What this checklist is for. An intent-to-use (ITU) application reserves a mark before you sell anything, locking in nationwide priority as of your filing date under the constructive-use rule of 15 U.S.C. § 1057(c). But a Notice of Allowance (NOA) is not a registration — it is permission to complete the application by proving use. The Statement of Use (SOU) and its extensions are where ITU applications most often go off the rails. This checklist keeps you on schedule. Pair it with Intent-to-use trademark applications and Federal registration constructive use, 15 U.S.C. § 1057(c). Educational, not legal advice.

Phase 1 — Know where you are in the ITU lifecycle

  • Confirm the application cleared examination and the opposition period and that the USPTO issued a Notice of Allowance (NOA) — the date the SOU clock starts.
  • Determine whether you have begun bona fide use in commerce on the listed goods/services, or not yet.
  • If use began before the NOA (e.g., during examination), file an Amendment to Allege Use (AAU) instead of an SOU — same proof, earlier window.

Why this matters. The NOA is the trigger for the six-month clock. An AAU short-circuits the process if you happen to start using the mark before the NOA issues; you cannot file an AAU during the "blackout" period between approval for publication and issuance of the NOA.

Phase 2 — Assemble the Statement of Use (per class)

  • Filing fee for each class.
  • One specimen per class showing the mark as actually used in commerce. See Trademark specimen preparation checklist.
  • Dates of first use (anywhere and in commerce) for each class.
  • A verified declaration that the mark is in use in commerce on the listed goods/services.
  • File within six months of the NOA (unless an extension is on file) through Trademark Center.

Why this matters. The SOU must cover what you actually sell. Confirm the specimen matches the drawing and the dates are honest — backdating first-use dates is fraud that can void the registration.

Phase 3 — Manage extensions if you are not yet using the mark

  • If not yet in use, file a Request for Extension of Time (with fee) before the current six-month period expires.
  • Each extension renews a statement of continued bona fide intent to use the mark.
  • Stack extensions in six-month increments up to a maximum of 36 months from the NOA (the first SOU period plus up to five extensions).
  • Calendar each six-month deadline and never let one lapse — there is no easy revival for a missed SOU/extension that abandons the application.

Why this matters and the trap. The 36-month ceiling is hard. An ITU that never reaches genuine use within that window dies, and the reserved priority dies with it. Each extension request must reflect a real, documented intent — see the bona-fide-intent doctrine of M.Z. Berger & Co. v. Swatch AG (Fed. Cir. 2015).

Worked example (illustration). Two beverage startups want "TIDEWATER" for canned cocktails. Startup A files an ITU in February but does not launch until the following spring; Startup B skips the paperwork and rushes a product to shelves in June. Under pure common law, B's June use would beat A's later use. But A's February ITU filing, once it matures into registration, confers constructive use as of February under 15 U.S.C. § 1057(c) — so A holds nationwide priority ahead of B's June sales. The catch is that A only captures that prize if it completes the SOU (or stacked extensions) within the 36-month window and the application registers. Miss the SOU deadline and the whole reserved priority evaporates; B then wins on its actual first use. The ITU is a powerful head start, but only if you finish the race.

Phase 4 — Handle partial use

  • If the mark is in use on some but not all goods/services, choose one of:
    • File the SOU and let the USPTO delete the unused goods; or
    • File a Request to Divide, splitting off the in-use goods so they can register now while the rest continue under extension.

Why this matters. Dividing lets you secure a registration on what you actually sell today without waiting for the rest of the line to launch — useful when a registration certificate is needed for enforcement, licensing, or Customs recordation. The trade-off is two filing fees and two files to track, so divide only when the in-use goods genuinely need to register now and the rest of the line has a real, near-term launch plan.

A frequent source of confusion is the difference between the AAU and the SOU, since both prove use with the same elements (fee, specimen, dates, verified declaration). The difference is purely timing: an Amendment to Allege Use is filed before the mark is approved for publication (during examination), while a Statement of Use is filed after the Notice of Allowance. Between those two windows lies a "blackout" period — after approval for publication but before the NOA issues — during which neither can be filed. If you begin selling during that blackout, you simply wait for the NOA and then file the SOU. Knowing which instrument applies to your moment in the lifecycle prevents a rejected filing and a lost week.

Defending the bona-fide-intent foundation

  • Keep contemporaneous documentation of your intent from the filing date forward — business plans, product development records, packaging mockups, marketing budgets, vendor and retailer communications.
  • Avoid the appearance of warehousing — filing on a long list of goods you have no concrete plan to offer, or hoarding marks to fence out competitors, can support a challenge.
  • Remember the bona-fide-intent requirement reaches § 44 and § 66(a) applications too, not just § 1(b).

Why this matters. Intent is judged objectively on the totality of the circumstances; a bare assertion in the application, uncorroborated by anything in the real world, can be fatal if an opposer challenges it (M.Z. Berger; Kelly Services). The same documentation that demonstrates intent also makes the eventual SOU honest and audit-proof. Think of the file you build between filing and use as the evidentiary backbone of the entire ITU — it is what converts a sworn intention into a defensible reserved right.

Phase 5 — After the SOU

  • Watch for examiner approval of the SOU; the registration certificate typically issues within a couple of months.
  • Review the certificate for errors (owner, drawing, goods, dates) and report mistakes promptly.
  • Calendar the maintenance schedule the day the registration issues. See Trademark maintenance and renewal checklist.

Why this matters. Once the SOU is approved, the application's reserved priority crystallizes into a registration whose constructive-use date relates back to the original filing — the whole payoff of the ITU route.

Common mistakes

  • Treating the Notice of Allowance as a registration — it is not.
  • Missing a six-month deadline or filing an extension late.
  • Forgetting the 36-month hard cap.
  • Filing an AAU during the blackout period when it is not permitted.
  • Claiming use on goods not actually sold, or backdating first-use dates.
  • Failing to consider dividing when use is only partial.

Primary authority

  • Statutes/rules: 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051(b)/(c)/(d) (ITU, AAU, SOU), 1057(c) (constructive use); 37 C.F.R. §§ 2.76 (AAU), 2.88 (SOU), 2.89 (extension requests).
  • Cases: M.Z. Berger & Co. v. Swatch AG, 787 F.3d 1368 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (objective bona fide intent); Kelly Services, Inc. v. Creative Harbor, LLC, 846 F.3d 857 (6th Cir. 2017).
  • Agency: TMEP §§ 1103–1109; USPTO Trademark Center. Confirm current fees and deadlines at USPTO.gov.

Related resources

This checklist is educational and not legal advice. Confirm current USPTO deadlines and fees at USPTO.gov.