Trademark Renewal in the UK

Last reviewed 27 September 2026 by Jonathan Paton

A UK trademark lasts 10 years from the date the application was filed, and can be renewed every 10 years for as long as you want it. You can renew in the 6 months before it expires, or up to 6 months afterwards for an extra fee. Miss both and the trademark is removed from the register.

Book a free renewal call See renewal costs

When is my trademark due for renewal?

Your renewal date is 10 years from the filing date, the day the application was made, not the day it was registered. For most UK trademarks that’s a few months earlier than owners expect.

You can find it by searching your trademark on the UK IPO register, where it’s shown as the expiry date. If you’re a client, it’s on your Temmy portal alongside every other mark you own.

The IPO usually sends a reminder to the address on the register, so if you’ve moved, or the trademark is still at an old address or with a previous adviser, that reminder may never reach you. That’s one of the most common reasons trademarks lapse.

Renewal is the best time to review your trademark

Ten years is a long time in a business. Products change, the logo changes, sometimes the owner changes, and renewing exactly what was filed a decade ago isn’t always the right answer. It’s also the one moment when fixing it costs least, because you can’t add classes or goods and services to an existing trademark later.

That’s why we advise a fresh Trademark Clearance Audit and Consultation before every renewal. It does two jobs:

• It checks the trademark still fits the business. Is the owner right? Does the specification cover what you sell today, and what you’ll sell next? Is the logo on the register the one you actually use?
• It looks for threats you may have missed. If you haven’t had active monitoring in place, similar marks may have been filed, or lookalikes may be trading, without you knowing. Renewal is the time to find out, not after a customer mentions it.

The aim is the right solution, not the quickest one. Sometimes that’s a straight renewal. Sometimes it’s renewal plus a new application for what’s changed. Occasionally it’s a new application instead.

Proof of use: why we log it at renewal

Renewing a UK trademark doesn’t require any evidence that you’re using it. But once a trademark has been registered for five years, use starts to matter. If you want to enforce it against someone else, or they challenge it, you may be asked to prove you’ve genuinely used it, for the goods and services you’re relying on, in the last five years. Anything you can’t show use for can be removed.

So at renewal we collect and log your proof of use: dated examples of the trademark on products, packaging, your website and invoices. If we ever need to enforce, the evidence is already on file rather than being pieced together under a deadline.

Renew or file a new application?

If you can’t show use for some or all of your trademark, or the brand has moved on, a new application can be the better route. A new registration starts its own five-year period before proof of use can be demanded, and it lets you file the trademark as you use it today, with the classes and terms you actually need. Large brands often refresh their key trademarks in this way for exactly that reason.

The cost of a new application isn’t much different from the cost of a renewal, so the decision is about what protects you best and saves on future fees, not which is cheaper today. It’s not a way around use altogether: a new application still has to be made in good faith, for goods and services you genuinely intend to trade in. We’ll tell you which route fits your situation.

How much does a UK trademark renewal cost?

	Official fee
Renewal, first class	£245
Each extra class	£60
Late renewal (up to 6 months after expiry)	+ £60
Restoration (6 to 12 months after expiry)	+ £125, not refundable if refused

These are the UK IPO’s fees and apply however you renew. You can drop classes you no longer need when you renew, which reduces the fee. The trademark cost calculator shows the official renewal fees for the UK, the EU and every other country we handle. Our own fee is set out clearly in your quote before we start.

The renewal timeline

When	What you can do
6 months before expiry	Renewal window opens. Renew at the standard fee
Expiry date	Still on the register, but the renewal is now late
Up to 6 months after expiry	Renew with the £60 late fee
6 to 12 months after expiry	Removed from the register. You can ask to restore it by post, with a written statement explaining why it wasn’t renewed on time
More than 12 months after expiry	Too late to restore. A new application is the only route, and someone else may have filed first

I’ve missed my renewal date. What now?

Don’t pay anyone who writes to you about it until you’ve checked who they are (see the scam warning below).

If you’re within 6 months of the expiry date, you can still renew. It costs the normal fee plus £60.

If it’s been between 6 and 12 months, the trademark has been removed, but you can ask the IPO to restore it. You’ll need to explain why it wasn’t renewed on time, and the IPO decides whether to accept that. We can help you put the statement together.

If it’s been more than a year, the registration can’t be brought back. You’d need to file a new application, and anything filed by someone else in the meantime could stand in your way. A clearance audit will tell you where you stand before you spend anything.

Can I change my trademark when I renew?

You can remove classes, goods or services at renewal, and it’s often worth doing if parts of the specification no longer fit what you sell.

You can’t add anything. New goods, new services, a new logo or a different version of the name all need a new application, which is why renewal is the moment to review all of it.

Changing the owner, for example moving a trademark from your own name to your company, is a separate recordal, not part of renewal. If the ownership is wrong, fix it before or alongside the renewal.

Watch out for renewal scams

Because renewal dates are public, owners approaching renewal receive official-looking letters and emails asking for payment, often at several times the real fee and sometimes for nothing at all. They use names that sound like registries and set urgent deadlines.

The simple rule: if you didn’t ask for it, check before you pay. Our trademark scam directory lists the ones we’ve seen, including renewal letters from Stern Young & Partners. Renewing early is one of the best defences: once a trademark has been renewed, most of these letters stop.

Renewing EU and international trademarks

• EU trademarks also last 10 years from filing and are renewed with the EUIPO, not the UK IPO.
• International registrations under the Madrid system are renewed centrally through WIPO every 10 years, covering the countries you choose to keep.
• UK “comparable” trademarks created from EU trademarks at the end of the Brexit transition keep the original EU dates but are renewed separately in the UK, so owners with an EU trademark from before 2021 often have two renewals to deal with.

We handle UK, EU and international renewals. International trademark registration explains how the systems fit together.

How we handle your renewal

1. We confirm the date and check the record: owner, address, classes and status.
2. We review the trademark with you through a clearance audit and consultation, and log your proof of use.
3. We recommend the right route: renew, renew and add a new application, or file afresh.
4. We file with the IPO, EUIPO or WIPO and confirm when it’s done.
5. We set the next reminder, and your portfolio shows every future renewal date. Adding monitoring means you hear about threats as they happen, not ten years later.

Trademark renewal questions

How long does a UK trademark last?

Ten years from the filing date. It can then be renewed for further 10-year periods, indefinitely, as long as the renewal fee is paid on time.

How much is a UK trademark renewal?

The official fee is £245 for the first class and £60 for each additional class. Renewing up to 6 months after expiry adds a £60 late fee. Our own fee is set out clearly in your quote before we start.

What happens if I don’t renew my trademark?

After the 6-month late renewal period it’s removed from the register. You then have 6 more months to ask for it to be restored, with a statement explaining why you didn’t renew. After that it can’t be restored.

Can I renew my trademark early?

Yes, in the 6 months before the expiry date. The new 10-year period still runs from the old expiry date, so you lose nothing by renewing early.

Is it better to renew or file a new application?

It depends on how the trademark and the business have changed, and whether you can show use. A new application restarts the five-year period before proof of use can be demanded and lets you file what you use today, for a similar cost. We’ll recommend the right route after reviewing it with you.

I’ve received a renewal letter. Is it genuine?

Many aren’t. Genuine reminders come from the UK IPO or the adviser you already use. Be wary of anyone you haven’t dealt with asking you to pay to have your trademark “listed”, “published” or “monitored”. Check our scam directory or send it to us before paying anything.