No. The USPTO describes it as optional. It is available if the mark is on the Principal Register, meets certain legal requirements and has had at least five years of continuous use.
Yes, and the USPTO says to do so promptly. Between required filings, a Section 7 request to delete carries no fee. Deleting after you file a required document but before it is accepted triggers a $250 per class fee.
Be careful. The USPTO says official email comes only from @uspto.gov and that many unsolicited mailings from private companies are fraudulent. Check its list of known scammers before paying anyone.
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.