How to register a trademark in the UK (2026)

You register a UK trademark by filing online with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO): search the register first, choose your mark and the classes it covers, then apply and pay £205 for one class (£60 for each extra class). The IPO examines it within 2–3 weeks, publishes it for a two-month objection period, and — if no one objects — registers it about 3–4 months after you apply. A registered mark then lasts 10 years and can be renewed indefinitely.

The step most people skip is the first one. The £205 fee is not refundable, and the most common reason a mark is refused is a conflict with something already on the register. A few minutes searching protects the fee — and your timeline.

You can do this yourself. The IPO’s online service is built for self-filers, and a straightforward word mark in one class is £205 with no solicitor required. Paying a filing service or attorney buys advice and convenience — not a stronger or “more official” trademark. This guide walks the DIY route and flags where professional help genuinely earns its fee.

Step 1 — Search before you file

Before anything else, check whether your name (or something confusingly close) is already registered in your field. The IPO won’t refund your fee if it refuses your mark, and an existing similar mark in the same class is the usual reason.

Search the exact name, then variations — plurals, hyphens, common misspellings, and how it sounds (a name that sounds the same can conflict even when it’s spelled differently). And check the class that matches what you sell, because the same word can be registered by different owners in unrelated industries.

Step 2 — Decide what you’re registering

A word mark protects the name itself, in any font or colour. A logo mark protects that exact design. They’re separate applications:

• If your brand is a name, file the word mark — it’s the broadest protection.
• If you have a distinctive logo too, file it as a second application.
• Most brands file the word mark first, then the logo. A logo registered in black and white covers all colour versions; a colour-specific logo is narrower.

Step 3 — Choose your classes

Goods and services are divided into 45 classes (the Nice Classification) — see our guide to all 45 trademark classes for what each covers. Your mark is only protected in the classes you register, so this is where cost meets strategy:

• Register only the classes you’ll genuinely trade in within about five years.
• You cannot add classes after filing — a new class means a new application.
• Typical picks: software in Class 42 (often 9 too); a café in 43, plus 30 if it sells its own coffee; clothing in 25, plus 35 for online retail.

Over-filing wastes £60 a class and can invite challenges; under-filing leaves gaps. Get this right before you submit.

Step 4 — Standard or Right Start?

• Standard online — £205 (+£60 per extra class). You file and the IPO examines it.
• Right Start — £125 now, £125 later (+£30 per stage per extra class). You get the examiner’s view after stage one, then decide whether to continue. It totals £250, so it’s a risk-check for borderline marks, not a discount. (More in our cost guide.)

Step 5 — File and pay

You’ll need: a representation of the mark (the text, or an image file for a logo), the owner’s name and address (you personally, or your company — decide who should own it), your classes and the goods/services within them, and payment. File online and the fee is taken on submission.

Two things to know before you click submit. The fee is non-refundable whatever the outcome, and your application becomes publicly visible straight away — competitors can see it the day you file.

What happens after you apply

1. Examination (2–3 weeks). The IPO checks your mark is distinctive, not descriptive, and doesn’t clash with earlier marks.
2. Objections (if any). You get two months to respond — argue your case, narrow the goods/services, or provide evidence the mark is distinctive.
3. Publication (two months). If accepted, your mark is published and anyone can oppose it for two months (extendable to three on request).
4. Registration. If no one opposes, it registers about 3–4 months after you applied. You get a certificate and can start using the ® symbol. (Using ® before registration can be a criminal offence — see TM vs ®.)

Objections or an opposition can stretch this to 12 months or more.

How long it lasts — and the catch

A UK trademark lasts 10 years from the filing date and renews indefinitely (£245 per class every 10 years). The catch: if you don’t put the mark to genuine use in the UK within five years, anyone can apply to cancel it for non-use. Don’t register classes you’ve no real plan to trade in.

Protecting your brand beyond the UK

Since Brexit, a UK trademark covers the UK only. To protect your brand elsewhere:

• EU: a separate EU trademark via the EUIPO, from €850 for one class.
• Internationally: the WIPO Madrid System lets you extend a UK mark to many countries from one application — but if your UK “base” mark is cancelled within five years, the international registration can fall with it.

Common reasons applications fail

• The name is descriptive (“Fast Delivery” for a courier) — it isn’t distinctive enough.
• A conflict the applicant never searched for — the most avoidable failure.
• The wrong class — protection in classes you don’t trade in, and none where you do.
• No response to the examiner within the two-month window.

Every one of these is cheaper to catch before you file. Start with the search — it’s free, and it’s the difference between £205 well spent and £205 gone.