Trademark Class 35: Advertising, Retail & Business Services
Class 35 covers online and physical retail store services, advertising, marketing, and business management.
Class 35 covers advertising, retail & business services. The USPTO charges $350 per class. With MARQ, a one-class federal registration is $849 all in — a flat $499 attorney fee plus the $350 USPTO fee at cost.
Class 35 is the services class for commerce: running a store, advertising, marketing, and business administration. “Online retail store services featuring [products]” is a Class 35 identification, and it is where store brands, marketplaces, agencies, and consultancies belong.
It is also the class most often filed by mistake. A seller who manufactures a product under their own brand and sells it on Amazon is selling goods — the brand belongs in the goods class for whatever the product is. Filing in 35 instead gives you a registration for “retail services,” which is not what Amazon Brand Registry, or a counterfeiter dispute, or a competitor’s copycat listing, is going to be about.
What Class 35 covers
- Online retail store services featuring specified goods
- Retail store and boutique services
- Advertising, marketing, and promotion services
- Social media marketing and influencer marketing services
- Business consulting and management services
- Business administration, bookkeeping, and staffing services
- Dropshipping and order-fulfillment brokerage for others
- Marketplace services connecting buyers and sellers
Typical Class 35 identifications: “Online retail store services featuring skincare products; Advertising and marketing services; Business consulting services in the field of e-commerce operations; Retail store services featuring apparel.” Note that the USPTO expects the field to be specified — “retail store services” with no subject matter draws a requirement.
What Class 35 does not cover
Each of these is a separate class with its own $350 USPTO fee. Getting this boundary wrong is the most common reason a registration turns out not to protect what the owner thought it protected.
| If you also sell… | You need… |
|---|---|
| Your own branded products | The goods class — e.g. Class 25 for apparel, 3 for cosmetics, 9 for electronics. This is the most expensive mistake in Class 35. |
| Shipping, delivery, and warehousing itself | Class 39 — transport and storage. |
| Financial and payment services | Class 36. |
| Educational and coaching services | Class 41 — business coaching is education, not business management, in most cases. |
Who files in Class 35
- Retailers and boutiques (physical or online) selling third-party goods
- Marketing, advertising, and creative agencies
- Business consultants and management consultancies
- Marketplaces and platforms connecting buyers and sellers
- Dropshippers who resell rather than brand their own products
- Staffing and recruiting firms
Classes that usually go with Class 35
| Class | Why it comes up |
|---|---|
| Class 42 | If the “store” is really a software platform, 42 usually joins or replaces 35. |
| Class 41 | Consultants who also teach, run courses, or publish belong in 41 as well. |
| Class 36 | If financial services are part of the offering. |
| goods classes | Any brand that both makes products and sells others’ products needs the relevant goods class alongside 35. |
Cost math: each additional class is $350 more in USPTO fees. MARQ’s $499 attorney fee does not change. Two classes: $499 + $700 = $1,199. Three: $499 + $1,050 = $1,549.
Pitfalls specific to Class 35
The Amazon seller who files in 35 and cannot use it
If you private-label a product — you put your brand on a supplement, a phone case, a candle — you are selling goods. Amazon Brand Registry ties your brand to the products you sell, and your trademark should cover those goods. A Class 35 “online retail store services” registration describes a store, not a product line, and it is a poor foundation for the brand protection an Amazon seller actually wants. File in the goods class that matches what is in the box.
“Retail store services” without a specified field
The USPTO will not accept an open-ended retail identification. You must say what the store sells. Getting this wrong produces an office action — and if you typed the identification into the free-form box rather than selecting from the ID Manual, an extra $200 per class as well.
Consulting vs. education
Business coaches often file in 35 for “business consulting” when what they sell is a course, a cohort, or a membership — which is Class 41. Filing in the wrong service class is just as fatal as filing in the wrong goods class, and just as invisible until an examiner points it out months later.
Class 35 questions
What class is an online store in?
Online retail store services are Class 35 — but the identification has to say what the store sells. If you sell your own branded products rather than reselling other brands, you generally need the goods class for those products instead.
Do Amazon sellers need Class 35?
Usually not by itself. A private-label seller is selling goods, so the trademark belongs in the class covering those goods. Class 35 fits sellers whose business is genuinely retail — reselling other people’s brands. Some businesses need both, at $350 per class in USPTO fees.
What class is a marketing agency in?
Class 35 — advertising, marketing, and promotion services. An agency that also builds software may need Class 42, and one that runs training programs may need Class 41.
How much does a Class 35 trademark cost?
$849 in one class: $499 flat attorney fee plus the USPTO’s $350 filing fee, billed at cost. Each additional class adds $350 in government fees.
Filing in Class 35?
Start with the free search to see what is already on the register. The $49 comprehensive attorney report tells you whether the mark is clearable in this class — before you spend $350 with the USPTO. Registration is a flat $499 plus USPTO fees at cost.
Run a free searchSee flat pricingFree DIY search · $49 comprehensive attorney search · $499 + USPTO fees to register
Fee and deadline figures on this page come from the USPTO: trademark fee information, additional fees for trademark applications, and the USPTO trademarks dashboard. This page is general information about U.S. trademark law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. No attorney can guarantee registration — the USPTO decides.