Filing a UK trademark yourself costs £205 to register one class of goods or services online, plus £60 for each additional class. That’s the official UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) fee, and it’s the same register every filing service and solicitor submits into. A filing service usually adds £185–£450 on top; a trademark attorney adds £500 or more. So the real range is roughly £205 to do it yourself, £390–£650 through a filing service, or £700–£1,200+ with an attorney — for a single class.
The number that matters most isn’t on most pricing pages: the application fee is not refundable. If your mark is refused — most often because something too similar is already registered — the £205 is gone. That’s why the genuinely free step (searching the register first) saves more money than any discount.
The honest version in one line: the only fee you legally have to pay is the IPO’s. Everything above £205 is somebody’s service charge — sometimes worth it, often not. This guide shows you exactly where each pound goes, using the fees published on GOV.UK (updated 1 April 2026).
The short answer: UK trademark costs in 2026
| Route | Typical total (1 class) | What you’re paying for |
|---|---|---|
| DIY — file online at gov.uk | £205 | The official IPO fee, nothing else |
| Filing service / online platform | £390–£650 | IPO fee + a service charge to fill in the form for you |
| Trademark attorney or solicitor | £700–£1,200+ | IPO fee + professional advice, class drafting, searches |
All three file into the same register and your mark ends up identical. What you’re buying above £205 is help and advice — not a “better” trademark.
Official UK IPO fees in 2026
These are the government fees, in force since 1 April 2026 (the first rise since 1998):
| What | Fee |
|---|---|
| Apply online, 1 class (standard) | £205 |
| Each additional class | £60 |
| Apply by paper, 1 class | £250 |
| Right Start — stage 1 (1 class) | £125 (+£30 per extra class) |
| Right Start — stage 2 (1 class) | £125 (+£30 per extra class) |
| Renewal, 1 class (every 10 years) | £245 (+£60 per extra class) |
| Restore a lapsed mark | £125 |
| Oppose someone else’s mark (TM7) | £125–£250 |
A registered UK trademark lasts 10 years and can be renewed indefinitely. From application to granted is usually 3–4 months if nobody objects.
Watch the Right Start trap. Right Start lets you pay in two stages and get the examiner’s view before committing — useful if you’re unsure your name is distinctive enough. But two £125 stages total £250, which is £45 more than filing standard online at £205. It’s a risk-check, not a discount. Most competitors still call it “the cheap option.” It isn’t.
How many classes do you actually need?
You pay per class — one of 45 categories (the Nice Classification) that carve up all goods and services. Your mark is only protected in the classes you register, so this is where cost meets strategy.
- A SaaS / app brand — usually Class 42 (software/tech services), sometimes Class 9 too. One class: £205.
- A coffee shop that sells branded bags of beans — Class 43 (café services) + Class 30 (coffee) = two classes: £265.
- A clothing brand selling online — Class 25 (clothing) + Class 35 (retail) = two classes: £265.
Register only the classes you’ll genuinely trade in within about five years. Over-filing wastes £60 a class and invites challenges — and a mark left unused in a class for five years can be cancelled. Filing in the wrong class is worse: the fee is non-refundable, so a mistake means paying again.
”From £390” — what filing services are actually charging
When a service advertises “UK trademark from £390, all fees included,” do the maths: £390 − £205 IPO fee = £185 service charge. That’s the real price of the help. Some charge £450+ for the same form-filling. None of it buys you a stronger trademark than filing yourself.
That doesn’t make services worthless — a good one catches class mistakes and handles examiner objections. But you should know you’re paying £185–£450 for convenience and advice, not for the registration itself.
The free-search myth. Filing services often headline a “free professional trademark search.” In most cases that’s the same public register you can search yourself for nothing. A genuine clearance search (phonetic matches, similar marks, earlier rights) is real work — but the basic “is this exact name taken?” check is free to everyone.
Before you pay anyone — including the IPO — check the name. Our free tool searches the UK and EU registers in seconds and shows you how crowded your name already is. A £205 fee you can't get back is a lot to risk on a name you haven't checked.
Check a name free →The hidden costs nobody warns you about
The headline fee is rarely the whole story. Budget for these only if they apply to you:
- A clearance search — £150–£600 if you want a professional to vet for similar and earlier marks. Optional, but cheaper than a refused application.
- Answering an examiner’s objection — if the IPO raises a query (often “too descriptive”), responding can cost £300–£500+ in professional time. You have two months to reply.
- Defending an opposition — if a third party opposes your mark during the two-month publication window, contesting it can run to £1,500–£5,000+ in legal fees. The original £205 is still not refunded.
- Ongoing watching — monitoring services that alert you when someone files a similar mark run £100–£500/year. Not required, but how serious brands protect a registration.
Renewal: the cost of keeping it
A trademark isn’t a one-off purchase. Every 10 years you renew for £245 (one class) plus £60 per extra class. Miss the deadline and there’s a six-month grace window with a surcharge before the mark lapses; after that you’d pay £125 to restore it (if allowed). Over a 20-year brand life, a single-class mark costs at least £205 + £245 + £245 = £695 in official fees alone.
UK vs EU trademark costs
Since Brexit, a UK trademark covers the UK only. To protect your brand in the EU you file a separate EU trademark (EUTM) with the EUIPO — from €850 for one class. If you sell in both markets, budget for both: there’s no longer a single filing that covers the UK and the EU together.
So is it worth it?
For most growing brands, yes — but for clear reasons, not fear. A registered mark gives you the exclusive right to your name in your sector, the ability to stop copycats without first proving years of reputation, and an asset that adds value when you raise money or sell. What £205 does not buy is protection outside your registered classes, protection in countries where you haven’t filed, or a guarantee of acceptance.
The smartest spend is the cheapest one: search the register before you file. It costs nothing and it’s the single best way to avoid losing a non-refundable fee on a name that was never going to clear.