To check if a trademark is registered, start with the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s free search tool at tmsearch.uspto.gov, which lists every active and pending federal trademark.1United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Search A single database search is not enough, though. Marks can also be registered at the state level, used without registration under common law, or protected internationally, and any of those can block you. A complete check runs through all four layers.
Prepare Your Search Terms First
A search is only as good as the terms you feed it. Write down the exact spelling of the name you want to check, then list every phonetic variation you can think of. The USPTO examines whether marks sound alike, not just whether they’re spelled the same, so “Klear” can conflict with “Clear.” Swap vowels, try common letter substitutions (c/k/q, s/z, ph/f), and think about how someone might mishear the name spoken aloud.
If the mark includes a logo, describe each visual element in plain terms. A mountain silhouette, a swooping bird, and a geometric circle are each classified separately in the USPTO’s system and searched by code.
You also need to know which classes of goods or services apply. The Nice Classification system divides commercial activity into 45 classes: 1 through 34 cover goods, and 35 through 45 cover services.2United States Patent and Trademark Office. Nice Agreement Current Edition Version – General Remarks, Class Headings and Explanatory Notes A clothing brand searches Class 25; a consulting firm searches Class 35. Missing a relevant class means overlooking a mark in a related industry that could still block you.
How to Search the USPTO Database
The USPTO’s Trademark Search system uses field-code tags rather than a simple keyword box.
Word Marks
To search a name, type the combined mark field tag “CM:” followed by your term. Entering CM:sunrise returns every trademark containing that word. For multi-word marks, use quotes: CM:"sunrise bakery". To catch marks that contain your word plus other characters, wrap it in a regular expression: CM:/.*sunrise.*/ picks up “SunriseGlow” and “MySunrise.”3United States Patent and Trademark Office. Federal Trademark Searching
Run each phonetic alternative as a separate search. If your proposed mark is “Fynd,” also search “Find,” “Fined,” and “Phynd.” The USPTO specifically advises searching alternative spellings and pronunciations because a mark that sounds like yours can block your application even if no letters match.3United States Patent and Trademark Office. Federal Trademark Searching
Design Marks
Logos are searched using design codes from the USPTO’s Design Search Code Manual, which organizes images into 30 top-level categories, from celestial bodies (01) to animals (03) to geometric shapes (26), with subdivisions inside each.4United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Design Search Code Manual Look up the code for each prominent element in the logo and search with the “DC:” tag. DC:050101 returns marks featuring evergreen trees. Combine codes to narrow: DC:(050101 AND 031507) finds marks that include both trees and owls.3United States Patent and Trademark Office. Federal Trademark Searching
Combining Searches
Click the “Expert” button near the search bar to open expert mode, which lets you view your search history and combine previous queries with AND, OR, and AND NOT. Cross a word search with a class restriction, or run two phonetic variants against the same goods category. Multiple targeted searches catch more than one broad query.
How to Read a USPTO Result
Each result carries a status of “Live” or “Dead.” Live means the mark is currently registered or under active examination. Dead means the application was abandoned, the registration was canceled, or the owner failed to renew. A Dead status doesn’t mean the name is free. If the original owner is still using it commercially, they may hold common law rights and can challenge a new application or sue for infringement without ever having a federal registration. A mark that went Dead recently because someone missed a maintenance filing deserves particular caution.
When a result looks like it might conflict, pull the full file through the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval system at tsdr.uspto.gov.5United States Patent and Trademark Office. Checking the Status of a Trademark Application or Registration Enter the serial or registration number to see the filing history, examining attorney office actions, and the exact goods and services description. Check whether the application was filed on a “use in commerce” basis (the applicant was already selling under the name) or an “intent to use” basis (they planned to).6United States Patent and Trademark Office. Basis Intent-to-use filings still reserve priority even though nothing has hit the market yet.
Look also for disclaimers. A disclaimer means the owner doesn’t claim exclusive rights to a particular word inside their mark, only to the mark as a whole.7United States Patent and Trademark Office. How to Satisfy a Disclaimer Requirement If “Sunrise Organic Bakery” carries a disclaimer on “Bakery,” the word “bakery” alone won’t block you. The distinctive part is what counts.
Similar Isn’t Safe
Finding no exact match doesn’t clear a mark. The USPTO refuses applications when a proposed mark is likely to cause confusion with an existing one, and that test reaches well beyond identical names. Two factors dominate: how similar the marks look, sound, and feel, and how related the goods or services are. They work on a sliding scale, so very similar marks don’t need closely related goods to trigger a refusal, and closely related goods don’t need identical marks.
“Blue Harbor” for seafood can conflict with “Blu Harbour” for restaurant services, even with different spellings and one being a product while the other is a service. Similar sound plus overlap in food is enough. Read your results the way a customer would: if someone seeing both marks might assume they came from the same company, that mark is a problem.
Check State Trademark Records
The USPTO covers only federal registrations. Businesses that operate in a single state sometimes register at the state level instead, and those filings won’t show up federally. State trademark records are usually held by the Secretary of State’s office, and most states offer an online search on their official website.
State registrations protect only within that state’s borders, but that’s enough to keep you out of a market you might want, and a state registrant who started using their mark before you can assert priority in their territory even against a later federal filing. If you plan to operate in more than one state, search each one.
Look for Unregistered Common Law Marks
This is where most self-directed searches fall short. A business doesn’t need to register a trademark to own it. Under federal law, trademark rights arise from actual use in commerce: the first business to sell goods or services under a name in a given market holds common law rights there, enforceable even against a later federal registrant, though limited to the geographic area where the mark has been used and gained recognition.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1125 – False Designations of Origin, False Descriptions, and Dilution Forbidden
Since no database tracks common law marks, you have to look manually. Search Google, social media, business directories, Amazon and Etsy storefronts, domain registrars, and any industry-specific registries. A small coffee roaster in Portland selling under your chosen name for five years has common law rights in that market whether they’ve filed anything or not.
The geographic limit cuts both ways. Common law protection may reach only a city, county, or region. Federal registration grants presumptive nationwide rights.9United States Patent and Trademark Office. Why Register Your Trademark But if you file federally and a prior common law user exists, they can carve out their territory, leaving you with the name everywhere except where they already have it. That’s an expensive discovery to make after the business cards are printed.
Check International Registries If You Might Sell Abroad
If there’s any chance you’ll sell outside the United States, check international records before committing to a name. The World Intellectual Property Organization runs the Global Brand Database, which aggregates records from national and international sources, including marks filed through the Madrid System.10World Intellectual Property Organization. Global Brand Database WIPO also offers Madrid Monitor, which tracks international registrations and any refusals issued by specific countries.11World Intellectual Property Organization. WIPO Madrid Monitor Both are free.
When to Hire a Professional Searcher
Everything above is free. For a straightforward word mark in one or two classes, a careful self-search often gives enough confidence to move forward.
Professional clearance searches, done by a trademark attorney, typically cost between $500 and $1,500 and add something a DIY search can’t: a written legal opinion on how much risk each conflicting mark actually poses, and whether your mark is likely to survive examination and avoid infringement claims. A full professional report also pulls state registrations, common law sources, and domain names into one place.
The decision is a math problem. If you’re pouring money into branding, packaging, and marketing around a new name, a clearance search is small next to the cost of rebranding after a cease-and-desist letter. If you’re testing a name on a side project with little upfront spend, a thorough self-search is reasonable. The risk scales with the stakes.
What a Missed Conflict Actually Costs
A careless search creates escalating problems. The mildest is a USPTO refusal during examination: you lose the $350-per-class filing fee and start over.12United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Fee Information Worse is a cease-and-desist letter from an existing trademark owner demanding you stop using the name and sometimes claiming damages.13United States Patent and Trademark Office. I Received a Letter/Email
If your application reaches publication in the USPTO’s Official Gazette, any party who believes they’d be harmed has 30 days to file a formal opposition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, a proceeding that resembles federal litigation and can take more than a year to resolve.14United States Patent and Trademark Office. Section 1(a) Timeline – Application Based on Use in Commerce If you ignore a cease-and-desist letter and are later found liable for infringement, a court may treat your continued use as reckless and add monetary damages beyond what would otherwise apply.13United States Patent and Trademark Office. I Received a Letter/Email
Legal fees are only part of the damage. The larger loss is the investment in signage, packaging, websites, advertising, and recognition that disappears when the name has to change. A few careful hours upfront prevents all of it.