How to Trademark a Business Name in New York (2026)

Fact-checked by the LegalGlass editorial team against primary sources · Published Aug 20, 2026 · Last updated Aug 20, 2026

To trademark a business name in New York, file an Application to Register a Trademark with the New York Department of State for $50 per class of goods or services, with three specimens showing actual use. State registration lasts ten years under General Business Law Article 24 and covers New York only; a USPTO filing covers all 50 states.

What a Trademark Protects — and What It Does Not

A trademark protects a brand identifier: the word, phrase, logo, or slogan that tells buyers your goods come from you. A mark used on services is technically a service mark, which New York registers on a parallel application, but the rules are the same. In the United States, trademark rights arise from actual use in commerce, not from filing a form. The moment you sell under a distinctive name in New York, you have common-law rights in the geographic area where customers know you. Registration does not create those rights; it records, strengthens, and extends them.

Two things a trademark does not do are worth stating plainly. It does not protect an idea, a product design's function, or written content — those are patent and copyright territory. And registering a company name with the Division of Corporations is not a trademark. Filing articles of organization or a New York DBA only ensures no other entity files an indistinguishable name on the business register; another company can still use a confusingly similar brand in the marketplace. That is the single most common misunderstanding among new owners.

Step 1: Clear the Name Before You Commit

Search before you spend money on signage, packaging, or a rebrand. Work through three layers. Start with the federal register using the USPTO's trademark search, because a prior federal registration for related goods can block you nationwide and is the most expensive kind of conflict to discover late. Next, check the New York business register through the New York business entity search for entities and assumed names already using the term. Finally, do an ordinary market search: web, social platforms, app stores, and domain registrars turn up unregistered common-law users who can still object.

What you are looking for is not identity but likelihood of confusion — similar marks on related goods or services sold to overlapping customers. "Riverbend Coffee" and "River Bend Coffee Roasters" are a problem; "Riverbend Coffee" and "Riverbend Excavating" usually are not. Distinctive marks clear more easily and are far easier to enforce: coined and arbitrary names sit at the strong end, suggestive names in the middle, and merely descriptive names such as "Fast Plumbing" are weak and may be refused outright without proof of acquired distinctiveness.

Step 2: File the New York State Application

New York state registrations are handled by the New York Department of State. You file the Application to Register a Trademark — or the Application to Register a Service Mark if you provide services — and pay a $50 filing fee for each classification of goods or services claimed. If your mark spans two classes, the fee is $100. Checks are made payable to the Department of State, and checks over $500 must be certified.

The application asks you to identify the owner, describe the mark, state the class or classes, and give the date the mark was first used in New York and first used anywhere. You must supply three specimens showing the mark as it is actually used — labels, tags, packaging, or signage for goods; advertising and service materials for services. A mock-up or a drawing on its own is not a specimen. Because New York registers marks already in use, there is no New York equivalent of the federal intent-to-use application; you cannot reserve a mark before you start selling.

The Governing Law: General Business Law Article 24

New York's trademark statute is Article 24 of the General Business Law, with Section 360-b setting out the right of any person who uses a mark to file an application with the Secretary of State. Article 24 also supplies the classification system, the registration term, the renewal mechanism, and the state-law causes of action — including New York's well-known dilution provision, which protects distinctive marks against blurring or tarnishment even without a likelihood of confusion.

Registration under Article 24 carries evidentiary weight in New York courts and puts your claim on a public record that others searching the state will find. What it does not do is reach beyond the state line. If a business in Ohio adopts the same name, a New York registration gives you nothing against them; only a federal registration provides that nationwide constructive notice.

Term, Renewal, and Keeping the Registration Alive

A New York registration lasts ten years from the registration date and may be renewed for further ten-year terms through the Department of State's renewal filing. Renewal is not automatic: calendar the deadline the day your certificate arrives, because letting a registration lapse means refiling from scratch and losing the earlier registration date. Assignments — transferring the mark when the business is sold or restructured — are also recorded with the Department of State, and each filing carries its own fee.

Registration is a record, not a police force. Nobody at the Department of State monitors the market for infringers. Enforcement is on you: set up alerts for your brand name, watch the federal register for confusingly similar applications, and send a cease-and-desist promptly when a genuine conflict appears. Consistent, documented use also matters — a mark you stop using can be deemed abandoned, and gaps in use weaken any enforcement action.

Step 3: Decide Whether to File Federally

For most businesses with any ambition beyond one metro area, the USPTO filing is the one that matters. Under the fee schedule that took effect in January 2025, the base application fee is $350 per class of goods or services, with surcharges that apply when an application provides insufficient information or uses free-form text instead of the pre-approved identification manual. Federal registration brings nationwide constructive notice of your claim, the right to use the ® symbol, a presumption of validity and ownership, access to federal court, and a basis for recording with customs and for enforcement on major online marketplaces.

The trade-offs are cost and time. Federal applications are examined by an attorney at the USPTO, can draw refusals on descriptiveness or likelihood of confusion, and are published for opposition before registering — a process typically measured in many months. A state filing is cheap and quick but stops at the New York border. Many New York businesses file both: the state registration for immediate, inexpensive local record, and the federal application for the protection that will actually matter as the business grows. Keeping registration in the right owner's name matters too — if the brand belongs to your company rather than to you personally, file in the company's name; see how to form an LLC in New York.

Using TM, SM, and the ® Symbol

You may use TM next to a mark for goods, or SM for services, at any time — no registration is required, and doing so signals that you claim rights. The ® symbol is different: it is reserved for marks registered with the USPTO and may not be used based on a New York state registration alone. Using ® without a federal registration is a misuse that can undermine your position in litigation.

Use the mark consistently — same spelling, same spacing, same presentation — and always as an adjective modifying the product rather than as the noun itself. Sloppy or generic use is how strong marks weaken over time. Related concepts and definitions are collected in the glossary, and the national trademark hub covers the federal process step by step.

Common Mistakes New York Owners Make

Three errors account for most trouble. The first is treating the LLC filing as brand protection. The Division of Corporations checks whether a proposed entity name is distinguishable from other entities on the register — nothing more. The second is skipping the federal search: a business builds a brand for two years, then receives a cease-and-desist from a prior federal registrant and has to rebrand entirely. The third is filing in the wrong class, or in only one class when the business genuinely spans two, which leaves a gap a competitor can occupy.

A fourth, subtler mistake is registering the mark personally when the business operates through an entity, or vice versa, and never assigning it. When the company is later sold or financed, ownership of the brand has to be untangled at exactly the wrong moment. Decide who owns the mark at the outset and keep the registration, the entity records, and any license agreements consistent. For the entity side of that picture, start with what an LLC is.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to trademark a business name in New York?

The New York Department of State charges a $50 filing fee for each classification of goods or services claimed in the application. A mark used across two classes therefore costs $100. A federal registration with the USPTO is separate and starts at a $350 base application fee per class under the current fee schedule.

Where do I file a New York state trademark?

With the New York Department of State. You submit the Application to Register a Trademark, or the parallel Application to Register a Service Mark if you sell services rather than goods, along with three specimens showing the mark in actual use and the $50 per class filing fee made payable to the Department of State.

How long does a New York trademark registration last?

A New York state trademark registration runs for ten years from the date of registration and can be renewed for further ten-year terms through the Department of State's renewal filing. Federal registrations also run ten years but require a separate Section 8 declaration of continued use between the fifth and sixth years.

Do I have to be using the name before I apply in New York?

Yes. New York registers marks that are already in use; Article 24 of the General Business Law is built around actual use of the mark, and the application requires three specimens showing how the mark appears in commerce. The USPTO, by contrast, accepts intent-to-use applications before any sales occur.

Is a New York LLC name the same as a trademark?

No. Forming an LLC or filing a DBA with the Department of State only reserves the name on the business register so another entity cannot file an indistinguishable one. It grants no exclusive right to use the name as a brand. Trademark rights come from use in commerce and are strengthened by state or federal registration.

Should I file in New York or with the USPTO?

File with the USPTO if you sell across state lines, online, or expect to expand, because federal registration gives nationwide constructive notice, the right to use the registered symbol, and access to federal court. A New York-only registration is cheaper and faster and suits a business whose market is genuinely local.

Related

• Trademark basics (national hub)
• How to form an LLC in New York
• New York DBA filing
• New York business entity search
• What is a DBA?
• How to get an EIN
• Legal glossary
• Trademark a name in Massachusetts (sibling)
• Trademark a name in North Carolina (sibling)

Sources

1. New York Department of State — Application to Register a Trademark ($50 per classification; three specimens; ten-year duration).
2. New York Department of State — Application to Register a Service Mark.
3. New York Department of State — Renewal of Trademark / Service Mark.
4. New York Department of State — How To and FAQs (Division of Corporations filings).
5. New York State Senate — General Business Law, Article 24 (trademark registration; § 360-b application).
6. USPTO — Apply for a Trademark (application requirements).
7. USPTO — Trademark Fee Information ($350 base application fee per class; surcharges).
8. USPTO — The Trademark Process (examination, publication, registration).
9. USPTO — Trademark Search (federal register clearance).
10. USPTO — Trademark, Patent, or Copyright (what each protects).
11. IRS — Business Structures.
12. IRS — Get an Employer Identification Number.
13. U.S. Small Business Administration — Choose Your Business Name.

LegalGlass provides general information for educational purposes and is not a law firm and is not legal advice or a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney or tax professional. Laws, fees, forms, and deadlines change; verify current requirements with the New York Department of State and the USPTO before acting.