The Section 8 declaration—formally the Declaration of Continued Use under Section 8 of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1058—is the periodic loyalty test in which you swear, under penalty of perjury, that your mark is still in use in commerce, and prove it with a specimen. Miss both the window and the grace period and the USPTO automatically cancels the registration—no notice, no cure. This checklist makes the filing routine. For the full maintenance picture, see Maintaining Trademark Registrations.

Phase 1 — Confirm the deadline and the right form

  • Identify the registration date and the applicable Section 8 window: between the 5th and 6th anniversaries, then between the 9th and 10th anniversaries, and every ten years thereafter.
  • Note the six-month grace period after each deadline (available for an additional fee).
  • Confirm whether the registration is domestically based (Section 8) or a Madrid extension (use Section 71, 15 U.S.C. § 1141k, instead).
  • At the year-ten window, plan a combined Section 8 + Section 9 renewal in one submission.
  • At the year-six window, consider adding a Section 15 incontestability declaration (combined Section 8 + 15) if the mark qualifies.
  • Build the deadline into your own docketing system—do not rely on USPTO courtesy email reminders.

WHY / traps. The asymmetry trips people up: the first checkpoint is at year six, but the second is at year ten—a four-year gap, then a clean ten-year cadence. Relying on courtesy reminders (which depend on a current email and authorized e-communication) is malpractice waiting to happen.

Phase 2 — Confirm current use, class by class

  • Confirm the mark is actually in use in commerce on each good/service listed, class by class.
  • Delete (prune) deadwood—any good/service no longer in use—rather than carrying it along.
  • If genuinely not using the mark, evaluate the narrow excusable-nonuse route (temporary and beyond your control).
  • Confirm the current owner is filing and update ownership records if the mark changed hands.

WHY / traps. Overclaiming—swearing use on goods you abandoned—is a false declaration that can expose the entire registration to a fraud challenge (though In re Bose sets a demanding intent standard) and makes you a prime audit target. Excusable nonuse is a lifeboat for genuine catastrophes (war, embargo, disaster, indispensable owner's disabling illness), not ordinary business decisions like a paused product line, a rebrand, or a soft market. The disciplined move is the honest one: cover what you use, delete what you don't.

Phase 3 — Gather compliant specimens

  • Attach at least one specimen per class showing the mark in actual use (unless claiming excusable nonuse).
  • For goods: a photo of a label/tag on the product, packaging bearing the mark, or a point-of-sale display (not a mark floating on a white background; include normal informational matter like net weight or a UPC).
  • For services: advertising/marketing showing the mark used in the sale or advertising of the service (ad, menu, letterhead, invoice, website page).
  • For a web-page specimen, include the URL and the date it was accessed/printed.
  • Confirm the specimen mark creates the same commercial impression as the registered drawing (modernization OK; a material alteration is not).

WHY / traps. The USPTO scrutinizes specimens for manipulation after a wave of fabricated/photoshopped submissions; a specimen that looks "too clean," is obviously dropped onto a stock photo, or lacks a working URL invites trouble. Treat every filing as if it will be audited—gather a contemporaneous specimen for each good/service, not just one per class.

Phase 4 — Draft, verify, and file

  • Draft the declaration identifying the mark by registration number and the goods/services covered.
  • Include the verified statement, executed during the filing window, attesting use in commerce.
  • Include the standard perjury warning (37 C.F.R. § 2.20; willful false statements punishable under 18 U.S.C. § 1001).
  • Use standard ID Manual descriptions where possible and keep goods/services lists lean (the 2025 fee structure surcharges padded/custom filings).
  • File through the USPTO's Trademark Center, pay the per-class fee (confirm the current amount), and retain the filing receipt.
  • If foreign-domiciled, file through a U.S.-licensed attorney (required since 2019; 37 C.F.R. § 2.11).

WHY / traps. Anything left out of the declaration gets deleted from the registration (unless covered by excusable nonuse). Confirm fee amounts on the official site before filing—quoting a stale number is a good way to get bounced for underpayment.

Phase 5 — Respond to any office action or audit

  • Watch for a post-registration office action (defective specimen, deficient wording, or insufficient proof) and respond within the deadline (typically six months).
  • If a substitute specimen is required, attest it was in use during the relevant period, not merely today.
  • If audited, provide proof of use for two additional goods/services per audited class (or risk deletion—and potentially the whole class).
  • Never ignore an audit office action—non-response cancels the affected class or the registration.
  • Note that the lenient "unintentional delay" revival standard does not apply to post-registration office actions.

WHY / traps. The audit math is unforgiving: if you cannot prove the additional items, the USPTO may broaden the inquiry to every remaining good in the class and you can lose the class or the registration. The fix is upstream—claim only what you can prove.

Common mistakes

  • Relying on USPTO courtesy reminders instead of a real docket.
  • Overclaiming use on goods no longer sold (fraud/audit exposure).
  • Misusing excusable nonuse for ordinary business pauses.
  • Submitting a mark-on-white "specimen" or a web specimen with no URL/date.
  • Forgetting the per-class specimen on a multi-class registration.
  • A foreign registrant filing pro se.
  • Missing both the window and the grace period—automatic cancellation.

Primary authority

  • Statutes: Lanham Act § 8, 15 U.S.C. § 1058 (continued use); § 71, 15 U.S.C. § 1141k (Madrid); § 9, 15 U.S.C. § 1059 (renewal); § 15, 15 U.S.C. § 1065 (incontestability); abandonment, 15 U.S.C. § 1127; false statements, 18 U.S.C. § 1001.
  • Regulations: 37 C.F.R. §§ 2.160–2.161, 2.56 (specimens), 2.20 (declaration), 2.11 (U.S. counsel for foreign filers).
  • TMEP: §§ 1604 (Section 8), 1604.11 (excusable nonuse), 1604.13 (specimen/commercial impression), 1604.15–1604.16 (office actions).
  • Case: In re Bose Corp., 580 F.3d 1240 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (fraud standard).
  • Tools: USPTO Trademark Center and fee schedule (uspto.gov).

Verify current fees, deadlines, and forms on the USPTO site before filing.

Related resources

This checklist is general information, not legal advice. Maintenance deadlines, fees, and procedures change; consult qualified trademark counsel before relying on anything here.