How to Choose Trademark Classes for Your Products and Services

To choose trademark classes, list what you actually sell and plan to sell soon, then match each product or service to its Nice class. File only in classes that cover real, intended use, usually one to three.

That is the whole method in two sentences. The hard part is the matching, because the Nice Classification groups goods and services in ways that are not always obvious. Software can sit in two classes, cosmetics can drift into pharmaceuticals and a clothing brand can need more than one class without realising it. This guide explains how the system works, how to pick classes step by step, the combinations that come up most often and why filing in too many classes can cost you more than money.

What the Nice Classification is

The Nice Classification is an international system that sorts goods and services into 45 classes. Classes 1 to 34 cover goods and classes 35 to 45 cover services. It is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization and used by the USPTO, the EUIPO, the UKIPO and most other trademark offices, which is why the same class numbers appear on applications around the world.

A trademark registration does not protect a name in the abstract. It protects the name for a specific list of goods and services, and that list is organised by class. The classes you choose therefore define the scope of your rights, the official fees you pay and the earlier marks an examiner will compare yours against. You can browse every class with plain English descriptions on our trademark classes page.

Goods versus services

The first decision is whether you sell goods, services or both. The test is simple to state. Goods are things a customer buys and takes away, physically or as a download. Services are activities you perform for someone else.

Many businesses do both. A coffee roaster sells coffee beans (goods, class 30) and may run a cafe (services, class 43). A fitness brand may sell apparel (class 25) and run classes (class 41). A software company may offer a downloadable app (class 9) and a hosted platform (class 42). In each case the brand appears on two different things, and each one may need its own class.

One point catches many people out. Selling your own products is not a separate retail service. If you sell your own clothing through your own online shop, class 25 for the clothing is the core filing. Class 35 retail services are mainly relevant when you run a store that sells a range of goods, including other brands.

How to choose your classes step by step

1. Write a plain list of what you sell. Use the words a customer would use, not marketing language. "Mobile app for tracking expenses" is more useful than "financial wellness platform".
2. Add what you will realistically sell within the next few years. Only include products you have a genuine plan for. A vague idea is not enough, and in some systems you must declare a real intention to use the mark.
3. Match each item to a class. Search the office's classification database or ID manual using your plain words. The USPTO publishes its Trademark ID Manual and the EUIPO offers a harmonised database of pre-approved terms.
4. Use pre-approved wording where you can. Terms from the official lists are accepted without debate, which avoids objections to your description of goods and services. At the USPTO, free-form text instead of ID Manual entries can also trigger an extra fee as of 2026.
5. Check the earlier marks in each class. A class that looks harmless may contain a similar mark that blocks you. A trademark availability check across your chosen classes shows where the conflicts are before you pay.
6. Cut what you cannot justify. Remove classes you added "just in case". The section on over-filing below explains why.

Common class combinations

Some business types end up with the same classes again and again. The table below shows typical starting points. Your own list may differ depending on what exactly you sell.

Software, classes 9 and 42

Software is the most common source of confusion. Downloadable software and mobile apps belong in class 9. Software you provide online without the customer downloading it, such as a web platform, sits in class 42 as software as a service. A product with both a web app and mobile apps usually justifies both classes. A product that is only a browser based platform may need only class 42.

Clothing, class 25

Class 25 covers clothing, footwear and headwear. Bags, wallets and leather goods are in class 18, jewellery and watches in class 14 and eyewear in class 9. Merchandise used only to promote another business, such as free T-shirts handed out at an event, is generally not seen as use of the mark for clothing.

Cosmetics, class 3

Class 3 covers make-up, skincare, soaps, perfumes and hair care products that are not medicated. Products that make medical or therapeutic claims, or that are regulated as medicines, tend to fall in class 5. If your range sits on that boundary, describe each product precisely, because the wording decides the class.

What each class costs

Most offices charge per class, so each extra class raises the bill. As of 2026, according to each office's published fee schedule:

• USPTO. 350 USD per class for an electronic application, with surcharges in some cases, such as free-form descriptions.
• EUIPO. 850 EUR for the first class, 50 EUR for the second and 150 EUR for each class from the third.
• UKIPO. 170 GBP for the first class online and 50 GBP for each additional class.

These are filing fees only. Renewals are also charged per class, and so are some later filings such as US declarations of use. Our trademark registration cost page lists official fees by office, and the guide to trademark costs beyond official fees covers the rest of the budget. Fees change, so confirm the current schedule with the office before filing.

The risks of over-filing

It is tempting to claim every class that might ever be relevant. That usually backfires, for several reasons.

You pay for protection you cannot keep

In the United States, registration requires use of the mark in commerce for the goods and services listed, and the USPTO asks for evidence of use. Goods you never sell have to be deleted before registration or later through maintenance filings. Claiming goods you are not using in a declaration of use can put the whole registration at risk.

Unused registrations become vulnerable

In the EU and the UK, a registration that has not been genuinely used for a continuous period of five years can be challenged for non-use, in whole or in part. A broad list full of unused goods invites that challenge, and it weakens your position when you try to enforce the mark against others.

Broad lists can look like bad faith

Courts in the UK and the EU have considered whether filing for goods and services with no intention of using the mark can amount to bad faith. The outcome depends on the facts, but a specification that bears no relation to the business is harder to defend.

More classes mean more conflicts

Every class adds earlier marks that the examiner and third parties can cite against you. A name that is clear in your core class may face an objection or an opposition in a class you never needed.

The risks of under-filing

The opposite mistake is also costly. You generally cannot add new goods or services to an application after filing, and in many systems you cannot broaden the wording either. If you file only class 42 and later launch a mobile app, you may need a new application for class 9, with a later filing date. In the meantime, someone else may have filed a similar mark for apps.

The answer is not to file everything, but to think ahead honestly. Include what you sell now and what you have a concrete plan to sell soon. For new products far in the future, a separate application later is often the better choice.

Frequently asked questions

Can I add a class after filing?

Generally no. Most offices do not let you extend the scope of an application after filing. Some allow corrections that move goods into the right class, but not additions that broaden protection.

Does one class protect me against similar marks in other classes?

Partly. Examiners and courts look at whether goods and services are related, not only at class numbers. Similar marks for closely related goods in another class can still conflict. Classes are an administrative tool, not a hard boundary.

Do all countries use the same classes?

Nearly all major offices use the Nice Classification, but they differ in how strictly they accept wording. A description accepted in the EU may need rewording in the US. See the guides for the United States and the European Union for office specific notes.

Getting it right before you file

Start with a plain list of what you sell, match it to classes, use official wording and check conflicts in each class before you pay. If you describe your business in Trademarking, it recommends Nice classes with the reasoning for each one and shows the closest existing marks, and you can run a trademark search before committing to any class.

Not sure which classes your product lands in? A trademark search recommends classes from what you sell, and the plans include the filing preparation that lists goods in each class.

This article is general information, not legal advice.