Classes & Goods/Services Search

How to use the class search

1. Describe what you actually sell in your own words, for example roasted coffee beans, bookkeeping for freelancers, or a mobile app for meal planning.
2. Read the suggested classes and pick the ones you genuinely use today, not the ones you might want in three years.
3. Copy the suggested identification wording into your application rather than rewriting it in your own voice.
4. Recheck the class list against your specimen, since the specimen has to show the mark used with the goods or services you claimed.

How to read the suggestions

Results are drawn from the site's Nice Classification dataset, which mirrors the same international class structure the USPTO uses. Each suggestion gives you a class number, a plain-language label, and the kind of wording that normally appears in an acceptable identification.

What this tool cannot do

• It is not the official USPTO ID Manual and it cannot guarantee that a particular wording will be accepted.
• It cannot tell you how narrow or broad your identification should be, which is a strategy decision about how much you want to block competitors.
• It does not check whether your mark conflicts with an existing registration in any class.
• It cannot file anything for you, and it does not reserve a class or a filing date.

Deciding how many classes to claim

• Claim the class you are actually trading in today, with a specimen ready to prove it.
• Add a second class only when you can point to real goods or services in it, because an unsupported claim invites an office action.
• Skip speculative classes for future product lines, since you cannot add classes later but you can file a new application when the line launches.
• Keep the identification specific. Overly broad wording draws an insufficient-information objection and can add a $100 per class fee.

When the identification is genuinely unusual, the honest move is to pay the free-form fee once and get it right, rather than forcing your product into ID Manual wording that does not describe what you sell.

How much does a multi-class application cost?

The base fee is $350 per class, so one class is $350, two classes are $700, and three are $1,050. Additional fees such as the $200 per class free-form fee or the $100 per class insufficient-information fee are charged on top.

Do I need to file in several classes to be protected?

You are only protected for the goods and services you list, so a coffee brand in Class 30 does not automatically cover a coffee shop in Class 43. Claim what you use now and file again later when the business expands.

Can I add a class after I file?

No. You cannot add classes to a pending application. If you launch a product in a new class, you file a new application for it.

Is computer software automatically Class 9?

Not always. Downloadable software that the customer installs is Class 9, while software you host and deliver over the web is a service in Class 42. You must also describe what the software does rather than claiming computer software alone.

Why does the tool tell me to copy the wording exactly?

Wording taken from the ID Manual is pre-approved, which avoids both the $200 per class free-form fee and the objection that your goods are described too vaguely.

• Base application requirements | USPTO
• Summary of 2025 trademark fee changes | USPTO