All 45 trademark classes, in plain English
Every US trademark application has to name at least one class. Picking too few is the expensive mistake: a class cannot be added to an application once it is filed, so getting it wrong means filing again, paying again, and losing your original filing date.
Classes 1 to 34 cover goods — physical products you sell. Classes 35 to 45 cover services — things you do for customers. Most businesses need more than one, and the combination people miss most often is selling a product (a goods class) through their own shop or website (class 35).
Each class costs $350 in USPTO government fees. Our flat fee of $199 covers the application regardless of how many classes it names.
Find my classes and price Check if the name is taken
This list is the Nice Classification.
The 45 classes are not a USPTO invention. They come from the Nice Classification, an international system set by treaty that sorts every trademark in the world into the same numbered groups — which is why class 25 means clothing in the United States and in most other countries too. The USPTO applies it, so a US application has to name at least one numbered class from this list.
You will see it called the Nice Agreement, the Nice Classification, or simply the international classes. They are the same thing, and the numbers below are it.
Classes 1–34 — things you sell
Class 1 — Chemicals
Raw and industrial chemistry — substances sold to be used in making something else, rather than finished products sold to a consumer.
Class 2 — Paints and coatings
Anything whose job is to colour or coat a surface — paint, stain, dye, ink and rust protection.
Class 3 — Cosmetics and cleaning preparations
Non-medicated beauty, personal care and cleaning products. One of the busiest classes for new consumer brands, and one of the easiest to get half-right.
Class 4 — Industrial oils, fuels and candles
Fuels, lubricants and wax — including candles, which is why a lot of small home-fragrance brands end up here rather than in a beauty class.
Class 5 — Pharmaceuticals and supplements
Anything taken or applied for a health purpose. The line between class 5 and classes 3, 29 or 30 is drawn by the claim you make, not by the ingredients.
Class 6 — Common metals and metal goods
Goods defined by being made of common metal — building materials, hardware, containers and safes.
Class 7 — Machines and power tools
Powered machinery. The rule that catches people out: if it is powered, it is class 7; if a hand drives it, it is class 8.
Class 8 — Hand tools and cutlery
Tools and implements driven by hand, plus cutlery and razors — including electric razors, which is a genuine exception to the powered-equals-class-7 rule.
Class 9 — Software, apps and electronics
Downloadable software and electronic hardware. The single most misunderstood class on the register, because a downloadable app and an online platform are not the same filing.
Class 10 — Medical and surgical devices
Physical medical equipment and assistive devices — the hardware of healthcare, as opposed to the substances in class 5 or the services in class 44.
Class 11 — Lighting, heating and sanitary appliances
Appliances and installations that light, heat, cool, cook or move water. A short heading that covers an enormous amount of household and commercial equipment.
Class 12 — Vehicles
Vehicles themselves and their structural parts, by land, air or water — including bicycles, e-bikes, scooters and pushchairs.
Class 13 — Firearms, ammunition and fireworks
Firearms, ammunition, explosives and fireworks.
Class 14 — Jewellery and watches
Jewellery, precious stones and timepieces. Costume jewellery belongs here too — the class is not limited to precious materials.
Class 15 — Musical instruments
Musical instruments and the stands that hold them. Notably narrow — most music businesses need other classes as well.
Class 16 — Paper, stationery and printed matter
Anything printed on paper, plus stationery and art materials. The home of greeting-card brands, planner brands and print-on-demand stationery.
Class 17 — Rubber, plastics and insulation
Semi-finished rubber and plastic materials, insulation and flexible hoses — materials bought to be used in making something else.
Class 18 — Bags and leather goods
Bags, luggage and leather goods — and, less obviously, pet collars, leads and pet clothing.
Class 19 — Non-metal building materials
Construction materials that are not metal — timber, stone, concrete, glass and the rest.
Class 20 — Furniture
Furniture of every kind, plus mirrors, frames and non-metal storage containers.
Class 21 — Kitchenware and housewares
Kitchen and household goods — cookware, drinkware, cleaning implements and ceramics. A very common class for homeware and merch brands.
Class 22 — Ropes, tents and textile materials
Rope, netting, tents, tarpaulins and raw textile fibre.
Class 23 — Yarns and threads
The narrowest class on the register: yarn and thread, and nothing else.
Class 24 — Textiles and bedding
Fabric by the metre and finished household linen — bedding, towels and curtains.
Class 25 — Clothing, footwear and headwear
The three-word heading that covers almost every apparel brand on the register, and one of the most crowded classes at the USPTO.
Class 26 — Haberdashery and hair accessories
Sewing notions, trimmings, artificial flowers and hair accessories — including wigs and extensions.
Class 27 — Carpets and floor coverings
Things that cover a floor that is already there — carpets, rugs, mats and vinyl.
Class 28 — Toys, games and sporting goods
Toys, board games, sports equipment and fitness gear — the physical article, not the activity or the software.
Class 29 — Meat, dairy and prepared foods
Foods of animal origin, plus processed fruit and vegetables. Where a food brand falls between class 29 and class 30 is decided by what the product is mainly made of.
Class 30 — Coffee, bakery, snacks and condiments
Plant-based staples and prepared foods — coffee, baked goods, sauces, sweets and spices. The busiest food class for small brands.
Class 31 — Fresh produce, plants and pet food
Things that are grown or alive and have not been processed — plus, importantly for a lot of modern brands, pet food.
Class 32 — Beer and non-alcoholic drinks
Beer and every non-alcoholic drink. Beer sits with the soft drinks, not with the spirits — a split that surprises most new drinks brands.
Class 33 — Wine and spirits
Every alcoholic drink except beer — wine, spirits, liqueurs and ready-to-drink cocktails.
Class 34 — Tobacco, vaping and smokers' articles
Tobacco, tobacco substitutes, vaping products and smokers' accessories.
Classes 35–45 — things you do
Class 35 — Advertising, retail and business services
The most commonly forgotten class in the entire system. Selling products is one thing; running the shop you sell them in is a separate service, and this is it.
Class 36 — Financial, insurance and real estate services
Money and property services — banking, lending, payments, insurance, investment and real estate.
Class 37 — Construction, installation and repair
Building things, installing things and fixing things — the trades, in one class.
Class 38 — Telecommunications
Carrying other people's messages and signals. A narrow class, and a commonly mis-selected one: most apps are not telecoms businesses.
Class 39 — Transport, delivery and travel
Moving people or goods from one place to another, storing them, and arranging travel.
Class 40 — Manufacturing and treatment of materials
Making or altering something to a customer's order. Custom manufacturing, printing and finishing all sit here — which is where print-on-demand businesses often belong.
Class 41 — Education, training and entertainment
Teaching, training, publishing and entertaining. If you make content or run classes under your brand, this is your class whatever the subject matter.
Class 42 — SaaS, IT and design services
Technology delivered as a service. If customers log into your product rather than downloading it, you are in class 42 — and quite possibly in class 9 as well.
Class 43 — Restaurants, cafés and accommodation
Serving food and drink to people, and putting them up for the night. The class for every restaurant, café, bar, food truck and hotel.
Class 44 — Medical, beauty and wellbeing services
Care delivered to a person, animal or plant — clinical, cosmetic or horticultural.
Class 45 — Legal, security and personal services
The last class, and a mixed one: law, physical security, and personal services that do not fit anywhere else.
Asked and answered.
What is the Nice Classification?
The Nice Classification is the international system that sorts every trademark into 45 numbered classes - 1 to 34 for goods, 35 to 45 for services. It comes from the Nice Agreement, an international treaty, and it is why a trademark class means the same thing in the US as it does elsewhere. The USPTO uses it, which is why a US application has to name at least one numbered class.
How many trademark classes are there?
Forty-five. Classes 1 to 34 cover goods, meaning physical products you sell. Classes 35 to 45 cover services, meaning things you do for customers. The split matters beyond tidiness: it changes what your specimen has to show, because a label or product listing proves use for goods while a service needs advertising or a page offering the service.
How do I find the right trademark class for my product?
Work from what you actually sell rather than the industry you call yourself. A coffee brand selling beans and running a cafe needs two classes - 30 for the beans, 43 for the cafe. The combination people miss most often is selling a product through their own shop or website, which is class 35 on top of the class covering the product itself. Each class listed on this page says what belongs in it and what does not.
Can I file one trademark in multiple classes?
Yes. A single application can name several classes, and the government fee is charged once per class. What you cannot do is add a class later: classes cannot be added to a pending application, so if you realise afterwards that you needed another one you file again, pay again, and take a new filing date for it.
Class headings are quoted from the Nice Agreement, Eleventh Edition as published by the USPTO. The plain-English summaries are ours, written for the common case rather than as an exhaustive list, and they are general information rather than legal advice about your application.