Statement of Use Trademark: What It Is and How to File It Correctly

A statement of use trademark filing is the document you submit to the USPTO after you begin selling goods or providing services under a mark approved through an intent-to-use application. It costs $150 per class as of 2026, requires a real specimen showing the mark in commerce, and must be filed within 6 months of your Notice of Allowance unless you buy more time with an extension.

When you have an intent-to-use application that has been approved, and you are now in the market with your goods or services, you will need to file a statement of use with the USPTO.

Consider it this way: if your Notice of Allowance has just come in the mail on an intent-to-use trademark application, you are not yet registered. You are in a holding pattern. The statement of use is the document that moves you out of that waiting room.

For us, dealing with founders from around the world on their EIN and entity filings, we see a lot of timing questions once an LLC is up and running and they start building a brand. The statement of use is where people tend to stumble. It can be mistaken for the sort of paperwork one can defer, but there is no room for error here; let the window close and the application is dead.

What Exactly Is a Statement of Use?

A statement of use (SOU) is a sworn document filed with the USPTO that states, in effect, “we are using this mark in commerce as of this date, and here is our evidence.” This is only for those who filed under the intent-to-use basis of Section 1(b). If you were already using the mark and had filed under Section 1(a), you would have submitted your specimen with the original application and would not have filed an SOU.

The USPTO will want to see three things from the SOU: the date of first use anywhere, the date of first use in interstate commerce (which may or may not be the same), and a specimen of the mark as your customers see it. Make an error on the specimen, and you will face a refusal. It won’t kill the application outright, but it will put you back three to six months while you refile.

When Do You Have to File It?

Timing is dictated by the day the USPTO issues the Notice of Allowance, not when it lands on your desk. From then, you have six months to file the SOU or an extension. If sales are not yet happening, you can file for an Extension of Time. You can do so up to 5 times at $125 per class for each additional 6 months. That gives you a three-year runway from the Notice of Allowance before you must demonstrate use or abandon the matter.

We have seen clients make the error of treating extensions as a mere formality, letting two go by without much thought. Don’t. You are required to state a bona fide intent to use the mark with everyone. Examiners are not blind to patterns, particularly when an applicant earns multiple marks and never uses them. If your plans have changed and a launch is not in the offing, that statement will not hold up.

What Does It Cost in 2026?

In 2026, the fee for a statement of use is $150 per class. The USPTO fee schedule for 2026 is as follows:

• Base trademark application fee: $350 per class
• Statement of Use filing fee: $150 per class (this went up from $100 per class after the USPTO’s fee restructuring that took effect in January 2025)
• Extension of Time request: $125 per class, each one, up to five allowed
• Section 8 Declaration of Continued Use (due years 5 to 6 after registration): $325 per class
• Section 9 Renewal (due at year 10, then every 10 years): $325 per class

Consider the math on a single-class mark: should one exhaust all five extensions before putting in the SOU, the extension fees alone total $625. Add in the $150 for the SOU and the original $350 application, and you have put over $1,100 in government fees out the door without yet paying an attorney. Register in more than one class, and those numbers are multiplied. A software firm with filings in Class 9 for downloadable software and Class 42 for SaaS, for instance, has to cover each of these fees twice.

What Counts as an Acceptable Specimen?

This is where the USPTO tends to flag most SOUs. They do not want to see a mockup, a business card, or some Photoshop file that has never been part of a live product. The mark has to be shown as a customer would actually come across it.

In the case of goods, we are talking about tags, labels, packaging, or a photo of the product bearing the mark. A screenshot of a shopping cart with a “coming soon” price tag is insufficient; the item must be available for purchase. With services, an ad, a brochure from a client engagement, or a website screenshot with the mark next to a service description will do. The key is to connect the mark to what is being sold, rather than having a logo in the header for show.

We often get refusals from SaaS founders who submit a homepage where the mark is nothing more than a decorative logo element, with no text to tie it to the service. The USPTO wants it to function as a source identifier.

Common Mistakes Founders Make

• Filing prematurely. An SOU cannot be put in until the Notice of Allowance is in hand. Even if sales begin the week after the application is filed, one must wait. Filing early only results in a return.
• Date discrepancies. Put a date of first use in commerce after the specimen date, or have a specimen that does not align with the application’s description of goods and services, and an office action will follow.
• Using one specimen to cover multiple classes. That will not work. A physical product specimen does not account for a services class; each requires its own. Letting the extension deadline pass. There is no grace period.
• File the request after the current period has lapsed and the application is abandoned. You will have to start anew with a new filing date, ceding priority to anyone who filed a similar mark in the interim.

And do not assume the mark is registered once the SOU is filed. The USPTO has to review it first. If there are no specimen issues and it is unopposed, the registration certificate usually comes within a couple of months. But any problems with the specimen will put that timeline on hold while the matter is resolved.

Step-by-Step: Filing a Statement of Use

1. Confirm you have a Notice of Allowance in hand, not just an approved application.
2. Confirm the mark is actually in use in commerce for every class you’re claiming, with a specimen ready for each.
3. Log in to the USPTO’s Trademark Center and select the Statement of Use filing option under your application’s serial number.
4. Enter your dates of first use, both anywhere and in interstate commerce.
5. Upload your specimen for each class.
6. Pay the $150 per-class filing fee.
7. Wait for USPTO review. If accepted, you’ll get a registration certificate. If there’s an issue, you’ll get an office action with a response deadline, usually three months.

Statement of Use vs. Amendment to Allege Use

There is a lot of confusion between the two. The timing is what sets them apart. An Amendment to Allege Use (AAU) is for when you have begun using the mark but are still under examination and have yet to receive your Notice of Allowance. The Statement of Use comes after the Notice. The fee and specimen rules are identical, so if you are already making sales while the application is pending, go ahead and file the AAU rather than hold off.

FAQs

Is an attorney necessary?

For domestic applicants acting on their own behalf, the USPTO does not insist on one. Foreign-domiciled applicants are another story; since 2019, the rules have made representation mandatory.

What if the USPTO refuses my statement of use?

You can expect an office action to spell out the issue, whether it’s a date discrepancy or a specimen issue. You will have about three months to submit a corrected specimen or another explanation before they abandon the application.

Do I need a US business entity on paper to file?

Not to file the SOU itself, as it is tied to the trademark application. But most non-resident founders will put together a US LLC beforehand. It is better for the brand to be owned by the business for liability purposes and for any future licensing or sale, rather than by an individual.

How long until I see the registration certificate?

Assuming no hiccups, a few weeks to a couple of months. If the USPTO has cause to flag something, add several more months to that.

Where This Fits Into Your Broader Filing Timeline

For a non-resident founder putting together a US brand, the timeline for your trademark and your entity formation ought to run in parallel. Want to discuss how your LLC and trademark filing should be sequenced? We help founders in over 175 countries with this at EasyFiling.