Trademark Registration India
at Just ₹4999/- + GST

What Can Actually Be Registered as a Trademark?

Almost anything that identifies your brand distinctly can qualify, though some categories face more scrutiny than others.

A word mark and a logo mark are not interchangeable protections. Registering your logo doesn't automatically protect your brand name if someone writes it in a different font or without the design, and registering your name in plain text doesn't protect a distinctive logo someone copies. If your budget allows only one to start, the word mark usually gives broader protection for a growing brand, since the name is what customers actually search for and say out loud. Many businesses register both, sometimes as separate applications in the same class.

How to Search for a Trademark Before You File

Skipping this step is the single most common reason applications later fail. A search takes a day and costs nothing if you do it yourself; an objection or opposition later costs months and, sometimes, the entire filing fee.

1. Go to the IP India public search portal at ipindiaonline.gov.in and use the Trade Marks Search facility.
2. Search by word mark for your exact proposed name, then again for close spellings, phonetic equivalents, and common misspellings.
3. Search by the relevant class (see the next section), since a mark can coexist across unrelated classes but not usually within the same or closely related one.
4. Check both "registered" and "pending" statuses. A pending application can block yours even before it's granted.
5. Search the MCA company name database and existing domain/social handles too. These aren't trademark searches, but a name already trading under a similar identity is a practical (if not always legal) risk signal.

An available search result is not a registration guarantee. The Registry runs its own, more detailed examination after you file, and it can still raise an objection even when your own search came back clear, particularly on distinctiveness grounds rather than conflict grounds. Treat a clean search as a green light to file, not as approval.

Trademark Classes: How to Pick the Right One

India follows the Nice Classification system, an internationally shared list of 45 classes: 1 to 34 cover goods (everything from chemicals to clothing to food) and 35 to 45 cover services (advertising, education, legal services, hospitality, and so on). India adopted the 13th edition of the Nice Classification, effective from 1 January 2026, so check your class against the current edition rather than an older list you may find in an outdated guide.

You must file in the class (or classes) that actually cover what you sell or do. A restaurant typically falls under Class 43 (services for providing food and drink); a clothing brand under Class 25; a software product usually under Class 9 (downloadable software) and/or Class 42 (SaaS and software services), depending on how it's delivered. Getting this wrong doesn't just risk an objection, it can leave your actual business activity completely unprotected even after you're "registered."

A few practical points:

• You can file one application across multiple classes (a multi-class application) instead of filing separately for each. The government fee is charged per class either way, so a 3-class application costs three times the single-class fee, but you save on professional fees and paperwork by filing together.
• If you're unsure which class fits, look at how direct competitors with similar registered marks have classified themselves on the public search portal; it's a reasonable starting signal, though not a substitute for checking the actual class descriptions.
• Choosing the wrong class is not automatically fatal, but it usually means refiling in the correct class, which resets your priority date and government fee.

What Documents Do You Need for Trademark Registration?

The list is short but must be exact, since a mismatch between your ID and your applicant name is a common cause of delay.

For Individuals and Sole Proprietors

• A copy of a government ID (Aadhaar, PAN, passport, or voter ID)
• Address proof if it differs from the ID
• A clear image of the logo or mark, if you're registering a device mark (JPEG, generally a minimum of 8cm x 8cm)
• A signed Form TM-48 (Power of Attorney), only if you're filing through an agent or attorney rather than yourself
• MSME/Udyam registration certificate or DPIIT Startup India recognition certificate, if you want the lower "individual/startup" government fee
• A signed User Affidavit with supporting proof (invoices, packaging, website archives, advertisements), only if you're claiming you already used the mark before the filing date

For Partnerships, LLPs, and Companies, in Addition to the Above

• Certificate of Incorporation or partnership deed
• A board resolution or partner authorisation naming who is signing on the entity's behalf
• The entity's PAN

You do not need a separate trademark-specific licence or government approval before filing; the application itself is the filing.

What Does Trademark Registration Cost in India?

The government charges a statutory fee prescribed under the Trade Marks Rules, 2017, separate from whatever a consultant or attorney charges for their own service. As of 2026, the fee schedule is:

This fee is charged per class, per mark, not per application. If a company files in three classes for one logo, the government fee alone is ₹27,000 (₹9,000 x 3), before any professional fee. E-filing is always cheaper than filing on paper at a Trade Marks Registry office, and almost every applicant now files online through the IP India e-filing portal for that reason alone.

Other Statutory Fees You May Encounter Later in the Life of the Mark

Note that the individual/startup fee concession applies to the original TM-A filing, but renewal is charged at the standard ₹9,000/₹10,000 rate regardless of applicant category; there's no separate discounted renewal tier. Verify current figures against the IP India Forms and Official Fees page before you pay, since government fee notifications do change.

How to Apply for Trademark Registration Online: The Actual Steps

The entire process runs on the IP India e-filing portal (ipindiaonline.gov.in), under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Trade Marks Rules, 2017.

1. Get a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) or use the portal's OTP-based e-filing option, if you're filing without an agent. Most individuals filing directly can use the simpler path; agents typically use a Class 3 DSC.
2. Create or log into your e-filing account on the IP India portal.
3. Fill Form TM-A, the single application form used for a trademark, collective mark, or certification mark, whether it's a word mark, logo, or series application. You'll enter the applicant's details, the mark itself (or upload the logo image), the class or classes, and a specification of the exact goods or services covered.
4. Declare a date of first use, if applicable, or mark the application as "proposed to be used" if you haven't started using the mark commercially yet. Claiming an earlier use date without proof to back it up is a documented reason applications get objected on.
5. Upload supporting documents: ID proof, MSME/startup certificate for the fee concession, logo file, and the User Affidavit if you claimed prior use.
6. Pay the government fee through the portal's payment gateway.
7. Receive your Trademark Application Number immediately on submission. This number is what you'll use to track the application's status going forward.
8. Vienna Codification, for logo and device marks only, happens next: the Registry assigns codes describing the figurative elements of your logo (a bird, a geometric shape, and so on) for its own classification database. This step doesn't apply to plain word marks.

Once submitted, the application enters the examination queue. You cannot use the ® symbol yet, but you can use ™ immediately after filing, since ™ signals a claimed mark rather than a granted registration.

How Long Does Trademark Registration Actually Take?

This is where most guides oversell speed. Realistically:

Put together, an uncontested application, one that clears examination without an objection and draws no opposition, typically takes somewhere between 8 and 18 months from filing to certificate. If your application is objected or opposed, add the time it takes to respond, attend any hearing, and, for an opposition, go through the full inter partes proceeding, which can itself run another 12 to 24 months in contested cases. There is no way to legally guarantee a faster registration; there is a separate expedited-examination request (a much higher government fee, ₹20,000 for individuals/startups and ₹40,000 for others) that moves your file ahead in the examination queue, but it does not remove the statutory 4-month opposition window, which nothing can shorten.

How to Check Your Trademark Application Status

Once you have your application number, track it on the IP India public search portal under "Trademark Application/Registered Mark Status." The status field will show one of several standard terms, and each means something specific:

• Formalities Chk Pass: your application cleared the basic paperwork check and moved into the examination queue.
• Marked for Exam: an examiner has been assigned and is reviewing the mark.
• Objected: the examiner has raised at least one objection; you have 30 days to file a reply.
• Accepted: the examiner is satisfied and the mark will move to publication.
• Advertised before Acceptance: in rarer cases, the Registry publishes the mark for opposition before formally accepting it, usually where there's some ambiguity the Registry wants public input on.
• Opposed: a third party has filed a notice of opposition during the publication window.
• Registered: the mark has cleared opposition (or drawn none) and the registration certificate has been, or is about to be, issued.
• Abandoned: you missed a mandatory deadline, most often the 30-day examination reply window, and the application has lapsed. There's no reviving an abandoned application; you'd need to file fresh, losing your original priority date.

Check the status every few weeks rather than waiting for a notice by post, since notices sometimes go to an outdated address on file and missing a deadline because of that is not usually grounds for restoring the application.

Trademark Objection: What It Means and How to Respond

A trademark objection is raised by the Registry's own examiner, not by a competitor. It's an internal quality check under the Trade Marks Act, and it happens in a large share of filed applications, so getting one doesn't mean your application has failed.

Objections generally fall into two categories:

• Absolute grounds (Section 9): the mark is considered too generic, purely descriptive of the goods or services, non-distinctive, or otherwise not capable of functioning as a trademark. A word like "Fresh" for a fruit juice brand invites exactly this objection.
• Relative grounds (Section 11): the examiner has found an identical or deceptively similar mark already on the register or pending, in the same or a related class.

You must file your reply within 30 days from the date you receive the Examination Report. Missing this deadline results in the application being treated as abandoned, with no revival option. A limited extension is available through the appropriate miscellaneous request, but never plan around getting one; draft to the 30-day deadline as if no extension exists.

A reply generally needs to:

• Directly address each specific ground the examiner raised, not a generic rebuttal
• For absolute-ground objections, show acquired distinctiveness through evidence of actual use: invoices, dated advertisements, packaging, website archives, and sales figures if available
• For relative-ground objections, distinguish your mark from the cited mark on visual, phonetic, or conceptual grounds, or show the goods/services don't actually overlap in the way the examiner assumed

If the examiner isn't satisfied with the written reply, the Registry schedules a show-cause hearing, where you (or your authorised agent) can argue the case directly before a Trade Marks Officer. After the hearing, the officer either accepts the mark for publication or refuses the application, and a refusal can be appealed further.

Trademark Opposition: How It's Different From an Objection

An objection and an opposition are frequently confused, but they're entirely different proceedings with different opponents and different deadlines.

If you're opposed, the case runs through evidence filing by both sides (affidavits, exhibits) and typically ends in a hearing before the Registrar, who then decides whether the mark proceeds to registration. Anyone with a legitimate interest, most commonly the owner of an existing similar mark, can file an opposition; it isn't limited to registered trademark owners.

What Happens After Your Trademark Is Registered

Once you clear examination and either draw no opposition within the 4-month window or win the opposition proceeding, the Registry issues your Registration Certificate. From that date:

• You can use the ® symbol; using it before actual registration is misrepresentation and can itself invite legal consequences.
• Your registration is valid across all of India, for 10 years from the date you originally filed (not from the date the certificate is issued).
• You hold the exclusive right to use the mark for the goods/services in your registered class, and the standing to sue for infringement, a more direct route than a passing-off claim.
• You can assign, license, or franchise the mark to others; recording an assignment uses Form TM-P.
• You can use the Indian registration as the basis to file internationally through the Madrid Protocol, which gives access to registration across more than 130 member countries through one centralised filing rather than separate national applications everywhere.

™ vs ®: Which Symbol Can You Use, and When

The ™ symbol signals that you're claiming rights to a mark, whether or not it's registered yet, or even if you never register it at all. Anyone can use ™ the moment they start using a mark in trade, and it's the correct symbol to use immediately after filing your application, while it's still pending.

The ® symbol legally means the mark is registered with the Trade Marks Registry. You can only use it once the registration certificate is actually issued, never while the application is merely filed or pending. Using ® on an unregistered or still-pending mark isn't a technicality; it can be treated as a false representation under the Trade Marks Act and used against you if challenged.

How to Renew a Trademark Before It Lapses

A trademark registration lasts 10 years from the filing date, and it's renewable indefinitely, but renewal is not automatic. You have to actively file Form TM-R.

• Timely renewal, filed anytime up to a year before expiry and through the expiry date itself, costs ₹9,000 per class (e-filing) or ₹10,000 (physical).
• Late renewal, filed within 6 months after expiry, adds a surcharge, bringing the e-filing total to ₹13,500 per class.
• Restoration and renewal, for a mark removed from the register 6 months to a year after expiry, costs more again, ₹18,000 per class (e-filing), and needs a restoration request in addition to the renewal itself.

After 12 months of removal, the mark generally cannot be restored at all; you would need to file a completely fresh TM-A application and lose your original priority date and any renewal continuity.

The renewal fee applies per class, same as the original filing, so a mark registered in three classes costs three times the per-class renewal fee at each 10-year cycle. Track your own renewal date independently rather than relying solely on the Registry's notice, since that notice goes to whatever address is on file and a missed or outdated address is not typically accepted as grounds for restoring a lapsed mark.

Common Trademark Registration Mistakes We See Repeatedly

• Filing without a proper search first, then discovering a conflicting mark only after paying the fee and waiting months for an objection.
• Choosing a purely descriptive or generic name and expecting registration anyway; distinctiveness is a real legal requirement, not a formality.
• Filing in the wrong class, protecting a class the business doesn't actually operate in while leaving the real activity unprotected.
• Registering only the logo and assuming the brand name is covered too, or the reverse; a word mark and a device mark are separate protections.
• Claiming an earlier "date of first use" without documentation to prove it, which invites exactly the kind of scrutiny that leads to an objection.
• Missing the 30-day examination reply deadline, which results in permanent abandonment with no revival route.
• Assuming a clean self-search guarantees registration, when the Registry's own examination can still object on distinctiveness grounds a basic search wouldn't reveal.
• Forgetting the mark needs renewal every 10 years, and only realising after the grace period and surcharge windows have both passed.

Why Work With LegalDev on Your Trademark Filing

We've spent ten years tracking how filings actually move through the Indian Trade Marks Registry, not just how the process reads on paper. On a trademark filing, that means:

• A real trademark availability search before you commit to a name, checked against both registered and pending marks
• Help picking the correct Nice Classification class or classes for what your business actually does
• TM-A application preparation and filing, including the class specification language that reduces the chance of an avoidable objection
• Tracking your application status so a deadline never gets missed because a Registry notice went to an old address
• Drafting and filing objection replies within the 30-day window, backed by whatever use-evidence you actually have
• Support through an opposition, hearing, or show-cause proceeding if one arises
• Renewal tracking and filing before the 10-year window closes, with enough runway to avoid a surcharge

If you're also protecting original written or design work alongside your brand name, see our guide on copyright registration for how that separate protection works and where it overlaps with a trademark.

Frequently Asked Questions About Trademark Registration