Intent to Use Trademark Applications and How Section 1(b) Works

An intent to use trademark application lets you file at the USPTO before your brand is in use, under Section 1(b). You secure an early filing date, then prove actual use before the mark registers.

For founders preparing a launch, this is one of the most useful features of the US system. You do not have to wait until the product is on sale to claim the name. You do, however, have to follow a specific sequence of filings and deadlines, each with its own fee per class. This guide explains how the process works, how long you have to start using the mark, what it costs in structure and how the US approach compares with the EU and the UK, where use is not required at filing.

Why the US asks about use at all

US trademark law is built on use. Rights in a mark come from using it in commerce, and federal registration confirms and strengthens those rights. That is why every US application must state a filing basis. The two most common are:

• Section 1(a), use in commerce. The mark is already used in commerce with the listed goods or services. You submit a specimen showing that use when you file.
• Section 1(b), intent to use. You have a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce for the listed goods or services, but use has not started yet, or has not started for all of them.

Applicants from outside the US may also rely on a foreign application or registration, or on an international registration through the Madrid system. Those bases do not require use before registration, although a declaration of intent to use is still part of the application.

What bona fide intention means

The intention must be real and capable of being shown. An application filed just to reserve a name you have no concrete plan to use can be challenged in an opposition or cancellation. Useful evidence of genuine intention includes business plans, product development records, supplier conversations, marketing drafts and domain registrations made around the same time. You do not file these with the application, but it is wise to keep them.

The goods and services you list should match your actual plans. Listing a broad range of products you have no intention of selling weakens the application and can cause problems later.

How the intent to use process works

An intent to use application goes through the same examination as any other application. The difference starts once the mark is approved for publication.

1. File the application. You claim Section 1(b) for some or all of the goods and services and pay the application fee per class.
2. Examination. An examining attorney reviews the application for issues such as likelihood of confusion and descriptiveness. If problems come up, you receive an office action. Our guide to responding to a trademark office action covers that stage.
3. Publication. The mark is published in the Official Gazette, which opens a period during which third parties can oppose it. See trademark opposition for how that works.
4. Notice of allowance. If no successful opposition is filed, the USPTO issues a notice of allowance. This confirms the mark is allowed but not yet registered.
5. Statement of use. You file a statement of use showing that the mark is now used in commerce, with a specimen and the date of first use, and pay a fee per class.
6. Registration. Once the statement of use is accepted, the mark registers.

If use starts before the mark is approved for publication, you can file an amendment to allege use instead. It does the same job as a statement of use, at an earlier point in the process.

Deadlines and extensions

After the notice of allowance issues, you have six months to file the statement of use. If you are not ready, you can request extensions in six month steps. According to the USPTO, up to five extensions are available, which means the total time from the notice of allowance can reach 36 months.

The first extension is generally available on request. Later extensions require a statement of good cause, which usually means describing ongoing efforts to bring the product to market, such as development, manufacturing or arranging distribution. Each request must be filed before the current deadline expires, and each carries a fee per class. If the final deadline passes without a statement of use, the application is abandoned.

How fees are structured

As of 2026, the USPTO charges the base application fee of 350 USD per class for electronic filing, with surcharges in some situations, such as goods and services written as free-form text instead of chosen from the office's ID Manual. An intent to use application then adds further fees, each charged per class:

• the statement of use or amendment to allege use,
• each extension request.

The amounts for these later filings are set out in the USPTO fee schedule and change from time to time, so check the current schedule before you file. Because every step is per class, an intent to use application in several classes costs noticeably more over its life than a use based application in one class. Our article on trademark costs beyond official fees looks at the full picture, and trademark registration cost sets out typical totals by office. Official fees are always paid directly to the office.

What the early filing date gives you

The main benefit is priority. Once the mark registers, US law treats the filing date as a date of constructive use nationwide, subject to some exceptions for earlier users. In practical terms, someone who starts using a similar name after your filing date is generally in a weaker position than you, even if they started selling before you did.

That makes intent to use filings valuable when:

• you are raising money or building a product and want the name secured before launch,
• your launch depends on manufacturing or regulatory steps that take months,
• you plan to expand into new goods or services under an existing brand.

There are also limits. An intent to use application generally cannot be assigned to someone else before use begins, except to a successor of the business to which the mark belongs. And the application gives you no registration until use is shown, so enforcement before that point relies on the pending status and any common law rights you build.

Comparison with the EU, UK and other systems

Most other major systems do not require use at filing or before registration.

In the EU and UK, you can register a mark before using it. That does not make unlimited filing safe. A registration not genuinely used for the registered goods and services within the grace period can be challenged for non use, and filing without any intention to use can support a bad faith argument. The difference is timing: the US checks use before registration, while the EU and UK mostly check it later, if someone challenges the mark.

If you plan to file in several countries, the Paris Convention generally gives you six months from your first filing to file elsewhere while keeping the original date. A US intent to use application can serve as that first filing. See the country pages for the United States and the European Union for office specific details.

Common mistakes with intent to use filings

Missing an extension deadline

Deadlines run from the notice of allowance, not from the filing date. A missed deadline leads to abandonment. Petitions to revive exist in limited circumstances, but it is better not to rely on them.

Weak specimens

The statement of use needs a specimen showing the mark used with the goods or services as they are actually sold. Mockups, digitally altered images and pages without a way to buy often get refused.

Claiming goods you will never sell

You may delete goods or services you have not used when filing the statement of use, but a long list of unrealistic items costs more and invites challenge.

Forgetting the clearance search

An intent to use filing does not protect you from earlier marks. Before filing, run a clearance search so you are not building a launch on a name that is already taken.

Trademarking prepares your application for filing in your own name and tracks your deadlines, including statement of use dates. It is not a law firm; where an office requires a local representative, a partner attorney handles that step. Start by checking your trademark to see the closest existing marks and the classes that fit what you plan to sell.

If you are about to claim a name before launch, run a trademark search first, then compare the plans that keep the statement of use and extension dates in one calendar.

This article is general information, not legal advice.