What share of U.S. trademark applications actually become registered marks? It's a deceptively simple question. The honest answer is "about six in ten", but the variance hides where the interesting story is. The headline figures, with attorney, Office Action and timing data, are also collected on one citable page: U.S. trademark registration statistics.
How to read the table
Each row is a filing-year cohort. Approval rate is the share of decided applications that reached registration: (still registered + registered and later cancelled) ÷ (those two + abandoned). A mark that registered in 2012 and was never renewed still counts as approved, because the application succeeded. Pending applications are left out because they haven't been decided. Recent years skew upward because the long-tail abandonments (failure-to-respond, intent-to-use expirations) haven't happened yet. The most reliable rate is the one from about 5 years ago, when the cohort has fully resolved.
Approval rate by filing year
| Year | Filings | Still registered | Abandoned | Registered, later cancelled | Pending | Approval % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 284,562 | 54,314 | 111,622 | 118,609 | 17 (0%) | 60.8% |
| 2011 | 308,769 | 59,443 | 119,313 | 129,983 | 30 (0%) | 61.4% |
| 2012 | 317,037 | 62,227 | 120,768 | 134,001 | 41 (0%) | 61.9% |
| 2013 | 328,205 | 66,378 | 125,026 | 136,745 | 56 (0%) | 61.9% |
| 2014 | 346,979 | 73,736 | 132,495 | 140,678 | 70 (0%) | 61.8% |
| 2015 | 380,303 | 97,962 | 146,432 | 135,798 | 111 (0%) | 61.5% |
| 2016 | 401,644 | 117,398 | 152,603 | 131,455 | 188 (0%) | 62% |
| 2017 | 452,831 | 137,035 | 171,018 | 144,415 | 363 (0.1%) | 62.2% |
| 2018 | 472,137 | 156,222 | 179,727 | 135,399 | 789 (0.2%) | 61.9% |
| 2019 | 497,969 | 238,055 | 194,244 | 63,767 | 1,903 (0.4%) | 60.8% |
| 2020 | 665,727 | 402,478 | 239,710 | 17,565 | 5,974 (0.9%) | 63.7% |
| 2021 | 673,574 | 385,769 | 243,335 | 24,281 | 20,189 (3%) | 62.8% |
| 2022 | 551,244 | 312,944 | 204,140 | 6,067 | 28,093 (5.1%) | 61% |
| 2023 | 547,946 | 306,404 | 179,638 | 1,271 | 60,633 (11.1%) | 63.1% |
| 2024 | 597,126 | 326,280 | 171,566 | 592 | 98,688 (16.5%) | 65.6% |
| 2025 | 625,615 | 283,024 | 128,565 | 310 | 213,716 (34.2%) | 68.8% |
Highest approval rate by class (top 5, classes ≥50K filings)
Classes where applicants succeed at the highest rate. Often a sign that the class accepts more distinctive marks (less prone to descriptiveness refusals) or that applicant quality is higher.
| Class | Name | Ever registered | Total | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 7 | Machinery | 206,470 | 289,646 | 76.1% |
| Class 17 | Rubber Goods | 60,689 | 85,639 | 75% |
| Class 6 | Metal Goods | 123,301 | 176,135 | 74.6% |
| Class 2 | Paints | 44,237 | 62,060 | 74.4% |
| Class 1 | Chemicals | 151,693 | 222,097 | 72% |
Lowest approval rate by class (bottom 5)
Classes where applicants struggle. Usually a sign that the class is dominated by descriptive proposed marks (apparel, food) or has a crowded competitive landscape.
| Class | Name | Ever registered | Total | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 32 | Light Beverages | 98,605 | 206,070 | 51.7% |
| Class 38 | Telecommunications | 115,399 | 229,726 | 53% |
| Class 25 | Clothing | 645,987 | 1,298,050 | 53.9% |
| Class 5 | Pharmaceuticals | 302,573 | 613,024 | 53.9% |
| Class 34 | Smokers Articles | 40,428 | 80,496 | 54.1% |
How the U.S. compares: refusal rates for international (Madrid) filings
A different lens on the same question. Marks registered internationally through WIPO's Madrid System are examined separately by each country they designate, and each office's decision is on record. The table shows, for the most-designated offices, what share of designations registered 2019–2022 (a resolved cohort) ended in an outright refusal that still stands. Provisional refusals later overcome are not counted as refused. The USPTO issues one to almost every designation, which is why its provisional column is so high.
| Designated office | Designations | Provisional | Refused | Refusal rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Union (EM) | 44,514 | 20.3% | 1,558 | 3.5% |
| United States (US) | 44,147 | 95.9% | 1,046 | 2.4% |
| United Kingdom (GB) | 41,090 | 11.4% | 292 | 0.7% |
| China (CN) | 40,684 | 61.7% | 10,565 | 26% |
| Canada (CA) | 35,712 | 85.6% | 7,007 | 19.6% |
| Australia (AU) | 33,198 | 30.8% | 122 | 0.4% |
| Japan (JP) | 32,759 | 63.6% | 4,695 | 14.3% |
| Switzerland (CH) | 30,498 | 12.8% | 1,162 | 3.8% |
| South Korea (KR) | 28,579 | 68.9% | 1,332 | 4.7% |
| India (IN) | 28,230 | 54.9% | 6,619 | 23.4% |
| Russia (RU) | 28,153 | 40.4% | 3,263 | 11.6% |
| Singapore (SG) | 25,559 | 37% | 722 | 2.8% |
| Mexico (MX) | 25,191 | 26.7% | 2,055 | 8.2% |
| Thailand (TH) | 22,091 | 92.8% | 10,989 | 49.7% |
Source: WIPO Madrid Monitor daily files (CC BY 4.0), event history per designation. Not directly comparable to the USPTO cohort rate above. That measures applications filed at USPTO; this measures international designations examined by each office. Full breakdown by country →
Considering filing? Use our USPTO trademark search to score your proposed mark against existing registrations in your class. That's the single biggest predictor of whether you'll be in the registered half or the abandoned half. Not sure if you need an attorney? Here's the DIY-vs-lawyer decision framework.