Class 36: Finance, Insurance & Property Services
Class 36 covers money and property services: banking, lending and payments, investment and financial advice, insurance, and real estate services such as estate agency, lettings and property management. It’s the tenth most used of the 45 classes, with 41,939 UK registrations between September 2021 and September 2026, which is about 30% more registrations than the average class. It’s a busy class, and finance and property names tend to use the same handful of words, so clashes are common.
What class 36 covers
This is the official Nice heading, in full:
Financial, monetary and banking services; insurance services; real estate services.
It’s a services class, so it protects what you do for clients rather than anything you make. On the money side, that’s banking, lending, mortgage broking, payments, investment management, financial advice, pensions and insurance. On the property side, it’s buying, selling, letting, valuing and managing real estate for others. Fundraising for charities sits here too, because it’s a financial service.
The mistake I see most often
The mistake is describing the business by its sector rather than by what it actually does. “We’re a property company” or “we’re a fintech” isn’t a class. The classification looks at each service separately.
Take a property group that buys land, builds homes, sells and lets them, manages them for landlords and runs its own app for tenants. The selling, letting and management are class 36. The building and maintenance are class 37, the tenant app is class 9 or 42, and any legal work is class 45. File only class 36 because it’s “property” and the name is protected on the agency side, but not on the construction business, which is often where the brand is most visible.
It’s worth listing every service you offer now and plan to offer, then checking the class for each. A UK application can’t have classes added later.
When you definitely need class 36
- You run an estate agency, lettings agency or property management business
- You give financial advice, manage investments or broker mortgages or loans
- You provide insurance or act as an insurance broker
- You process payments, run a payment app or offer lending or credit
- You raise funds for a charity, or run crowdfunding or an investment platform
When you might need class 36 without realising
The businesses I see miss class 36 usually describe themselves as tech companies, builders or charities first.
- Fintech and payment start-ups. The app is technology, but if it moves money, lends or processes payments, the service is class 36. Electronic payment services appear on 1,808 registrations and payment processing services on 1,338.
- Property developers and landlords. Building houses is class 37, but letting, selling or managing them is class 36. Rental of real estate appears on 1,610 registrations and property management on 1,910.
- Charities and community groups. Charitable fundraising is a class 36 service, claimed on 2,298 registrations, even though it doesn’t feel like finance.
- Accountants who also give investment advice. Accountancy is class 35, but advising clients on investments, pensions or financing is class 36.
Not sure whether what you do is class 36, 35 or 42? The free class tools below show you where businesses like yours actually file, or you can give us a call.
What businesses actually claim in class 36
These are the terms that turn up most often in recent UK class 36 registrations:
| Term | Marks using it | Share of class 36 | How common |
|---|---|---|---|
| financial services | 7,202 | 17.2% | Most use this |
| insurance services | 4,612 | 11.0% | Recommended |
| real estate affairs | 3,761 | 9.0% | Recommended |
| financial affairs | 3,477 | 8.3% | Recommended |
| monetary affairs | 3,411 | 8.1% | Recommended |
| real estate services | 3,351 | 8.0% | Recommended |
| insurance | 3,256 | 7.8% | Recommended |
| investment services | 3,195 | 7.6% | Recommended |
| real estate management | 2,640 | 6.3% | Recommended |
| financial management | 2,634 | 6.3% | Recommended |
The heading terms lead the table. Financial services is claimed on 7,202 registrations, followed by insurance services (4,612) and real estate affairs (3,761). These broad terms cover a lot of ground, which is why so many applicants use them.
Below them, the table splits into the specific services people actually offer: investment services (3,195), financial management, property management and financial consultancy (2,121). In a class this crowded, naming what you actually do gives you a clearer specification to rely on, rather than a broad term that overlaps with thousands of others.
What class 36 does not cover
Accountancy, bookkeeping and general business consultancy are class 35. Handling the books, preparing accounts or advising on how to run a business is class 35, where accounting services appear on 1,446 registrations and business management on 14,408. An accountancy firm that also gives financial advice usually needs both.
Legal services and conveyancing are class 45. Selling the house is class 36, but the legal work to transfer it is class 45, where legal services appear on 4,468 registrations. A property group with its own conveyancing team needs class 45 as well.
The software behind a fintech product is class 42 or class 9. The financial service is class 36, but a platform you provide online is class 42, where software as a service [SaaS] appears on 11,088 registrations, and a downloadable app is class 9. Most fintech brands need at least two of these classes.
Building, repairs and maintenance are class 37. A property company that builds, refurbishes or maintains buildings is providing class 37 services, where building construction appears on 2,253 registrations and property maintenance on 1,078.
Where these terms actually live
| Term | Belongs to | Marks using it |
|---|---|---|
| business management | Class 35 | 14,408 |
| accounting services | Class 35 | 1,446 |
| accountancy | Class 35 | 1,439 |
| building construction | Class 37 | 2,253 |
| property maintenance | Class 37 | 1,078 |
| software as a service [SaaS] | Class 42 | 11,088 |
| legal services | Class 45 | 4,468 |
Each of these is a separate registration. A mark in class 36 does not cover any of them.
Is class 36 the right class for you?
If you provide banking, lending, payments, investment, financial advice, insurance, charitable fundraising or estate agency, lettings and property management services under your own brand, class 36 is very likely yours. If you also do accountancy, legal work, software or building work, look at classes 35, 45, 42 and 37 as well.
Our free class tools build a specification from wording already accepted on real UK filings, so you can see what businesses like yours claim before you commit.
Common questions about class 36
Is accountancy class 35 or class 36?
Class 35. Accountancy, bookkeeping and payroll are business administration services, so they sit in class 35, where accountancy appears on 1,439 registrations. Class 36 comes in when you give financial advice, manage investments or arrange finance for clients. Many accountancy firms do a bit of both, and it’s worth claiming both if you do.
Answered by Jonathan Paton, Founder & CEODo estate agents need class 36 or class 35?
Class 36. Estate agency, lettings, property valuation and property management are all real estate services, and real estate agency services appear on 1,865 registrations. Class 35 only comes in for separate services such as advertising other people’s properties as a business in its own right.
Answered by Jonathan Paton, Founder & CEOWhat class is a cryptocurrency exchange?
Running an exchange or trading service for cryptocurrency is a financial service, so it’s class 36. The wallet is a different matter: a crypto wallet app or a hardware wallet is class 9, and a hosted platform is class 42. Most crypto businesses need class 36 and at least one of the technology classes.
Answered by Jonathan Paton, Founder & CEOIs a pawnbroker or debt collector class 36?
Yes, both. Pawnbroking is lending against goods and debt collection is a financial service, so they sit in class 36 with other lending and credit services. Debt factoring, where a business buys invoices or debts from others, is class 36 as well.
Answered by Jonathan Paton, Founder & CEOAbout these figures. Last researched 23 September 2026, from UK trademarks registered between September 2021 and September 2026 whose entry in this class is still active. That is current drafting practice rather than the historical register. Terms shown are those most frequently used in that period.
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