Intent-to-Use Applications
Statement of Use Filings
You filed on an intent to use the mark. The USPTO approved it and sent a Notice of Allowance. Now you have to prove you are actually using it — and there is a clock running. Miss it and the application goes abandoned, taking your filing date with it.
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File your Statement of Use
Tell us your Notice of Allowance date. We usually reply the same business day.
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Book a ConsultationYou’re not hiring a filing service.You’re working with an attorney.
Legacy Path Law focuses on nonprofit, business, and intellectual property law. Your matter is handled by an attorney — not simply an online filing platform.
The attorneys who will handle your filing
Founding partners Breanna McCarthy and Channing Thomas handle trademark matters before the USPTO every week. Before private practice, Breanna processed trademark and business filings at the Kansas Secretary of State’s office.
Your application is prepared and filed by an admitted attorney, not a form-filling service.
Statement of Use
- Review of your Notice of Allowance and current deadline
- Confirmation of which window you are in
- Specimen review before anything is filed
- Dates of first use confirmed and documented
- Statement of Use prepared and filed
- Extension request filed instead, if you are not ready
- Confirmation once the USPTO accepts it
Flat fee per class • quoted upfront • no surprise add-ons
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What this fee does not cover: contested proceedings and litigation. Oppositions, cancellations, and appeals before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), and any court action, are outside this flat fee and are quoted separately before any such work begins.
Who this is for
A Notice of Allowance starts a clock. The mark does not register until you prove use, and the window is strict.
You filed on intent to use and the notice arrived.
- A Notice of Allowance issued and the six-month window is running
- You are selling under the mark and need to prove it properly
- You are not selling yet and need an extension request instead
- You are unsure whether what you have counts as a specimen
- The deadline has passed and you need to know whether revival is available
You are at a different stage.
- You have not filed yet — see trademark registration
- An office action arrived rather than a notice — see office action response
- Your registration needs maintaining — see renewals
- You want the whole filing reviewed — see application review
- Ownership changed before use began — see assignment
You may claim use for some goods and delete or divide out the rest. What you cannot do is claim use across the board and hope nobody checks.
What a Statement of Use actually is
An intent-to-use application lets you claim a mark before you have started using it, which is how most businesses secure a name while they are still building. But the USPTO will not register a mark nobody is using. At the end of the process it asks you to come back and show that use has begun.
That filing is the Statement of Use. It tells the USPTO the date you first used the mark anywhere, the date you first used it in commerce, and it includes a specimen — real-world evidence of the mark on the goods or in connection with the services. Once the USPTO accepts it, the mark registers.
The deadline, plainly
Your Notice of Allowance starts a six-month clock. Within that six months you must either file the Statement of Use or request an extension. Extensions come in six-month increments and you can file up to five of them, which caps the total at 36 months from the date the Notice of Allowance issued. There is no sixth extension and no discretion to grant one.
Each extension carries its own USPTO fee per class. From the second extension onward you also have to show good cause — a description of what you have actually been doing to get the mark into use.
If the window closes with no Statement of Use and no extension on file, the application is abandoned. A petition to revive exists for genuinely unintentional delay, but it is not a substitute for the deadline and it is not guaranteed.
How the Timeline Works
Everything is measured from the issue date on your Notice of Allowance.
Notice of Allowance
The USPTO has approved your mark. The six-month clock starts on the issue date printed on the notice, not the date you opened it.
Months 0–6
File the Statement of Use if you are using the mark. If you are not yet, file your first extension request.
Up to 5 extensions
Six months each. From the second onward, you must show ongoing efforts to begin use.
36-month ceiling
The outer limit from the Notice of Allowance. Nothing extends past it, and the application is abandoned if nothing is filed.
Where these filings go wrong
The specimen. This is the single most common reason a Statement of Use gets refused. A mockup is not a specimen. A logo on its own is not a specimen. For goods, the USPTO wants the mark on the product, its packaging, or a genuine point-of-sale display. For services, it wants advertising or materials that show the mark being used in connection with the service you actually provide. We look at your specimen before it is filed, which is the whole point of having someone review it.
The dates of first use. These are sworn statements. Guessing at them, or using the date you registered the domain rather than the date you first sold something, creates a problem that can follow the registration for its entire life.
Filing on goods you never launched. If your application covers five items and you only sell three, the Statement of Use has to account for that. You can delete the ones you are not using, or in some cases divide the application. What you cannot do is claim use across the board and hope nobody checks.
Waiting for the reminder. The Notice of Allowance is the notice. There is no second one.
Statement of Use Questions
What does the $750 cover?
It covers preparing and filing the Statement of Use for one mark in one international class, including review of your specimen and dates of first use before anything is submitted. USPTO filing fees are separate and are quoted to you upfront. If your mark covers more than one class, the fee is $750 per class.
I am not using the mark yet. What do I do?
File an extension request instead, before your current window closes. It buys another six months and you can do that up to five times, to a maximum of 36 months from the Notice of Allowance. We handle extension requests as part of the same engagement.
How do I find my deadline?
It is six months from the issue date on your Notice of Allowance, or six months from your most recent extension. Send us the serial number and we will confirm exactly where you stand and what is due.
What if the deadline already passed?
Contact us straight away. If the delay was unintentional there may be a petition to revive available, but it is time-limited and it is not automatic. The sooner you raise it, the more options exist.
Will you handle a mark another firm filed?
Yes. We regularly pick up intent-to-use applications originally filed elsewhere or by the owner directly. We review the application history first so nothing from the original filing causes a problem now.
Does filing the Statement of Use mean I am registered?
Not immediately. The USPTO examines it, and the registration issues once it is accepted. If there is a problem with the specimen or the dates, they will issue an office action, and that is much easier to avoid than to fix.
Does the fee cover an opposition, a cancellation, or a TTAB appeal?
No. The flat fee covers the filing work described above and ordinary examination correspondence with the USPTO. It does not cover contested proceedings — oppositions, cancellations, or appeals before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board — and it does not cover litigation in any court. Those are adversarial matters with their own timelines and costs. If one arises we will tell you what is happening and quote that work separately, in writing, before it starts.
Choosing the Right Filing Approach
Filing a trademark is not just paperwork. It is a legal process that affects your rights, your brand protection, and your ability to enforce your mark. Lower-cost options can look appealing, but mistakes in the search, the classification, or the filing itself lead to delays, refusals, or lost protection.
| Feature | File It Yourself | DIY Service Platform | Full-Service Law Firm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Lowest upfront cost | Moderate, with add-on fees | Flat fee, predictable |
| Trademark search | Not included | Limited or automated | Comprehensive legal search |
| Attorney guidance | None | Minimal or optional | Full attorney guidance |
| Application filing | Self-prepared | Guided online forms | Attorney-prepared |
| USPTO compliance | Higher risk of errors | Basic automated checks | Reviewed for compliance |
| Office Actions | Handled on your own | Additional fees to assist | Responses included |
| Best for | Experienced filers | Straightforward applications | Long-term brand protection |
USPTO fees are not refunded when an application fails, and a lost filing date cannot be recovered.
Related Reading
You Got a Notice of Allowance. Now a Clock Starts.
You Received a USPTO Office Action. What Now?
Your Registration Covers What You Listed, Not What You Sell
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Do not lose the filing date you already paid for.
Send us your serial number and we will tell you what is due, when it is due, and what it costs.
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