Trademark Renewal: Section 8, Section 9 and Section 15 Filings

The three filings and what each one does

Registering a mark is only the first step. Federal law makes the registration depend on proof, at fixed times, that the mark is still used. The three filings do different jobs.

They are filed by the owner of the registration. The owner details must match the USPTO records, or the filing can be refused.

• Section 8 (15 U.S.C. 1058): a declaration that the mark is in use in commerce for the goods and services listed, with one specimen for each class, or that nonuse is excused.
• Section 9 (15 U.S.C. 1059): the renewal itself. It extends the registration for another 10 years and is always filed together with a Section 8 declaration.
• Section 15 (15 U.S.C. 1065): an optional declaration of incontestability. It does not keep the registration alive.

Deadlines worked through with dates

Say a mark registered on 14 March 2020. The statute counts from the registration date, and the USPTO describes the windows as the 5th to 6th year and the 9th to 10th year. A filing signed before the window opens is defective, because the verified statement must be signed on or after the start of the filing period (37 CFR 2.161(a)).

A deadline that falls on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday is met if the USPTO receives the filing on the next business day.

What a Section 8 declaration must contain

37 CFR 2.161 sets the content. A complete filing includes:

• a verified statement, signed by or for the owner on or after the start of the window;
• the U.S. registration number;
• the goods and services that are still in use, and any goods, services or classes the owner deletes;
• one specimen per class that shows the mark in use in commerce, unless the owner claims excusable nonuse;
• the fee for each class, plus the grace-period surcharge if the filing is late.

When the mark is not in use: excusable nonuse

The statute allows a registration to stay alive when the mark is not in use because of special circumstances that excuse the nonuse, and not because of an intent to abandon (15 U.S.C. 1058(b)). For each item that is not in use, the owner must give the date use stopped, the approximate date use will resume, and the facts that show the special circumstances (37 CFR 2.161).

The USPTO says the excuse is narrow: nonuse must result from circumstances beyond the owner's control. The USPTO treats a plan to resume use as a statement the owner must back with facts. The Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP 1604.11) is the place to read the standard before relying on an excuse.

Separately, 15 U.S.C. 1127 says that nonuse for 3 consecutive years is prima facie evidence of abandonment. A registration can be challenged on that ground at any time, whether or not the owner filed a Section 8 declaration.

Audits, deletions and errors

The USPTO may select a Section 8 filing for an audit. If the first specimen is not acceptable, the owner must give proof of use for every good and service in the audited classes, delete what it cannot prove, and pay a fee for each class with a deletion. A deletion after a Section 8 filing but before acceptance costs $250 per the electronic fee schedule, and an unpaid deletion fee can lead to cancellation of the entire registration.

Goods or services that are no longer used can be deleted earlier, between maintenance filings, with a Section 7 request, which carries no fee for a deletion only.

A filing with a correctable defect gets a notice. The owner can fix it, with a $100 deficiency fee, within the time stated in the notice (15 U.S.C. 1058(c)). The USPTO advises filing early in the year the deadline falls, so a defect can be fixed without extra cost.

Section 15: what incontestability does and does not do

A Section 15 declaration can be filed only for a mark on the Principal Register. The owner states that the mark has been in continuous use in commerce for 5 consecutive years after registration and is still in use, that no final decision is adverse to the owner's claim, and that no proceeding about those rights is pending (15 U.S.C. 1065; 37 CFR 2.167). It can be filed within one year after the end of any 5-year period of continuous use, and it can be combined with the Section 8 filing.

Incontestability is not a shield against every challenge. The statute keeps genericness and certain other grounds open, and 15 U.S.C. 1064 lists grounds for cancellation that can be raised at any time, including abandonment and a registration obtained by fraud. Section 15 is a strategic choice, and no deadline forces it.

USPTO fees as of November 2026

The figures below are the electronic filing fees, per class, from the USPTO fee schedule (effective 19 January 2025, last revised 1 November 2026). Paper filings cost more.

Who files, and the risk of look-alike mailings

The owner on the register must file. If the mark was assigned or the owner's name changed, record that change first. An owner whose domicile is outside the United States must be represented by an attorney qualified to practice before the USPTO (37 CFR 2.11(a)), and the same rule reaches post-registration filings.

The USPTO warns that unsolicited mailings from private companies often arrive near filing deadlines, and that many are fraudulent. Official USPTO email comes only from the @uspto.gov domain. The USPTO sends courtesy reminders, but the duty to file on time stays with the owner.

After a missed deadline, and Madrid registrations

If no Section 8 filing is made by the end of the grace period, the USPTO cancels the registration. If no renewal is made by then, it expires (37 CFR 2.160, 2.182). An unanswered office action has the same effect. The mark can still be protected by use, but the owner must file a new application to get a registration again.

Registrations that came through the Madrid Protocol (serial numbers beginning with 79) follow a different path. The owner files Section 71 declarations with the USPTO at the same 5-to-6-year and 9-to-10-year points, and renews the international registration with WIPO every 10 years.