Keeping Your Trademark: Section 8 & 9 Renewals

Getting a trademark registration certificate from the USPTO feels like crossing the finish line. It is not. A registration is more like a gym membership than a trophy: it stays valid only if you keep paying attention to it. The U.S. trademark system is built on actual use in commerce, so the government periodically asks you to prove your mark is still in use and to renew the registration. Miss those filings and your hard-won rights quietly disappear.

This guide walks through the maintenance schedule in plain English: the Section 8 declaration, the Section 9 renewal, the combined filings, specimens, grace periods, and what happens if you let a deadline slip.

This is general educational information about U.S. trademark practice, not legal advice. For your specific registration, talk to an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.

Why registrations need ongoing maintenance

Unlike a copyright, which lasts for decades automatically, a U.S. trademark registration only lasts as long as you actively use the mark and file the right paperwork to confirm it. The USPTO does not want its register cluttered with “deadwood,” meaning marks that were registered years ago but are no longer in use. So it requires owners to periodically check in and declare, under penalty of perjury, that the mark is still being used on the goods or services listed in the registration.

These check-ins are named after sections of the federal Trademark Act (the Lanham Act): Section 8 for the declaration of continued use, Section 9 for the renewal, and Section 15 for an optional bonus filing that strengthens your rights. The names sound bureaucratic, but the idea is simple: prove you are still using it, or lose it.

The deadlines all run from your registration date, the date printed on your certificate, not from your application date or first use date. Mark that date in your calendar the day you get your certificate. For the full picture of where maintenance fits in the life of a registration, see our TTAB and trademark maintenance pillar.

The Section 8 Declaration of Use (the 5-6 year window)

Your first maintenance deadline arrives surprisingly early. Between the fifth and sixth year after your registration date, you must file a Section 8 Declaration of Use. This is a signed statement confirming that you are still using your trademark in commerce on the goods or services in your registration (or that you have a legitimate excuse for not using it, which is rare and scrutinized).

The Section 8 filing has three core parts:

• A signed declaration of continued use, made under penalty of perjury.
• A specimen of use for each class of goods or services in the registration.
• The government filing fee, charged per class.

The specimen is the part people underestimate. A specimen is real-world evidence that the mark is being used to sell something, not just a logo file. For goods, that usually means a photo of the product label, tag, or packaging showing the mark. For services, it might be a screenshot of an advertisement or a webpage where customers can buy the service. A picture of your logo by itself is not enough; the specimen has to show the mark in the actual marketplace.

If you stopped selling some of the items listed in your registration, you must delete those goods or services rather than claiming use you cannot back up. Filing a false declaration can jeopardize the entire registration. This is a good moment to make sure your registration still matches your real business.

The Section 9 Renewal (every 10 years)

The Section 9 Renewal is the filing that actually extends your registration for another ten-year term. Unlike the Section 8 declaration, which first comes due at the 5-6 year mark, the renewal is tied to the ten-year cycle: you renew between the ninth and tenth year after registration, and then every ten years after that, indefinitely, for as long as you keep using the mark and filing on time.

There is no limit on how many times you can renew. A trademark can theoretically live forever, which is why brands that have existed for a century still hold active registrations. The catch is that “forever” only happens if you never miss a renewal.

Because the renewal and the periodic declaration line up at the ten-year mark, the USPTO lets you handle both in a single combined filing, which is what most owners do.

The combined filings (8 & 9, and 8 & 15)

In practice, you rarely file these sections in isolation. There are two combinations worth knowing:

Combined Section 8 & 9. At each ten-year deadline (between years 9 and 10, then 19 and 20, and so on), the declaration of continued use and the renewal come due at the same time. The USPTO offers a combined Section 8 and 9 filing so you submit one application, one set of specimens, and the relevant fees together. This is the standard renewal package you will file every decade.

Combined Section 8 & 15. Section 15 is the optional incontestability filing. Once your mark has been registered on the Principal Register and in continuous use for at least five years, you can file a Section 15 declaration to make your registration much harder for others to challenge on certain grounds. Because the five-year mark overlaps with the 5-6 year Section 8 window, many owners file a combined Section 8 & 15 at the same time, knocking out a required filing and an optional rights-booster in one step. Section 15 is not mandatory, but it is one of the cheapest ways to strengthen a registration. We cover it fully in our guide to Section 15 incontestability.

Grace periods and fees

Missed the exact window? You usually have one more chance. Each maintenance deadline comes with a six-month grace period after the deadline passes. You can still file during those six months, but you will pay an additional grace-period fee on top of the normal per-class filing fee.

So the realistic timeline for that first declaration looks like this:

• Years 5 to 6: the normal Section 8 filing window.
• The six months after year 6: the grace period, available for an extra fee.
• After the grace period ends: the door closes.

The same pattern applies at every ten-year renewal. The grace period is a safety net, not a plan. Fees add up per class, and relying on the grace period is an easy way to pay more than you needed to. Always aim for the normal window.

What happens if you miss a deadline

This is the part that catches owners off guard, so it is worth stating bluntly: if you do not file the required Section 8 declaration or Section 9 renewal by the deadline and you let the six-month grace period pass, the USPTO cancels or expires your registration. There is no late “oops, here is my fee” reinstatement for a blown maintenance deadline the way there sometimes is for an abandoned application.

Once the registration is dead, you lose the benefits that came with it: the legal presumptions of ownership and validity, the nationwide constructive notice, and your place in line. To get protection back, you would have to file a brand-new application and start the whole examination process over, including paying new fees and waiting through the queue again. Worse, you lose your original priority date, so anyone who started using a similar mark in the meantime may now be ahead of you.

A few practical habits prevent almost all of this:

• Calendar all your deadlines from the registration date the day your certificate arrives, and set reminders months in advance.
• Keep your contact and email information current with the USPTO so reminder notices reach you.
• Save dated specimens as you go, so you are not scrambling to find proof of use at filing time.

For a refresher on how registration works in the first place, and the steps that lead up to maintenance, see what happens after you file and our broader library at /topics/trademarks/.

The bottom line

A trademark registration is a renewable asset, not a permanent one. Keep it alive by filing a Section 8 Declaration of Use between years 5 and 6, then a combined Section 8 & 9 renewal between years 9 and 10 and every ten years after that, each with a signed declaration and a specimen for every class. Consider adding a Section 15 filing to strengthen your rights. Use the six-month grace period only as a last resort, because the fees climb and the safety net eventually disappears. Miss the window completely and your registration is gone, with no shortcut back.

The schedule is predictable, which is exactly why it is so easy to forget. Build the dates into your calendar and your registration can outlast you.

This guide is general educational information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Trademark maintenance rules, fees, and deadlines change, so before you file, confirm the current requirements with the USPTO or an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.