For over two decades, TEAS (Trademark Electronic Application System) was the legacy software portal at the USPTO for all electronic trademark filings. The USPTO transitioned from TEAS to a new system called The Trademark Center for new application filings on January 1, 2025. The Trademark Center has since been phased in to include registration maintenance/renewal filings.
In the old days, a trademark applicant initially needed to decide which electronic form to use – “TEAS Standard” or “TEAS Plus.” Filers who conformed their applications to TEAS Plus requirements were rewarded with discounted filing fees. Those forms have been retired now. Instead, filers log in to the Trademark Center and file a unified application.
In a previous post, I predicted that new trademark fees would be coming. They are here.
With the 2026 additions, the Trademark Center changes everything from how you search to how much you pay.
What is the Trademark Center?
The Trademark Center is the USPTO’s new, unified cloud-based platform for drafting, filing, and managing trademark applications. It replaces the legacy TEAS and TESS portals. You access it by visiting USPTO.gov, clicking on the Trademarks tab, selecting “Apply online,” and then pressing the “Trademark Center” button.
What new features does it have?
The new Trademark Center is intended to make it easier for users to read, navigate, and edit their applications. In addition, it has autosave, automatically saving your work every 60 seconds. The old system did not have that. And it has continuous fee calculation. The old system required a user to wait until the application was completed before being presented with the “tab.”
The new system centralizes management of applications, from filing a new application to managing your existing trademark docket. In addition to filing a new application, you can use the Trademark Center to submit registration renewals under Section 8, Section 15, Combined Sections 8 and 9, and Combined Sections 8 and 15. It also facilitates team collaboration.
There are also new AI-assisted features. I will get to those in a minute.
What does Trademark Center filing cost?
The USPTO now uses a unified baseline fee model instead of the old multi-tiered TEAS pricing. This table summarizes the changes:
| Services | Old TEAS System | New Trademark Center |
| Base Application Fee | $250 (Plus) / $350 (Standard) | $350 per class |
| Custom ID Surcharge | Included in Standard fee | +$200 surcharge per class |
| Lengthy Description Fee | None | +$200 fee per 1,000 characters over 1,000 |
| Incomplete Application Surcharge | Handled via Office Action | +$100 “insufficiency fee” |
As you can see, the discounted fee reward for complying with TEAS Plus requirements is gone. Now everyone has to pay the $350 fee per class of goods/services.
Under the TEAS system, you qualified for the discounted TEAS Plus fee if you used one of the pre-approved descriptions for a class of goods or services. (The pre-approved descriptions are listed in the Trademark Identification Manual.) The USPTO has transitioned from offering you a reward for using a pre-approved description to requiring you to pay a penalty if you do not. Under the new system, it will cost you an additional $200 per class if you want to create your own custom description.
New fees
The new system also limits custom descriptions to 1,000 characters. If you go over that, you will be assessed an additional fee of $200 for every increment of up to 1,000 characters over the limit.
If you omit some item or necessary information from your application, you will not only draw an Office Action, which will lengthen the examination process; you will also incur a $100 “insufficiency fee.”
Other fees
As before, there are additional fees beyond the initial application filing fee. For example, you will need to pay another fee when you request an extension of time to file a statement of use, and when you renew a registration. These are not the only additional fees you might need to pay. For more information, visit the USPTO fee page.
Does the Trademark Center offer AI assistance with descriptions?
Yes. The USPTO has integrated machine learning to facilitate application descriptions. This is particularly useful for claims in logos and/or colors.
Descriptions for trademarks must meet certain specific requirements, including a claim of all colors used in color marks. The new AI assistance for trademark descriptions and color claims offers suggestions of what to include in your description of the mark in your trademark application.
Does the Trademark Center offer image search?
Yes. As announced in an April 2, 2026 USPTO Alert, the USPTO now offers image search functionality. Previously, it was necessary to manually scour a compilation of design codes to find ones possibly matching the features of your logo or design mark. Now you can upload your logo and the system will use AI to generate the required mark descriptions and color claims for you. You can then choose to view and use the AI-generated suggestions if you’d like.
Suggestions are editable, so you can fine-tune them if needed.
As always, remember that generative-AI is not perfect. It can and does make mistakes. You should always review an AI suggestion carefully before accepting it.
The USPTO’s new image search functionality, obviating users’ need to navigate a design code manual and guess at appropriate design codes is the real crown jewel of the 2026 improvements to Trademark Center. Because this feature is a game-changer for independent artists, designers, and small businesses, I will be doing a deeper dive into it in my next blog post.
What is the Class ACT assistant?
The new Trademark Classification Agentic Codification Tool, or “Class ACT,” is a kind of agentic AI that immediately assigns international classes to unclassified applications. It also can assign the design search codes and pseudo marks that make these records searchable. According to a Trademark Center update, this reduces a process that used to take 5 months to something that can be completed in a matter of seconds.
If an intent-to-use application was filed in TEAS, can the Statement of Use be filed in Trademark Center?
Yes. The USPTO moved all pre-registration intent-to-use forms (including the Statement of Use and Requests for Extension of Time) into the unified Trademark Center portal. You should be able to access your previously filed intent-to-use application when you log in to Trademark Center.
Can the Trademark Center be used to renew registrations?
Yes. You can use Trademark Center to maintain and renew registrations even if a registration was issued under the old TEAS system. You do not need to re-register the trademark in Trademark Center.
Summary
The Trademark Center is the USPTO’s new, unified cloud-based platform for drafting, filing, and managing trademark applications
Easier use and navigation; autosave; continuous fee calculation; centralized management of applications and registrations; facilitation of collaboration; AI image search; and AI assistance with descriptions and color claims
Trademark Center implements a unified baseline fee model of $350 per class, plus additional fees for custom ID, lengthy description, and incomplete applications.
Yes, Trademark Center offers AI assistance with creating descriptions for logos and design marks, and color claims
Yes. Users applying to register a trademark in Trademark Center no longer have to enter design codes; they can upload an image of the logo or design.
The Class ACT assistant is the Trademark Classification Agentic Codification Tool. It can assign international classes, design search codes, and pseudo marks to records to make them searchable.
Yes. Applications previously filed in TEAS have been migrated to Trademark Center and may be accessed there.
Yes. Trademark Center can be used to maintain and renew trademark registrations.
Planning a new brand name or logo?
If you are preparing a brand name or logo for your business, check out my extensive Trademark FAQs page to understand what it takes to qualify for protection, and read about my trademark services.
