Class 44: Medical, Veterinary & Beauty
Class 44 covers looking after people, animals and plants: medical and dental care, therapy and counselling, beauty salons, hairdressers, spas and aesthetics clinics, vets and pet grooming, and gardening, farming and forestry services. It’s the twelfth most used of the 45 classes, with 34,861 UK registrations between September 2021 and September 2026, which is about 10% more registrations than the average class. It brings together very different businesses, from a hospital to a nail bar, so the specific wording you choose matters more than usual.
What class 44 covers
This is the official Nice heading, in full:
Medical services; veterinary services; hygienic and beauty care for human beings or animals; agriculture, aquaculture, horticulture and forestry services.
The common thread is hands-on care. Class 44 is for services that treat, care for or improve the health and appearance of a person or an animal, and services that tend land and plants. It protects the treatment or the care itself. The creams, supplements and devices used along the way are goods in other classes.
The mistake I see most often
The mistake is treating the service and the products used in it as one thing. Registering the clinic or salon in class 44 doesn’t protect the skincare, supplements, devices or training academy that grow out of it.
Take an aesthetics clinic that builds a following, launches its own skincare range, starts selling supplements and opens an academy to train other practitioners. The treatments are class 44. The skincare is class 3, the supplements are class 5 and the academy is class 41. File only class 44 and the name is protected in the treatment room, but not on the products and courses that often become the bigger business.
In my experience, that gap is usually found by someone copying you, not by you. A UK application can’t have classes added once it’s filed, so closing the gap means a second application and a second set of fees, and by then a copycat may already have filed in the class you left open. Before you file, list every product and service you offer now or plan to, and check the class for each. Don’t rush your application in, only to find you’ve missed an important product or service in your terms. The only way to add even a single term after filing is to pay again and start from scratch. Our class tools can help point you in the right direction.
When you definitely need class 44
- You run a medical, dental, physiotherapy or private health clinic
- You provide therapy, counselling or mental health services
- You run a beauty salon, hairdresser, nail bar, spa or aesthetics clinic
- You’re a vet, or you groom pets
- You provide gardening, landscape gardening, farming or forestry services
When you might need class 44 without realising
The businesses I see miss class 44 usually think of themselves as wellness brands, coaches or product companies.
- Wellness and complementary therapy practitioners. Massage, aromatherapy and alternative therapies are class 44 services. Massage appears on 1,107 registrations and aromatherapy services on 719.
- Online health and therapy platforms. The platform may be technology, but the consultation is a medical service. Telemedicine services appear on 861 registrations and mental health services on 2,324.
- Skincare and beauty brands that offer treatments. If you run facials, consultations or treatments alongside your products, that service is class 44. Beauty consultancy appears on 1,146 registrations.
- Nutrition and diet businesses. Giving nutritional advice is a class 44 service, claimed on 671 registrations, even if the business mainly sells plans or products.
Not sure whether what you do is care, coaching or a product? 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 44
These are the terms that turn up most often in recent UK class 44 registrations:
| Term | Marks using it | Share of class 44 | How common |
|---|---|---|---|
| medical services | 4,393 | 12.6% | Most use this |
| health counselling | 3,324 | 9.5% | Recommended |
| therapy services | 2,645 | 7.6% | Recommended |
| beauty salon services | 2,502 | 7.2% | Recommended |
| health care | 2,364 | 6.8% | Recommended |
| mental health services | 2,324 | 6.7% | Recommended |
| healthcare services | 2,028 | 5.8% | Recommended |
| medical and healthcare services | 1,964 | 5.6% | Recommended |
| beauty treatment services | 1,948 | 5.6% | Recommended |
| beauty treatment | 1,845 | 5.3% | Recommended |
Health and beauty share the top of the table. Medical services is claimed on 4,393 registrations, followed by health counselling (3,324) and therapy services (2,645). Beauty follows close behind, with beauty salon services on 2,502 registrations and several versions of beauty treatment.
The strong showing for mental health services and psychological counselling (1,796) reflects how many therapy and wellbeing businesses now file. Agriculture and gardening sit in the same class but appear much less often, so a landscaper or a farm should name its own service rather than rely on the heading.
What class 44 does not cover
Cosmetics and skincare products are class 3. Giving a facial is class 44, but the creams and serums you sell under your brand are goods in class 3, where cosmetics appear on 14,635 registrations and skin care preparations on 2,761. A salon with its own product range needs both.
Supplements and medicines are class 5. Advising on nutrition is class 44, but supplements sold under your brand are class 5, where dietary supplements appear on 6,993 registrations. A nutrition clinic with its own supplements needs class 5 as well.
Medical devices are class 10. Treating patients is class 44, but branded instruments, devices or equipment are goods in class 10, where medical apparatus and instruments appear on 1,925 registrations. A clinic that develops its own device needs class 10.
Fitness training and courses are class 41. Physiotherapy is class 44, but personal training and fitness classes are class 41, where fitness training services appear on 2,309 registrations. Training other practitioners, such as an aesthetics academy, is class 41 too.
Where these terms actually live
| Term | Belongs to | Marks using it |
|---|---|---|
| cosmetics | Class 3 | 14,635 |
| skin care preparations | Class 3 | 2,761 |
| dietary supplements | Class 5 | 6,993 |
| medical apparatus and instruments | Class 10 | 1,925 |
| fitness training services | Class 41 | 2,309 |
Each of these is a separate registration. A mark in class 44 does not cover any of them.
Is class 44 the right class for you?
If you provide medical, dental, therapy, counselling, beauty, hairdressing, spa, veterinary, pet grooming, gardening or farming services under your own brand, class 44 is very likely yours. If you also sell cosmetics, supplements or devices, or run fitness classes or training courses, look at classes 3, 5, 10 and 41 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 44
Is a personal trainer class 44 or class 41?
Class 41. Personal training and fitness classes are training services. Class 44 comes in for treatment, such as physiotherapy, sports massage or nutritional advice. A studio that offers training and physiotherapy usually needs both classes, and physiotherapy appears on 860 class 44 registrations.
Answered by Jonathan Paton, Founder & CEOWhat class is a tattoo studio?
Class 44. Tattooing is a beauty care service, alongside piercing and other body treatments. If you also sell aftercare creams under your studio’s name, those are class 3, and branded clothing or prints are goods in their own classes.
Answered by Jonathan Paton, Founder & CEODo counsellors and therapists need class 44?
Yes, for the therapy itself. Psychological counselling and mental health services are class 44. If you also run workshops or courses, or coach clients on careers or performance, those can fall in class 41, so many practitioners claim both.
Answered by Jonathan Paton, Founder & CEOIs a pharmacy class 44?
Partly. Pharmacy advice is class 44, and pharmacy advice appears on 639 registrations. Selling medicines and health products in a shop or online is a retail service in class 35, and own-brand medicines or supplements are goods in class 5.
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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