The Trademark ID Manual is the USPTO's searchable directory of acceptable descriptions for goods and services in federal trademark applications. Use it to find wording that accurately describes what you sell or provide before submitting your application.
Key Takeaways
- The official USPTO ID Manual is free and separate from trademark search, filing, status, and login systems.
- Search for ordinary names of individual goods or services, not your brand name or a broad description of your business.
- An identification describes the specific offering, while a trademark class organizes that offering within the Nice Classification system.
- Standard entries may be selected as written, while fill-in entries require you to replace placeholders with accurate details.
- If no entry fits, you may need custom wording rather than forcing your offering into an inaccurate description.
- After filing, you can generally clarify or narrow an identification, but you cannot expand it beyond the original scope.
Official USPTO Trademark ID Manual
You can access the official USPTO Trademark ID Manual directly and without charge. Its formal name is the Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual. Applicants also call it the acceptable ID manual, goods and services manual, or trademark identification (ID) manual.
The manual lists descriptions that the USPTO considers acceptable for identifying goods and services. Each entry connects a specific description with an international trademark class. The directory is extensive, but it does not contain every possible product, technology, or service. It also changes as terminology and classification practices develop.
The ID Manual is not the USPTO trademark search database. It does not tell you whether your proposed mark is available. It is also separate from Trademark Center, application login pages, registration records, and systems used to check an application's status. Its function is narrower: helping you describe what the mark identifies.
Selecting an accurate listed entry can simplify examination. Under the USPTO fee structure introduced in 2025, using the free-form text option instead of selecting an ID Manual entry generally adds a $200 fee for each affected class. Other surcharges may also apply, so review the USPTO's current fee instructions before filing. Never choose an inaccurate entry solely to avoid a fee.
How to Search the Trademark ID Manual
Begin with what customers actually receive from you. Do not search for your company name, proposed trademark, marketing slogan, industry, or overall business model. A useful lookup process is:
- List each offering. Write down the individual products you sell and the services you perform for others. Separate current offerings from those you only plan to offer.
- Search the ordinary term. Start with a familiar product or service name, such as shirts, downloadable software, accounting services, or restaurant services.
- Try narrower alternatives. If the results are too broad, add the product's function, format, subject matter, material, or intended use when that detail affects identification.
- Review the full wording. Do not rely only on a keyword appearing in an entry. Confirm that the entire description matches your offering.
- Check the class. Similar terms may appear in different classes because their functions, delivery methods, or commercial activities differ.
- Inspect placeholders and notes. Determine whether the entry can be selected as written or requires additional information.
Search each activity separately if your business both sells goods and performs services. For example, selling software and providing software development services are different commercial activities and may require separate descriptions. You can review the broader trademark application process after identifying the entries that fit your offering.
How to Read Acceptable Goods and Services Entries
A standard entry supplies wording the USPTO considers acceptable as written. You should still select it only if it truthfully covers goods you sell or intend to sell, or services you provide or genuinely intend to provide, under the mark.
A fill-in entry contains instructions or placeholders, commonly displayed in curly brackets. These prompts may ask for a type, purpose, field, material, or subject matter. Replace the instructional language with the requested facts. Do not copy the brackets, the word "specify," or example instructions into the final identification.
You may also encounter status or entry labels. An "A" generally identifies an acceptable entry added to the manual. An "M" reflects an entry that was modified. An "X" identifies example wording, often requiring applicant-supplied information, rather than meaning that the identification has been rejected. A deleted or inactive entry should not be treated as a currently selectable standard entry. Read the entry details and current ID Manual guidance because the wording, effective date, and status can affect how you use a result.
The TM5 column serves a different purpose. A "T" indicates terminology accepted through the TM5 identification project involving several major trademark offices. It can help businesses considering filings in multiple jurisdictions, but it does not guarantee that every legal or filing requirement will be identical in each country.
Copy only the description you need. Selecting every related result can create an unnecessarily long identification and obligations concerning goods or services that your business does not actually offer.
Trademark Identification vs. Trademark Classification
Identification and classification are connected, but they answer different questions. The identification states what you sell or provide. The class places that offering into one of the international categories used to administer trademark applications.
| Task | Question It Answers | Primary Resource | When You Use It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identify goods or services | What specific product or service does the mark identify? | USPTO Trademark ID Manual | When drafting the goods and services section |
| Select a class | Which international category contains that offering? | ID Manual entry and Nice Classification | When organizing the application and calculating class-based fees |
| Search for conflicts | Does another mark create a potential registration problem? | USPTO trademark search records | Before filing and when evaluating risk |
The Nice Classification contains 45 classes, with Classes 1 through 34 covering goods and Classes 35 through 45 covering services. You can consult the official WIPO Nice Classification resources for class headings and explanatory materials. A class heading alone may be too broad to serve as an acceptable identification.
Classification does not replace precise wording. For example, a broad term can describe products found in several classes depending on their nature or purpose. If you need a class-by-class overview, see the 45 trademark classes for goods and services. Technology businesses may also need to distinguish downloadable products in Trademark Class 9 from services classified elsewhere.
What to Do When No ID Manual Entry Fits
Do not force a new, technical, or unusual offering into the closest result if the description would be inaccurate. The ID Manual is a guide, not an exhaustive catalog. When no listed identification fits, you may draft a custom identification in the application's free-form field, subject to the current filing requirements and applicable surcharge.
Start with a common name for the product or service. Add only the information needed to make its nature clear and place it in the correct class. For goods, relevant details may include function, material, format, or intended use. For services, identify the activity performed for others and, when needed, its field or subject matter.
Avoid open-ended phrases such as "including," "such as," "and the like," "related services," or "not limited to." If you begin with a broad category, use "namely" followed by a definite list. Separate distinct categories within one class with semicolons. Use commas for related items within a category.
Write for an ordinary reader. Technical terminology may be necessary, but the identification should still communicate what the offering is. Do not include your proposed mark, another party's trademark, promotional claims, product features that do not help identify the goods, or activities performed only for your own internal operations.
If your offering has no clear match, spans several classes, or has triggered an identification-related Office Action, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. A trademark attorney can draft a precise identification, assess its scope and classification, and prepare an appropriate USPTO response. Responses from attorneys typically arrive within a day.
Businesses Offering Both Goods and Services
A single business can use the same mark for goods, services, or both. The classification depends on the specific activity, not merely on the type of company. A business that sells a physical product may also provide installation, repair, training, retail, or consulting services. Each activity must be evaluated separately.
First identify what customers buy. A tangible item is generally treated as a good. Work performed for the benefit of someone else is generally treated as a service. Merely selling your own goods does not automatically create a separate retail service identification, and work done only to support your own company is not necessarily a service provided to others.
Search the ID Manual separately for each product and each independently offered service. Some descriptions may fall within one class, while others may require additional classes. The USPTO charges application fees by class, so a multiclass application can cost more even when filed as one application. You must also support the filing basis for the listed offerings.
Do not add every possible future expansion. For an intent-to-use application, you need a bona fide intention to use the mark with every listed good or service. For a use-based application, the identification should align with the actual use claimed. Evidence of trademark use is a separate issue from wording and classification. Review trademark specimen requirements and examples before relying on a website, label, packaging, or other material as proof of use.
Correcting an Identification and Avoiding Refusals
Review the identification carefully before filing. Once submitted, you can generally clarify or narrow its scope, but you cannot broaden it by adding materially different goods or services. Deleting an item does not create permission to replace it with something outside the original wording. This makes an accurate initial description especially valuable.
Common identification problems include vague wording, an incorrect class, class headings used without specific goods or services, unresolved fill-in instructions, and language that could cover several unrelated offerings. An examining attorney may issue an Office Action requesting clarification, reclassification, deletion, or other corrections.
If you receive an Office Action, read the proposed wording and response deadline shown in the notice. Compare any examiner suggestion with what your business actually offers. A suggested amendment may resolve the objection, but you should not accept language that is inaccurate or narrower than intended without understanding the effect. Check the current USPTO response instructions rather than relying on an old deadline or form.
Before submitting an application, confirm that:
- Every entry accurately names a real or genuinely intended offering.
- All fill-in language has been replaced with specific information.
- Each identification is assigned to the class shown in the current manual.
- Goods and services are listed separately where appropriate.
- The wording avoids open-ended or indefinite terms.
- Your filing basis and evidence are consistent with the listed scope.
These checks reduce avoidable identification objections, but they do not resolve separate issues such as conflicting marks, descriptiveness, ownership, or an unacceptable specimen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Something Be Identified as a Good or Service?
Yes, an offering can be identified as a good or a service depending on what customers receive. Goods are products, while services are activities performed for others. One brand may cover both, but each offering should be described separately. The same subject matter can also be classified differently based on its format, function, or method of delivery.
How Do You Trademark a Product?
You trademark a product by applying to register the mark used to identify its source, not the product itself. The process generally includes selecting the mark, searching for potential conflicts, identifying the owner and filing basis, describing the product, choosing the class, filing with the USPTO, and addressing examination requirements. Patent or copyright protection may cover different aspects of the product.
How Can I Find a Trademark?
You can find federal trademark applications and registrations by searching the USPTO's trademark database. Search exact wording as well as similar spellings, pronunciations, meanings, designs, and commercial impressions. A database search may not reveal every party with relevant rights because trademark rights can arise through use even without federal registration.
How Can I Check the Trademark Class of a Brand?
You can check a registered brand's classes by reviewing its USPTO registration record and listed goods or services. A brand may appear in several classes, and different owners may use similar marks for unrelated offerings. The class number provides organizational information, but it does not by itself establish availability, infringement, or the full scope of trademark rights.
What Is a Trademark Logo?
A trademark logo is a design, symbol, stylized wording, or combination that identifies the source of goods or services. It may be registered separately from a standard-character word mark. The TM symbol can indicate a trademark claim, while the federal registration symbol should be used only in connection with goods or services covered by an active federal registration.
