A successful U.S. trademark registration is only the beginning: what happens if the Section 8 declaration in years 5 to 6 is missed, can it still be filed, and how should evidence of use be prepared?

After a U.S. trademark registration is granted, the registrant must submit a Section 8 Declaration of Use to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) between the 5th and 6th years from the registration date; otherwise, the trademark will be directly cancelled. Missing the deadline allows a 6-month grace period, but an additional fee is required; if no submission is made even after the grace period, the registration becomes invalid and cannot be restored by a late filing—only a new application can be filed. Evidence of use must demonstrate genuine use of the trademark in U.S. commerce, commonly in the form of photographs of goods bearing the trademark, screenshots of sales pages, or invoices.

Section 8 oath is not optional; it is a mandatory action to maintain registration.

Many Chinese sellers, after obtaining a U.S. trademark registration certificate, think everything is fine, put the certificate in a drawer, and forget about it. This understanding is wrong. The U.S. trademark system is different from China’s: after a Chinese trademark is registered, it is renewed every 10 years, and no evidence of use needs to be submitted in between. After a U.S. federal trademark registration, the registrant must submit a declaration of use to the USPTO between the 5th and 6th years, under 15 U.S.C. §1058, commonly called a Section 8 declaration in the industry. The core purpose of this document is only one: to tell the USPTO that you are still genuinely using the trademark in the U.S. market. If you fail to submit it, the USPTO will not notify you separately or call you, but will directly initiate cancellation proceedings. In practice, we have seen too many clients discover only in the 7th year that their trademark is already dead, and when they look back, it turns out they missed this declaration.

How exactly are the 5th to 6th years calculated? The starting point is not the filing date.

There is an easy pitfall here. The filing window for the Section 8 declaration starts from the trademark registration date, not the filing date and not the publication date. For example, if the USPTO approves registration on March 10, 2026, the filing window is March 10, 2031 to March 10, 2032. Note that the registration date is the date stated on the registration certificate issued by the USPTO, not some date you assume. In addition, if the trademark is designated to the United States through the Madrid system, the registration date is the date on which the USPTO approves the extension of protection, and this date is often much later than the international registration date. We generally advise clients to set a calendar reminder about four and a half years from the registration date, rather than waiting until the fifth year to start preparing, because collecting and organizing evidence of use takes time.

After a missed payment, there is still a six-month grace period, but an additional fee is required.

If the sixth-year deadline has passed, is it hopeless? No. U.S. trademark law provides a 6-month grace period under 15 U.S.C. §1058(a)(3). That means that within 6 months after the sixth-year deadline expires, you can still file a Section 8 declaration, but you must also pay a grace period surcharge. This fee is calculated per class. The current USPTO fee is approximately an additional $100 per class; the exact amount may be adjusted annually and is subject to the fee schedule on the USPTO website. Many clients encountering this for the first time ask: Is the grace period automatic? No. You must actively file and pay the fee. The USPTO will not automatically grant an extension. Once the grace period passes, the registration becomes completely invalid, with no second chance.

Even the grace period has been missed—can the registration still be restored?

Direct answer: No. There is no remedy procedure for a Section 8 declaration. Once the grace period expires and it still has not been filed, the USPTO will publish the cancellation of the registration, and the registration will be invalid as of the date of cancellation. You cannot restore it by filing a petition, requesting reconsideration, or bringing litigation. The only path is to file a brand-new trademark application and go through the examination, publication, and registration process all over again. This means all the registration priority dates you accumulated previously are reset to zero. If during this period someone else has filed to register the same or a similar trademark in bad faith, your new application may instead be refused based on a citation to that mark. What is even more troublesome is that if the original trademark has already been used for many years, when you reapply, others may file an opposition on the grounds of prior use. Therefore, the cost of missing the Section 8 filing is far more than simply paying another application fee.

Evidence of use is not just a matter of casually taking a couple of photos.

The evidence required to be submitted with a Section 8 declaration must prove genuine use of the trademark in U.S. commerce. USPTO examiners will examine whether the evidence points to the U.S. market, whether it corresponds to the goods or services specified in the registration, and whether it shows the trademark itself. Common acceptable evidence includes: photos of actual goods bearing the trademark, screenshots of sales pages on Amazon or standalone websites (showing the trademark, price, and add-to-cart button), invoices or shipping documents issued to U.S. customers, and screenshots of U.S. local advertising. Unacceptable evidence includes: design drafts merely showing the trademark logo, pure brand promotional pages without sales links, and documents issued only to Chinese customers. In practice, we generally recommend that clients prepare at least 3 to 5 sets of evidence from different time points, covering continuous use after registration, rather than submitting just one screenshot. If the registration covers multiple classes, each class must have corresponding evidence of use.

After submission, the USPTO will still examine it; it is not over once filed.

After the Section 8 declaration is submitted, the USPTO will conduct a formal examination and a substantive examination. If the examiner finds the evidence insufficient, it will issue an Office Action requiring you to respond within a specified period. The response period is usually 3 months, and an extension may be requested, but the extension also requires a fee. If you fail to respond by the deadline, the declaration will be deemed abandoned, and the registration will likewise be cancelled. There is a detail here: the examination standard for a Section 8 declaration is somewhat more lenient than the examination of evidence of use at the application stage, but it is not a mere formality. We have seen a client submit a product image bearing the trademark, but the image had no price and no purchase entry point, and the examiner rejected it outright. Therefore, the completeness and verifiability of the evidence are crucial. If you also need to submit a Section 15 declaration of incontestability, you can submit it together with the Section 8 declaration; the two can be filed in combination, saving one fee.

For Madrid System trademark designations of the United States, the rules are the same, but omissions are more likely.

Trademarks protected by designating the United States through the Madrid System likewise need to file a Section 8 declaration in the fifth to sixth year. The difference is that the registration date of a Madrid trademark is based on the date on which the USPTO approves the extension of protection. Many Chinese applicants only remember the international registration date and overlook the USPTO’s actual approval date, resulting in miscalculated deadlines. In addition, subsequent maintenance documents for Madrid trademarks are sometimes transmitted through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which involves more intermediate steps and makes omissions more likely. We generally recommend that Madrid clients set up a separate maintenance docket for the U.S. market and clearly list the USPTO approval date, the Section 8 window, and the Section 15 window. If you are unfamiliar with the subsequent maintenance of a Madrid designation of the United States, you can refer to the explanations in intellectual property legal services for other countries, or have a professional team directly monitor the deadlines for you.

The Three Key Dates Most Easily Overlooked by Cross-Border E-Commerce Sellers

For sellers on Amazon, standalone websites, or TikTok Shop, trademarks are often the core asset for Brand Registry. Once a US trademark is canceled for failure to file a Section 8, the Brand Registry will lapse at the same time, and A+ pages, Brand Stores, and the Transparency program may all be affected. Based on our review, sellers most easily overlook three deadlines: first, the opening date of the filing window in the fifth year from the registration date; second, the sixth-year deadline; and third, the last day of the grace period. These three dates should preferably be entered into the company calendar immediately after registration is successful, and a dedicated person should be assigned responsibility. If no one within the company is familiar with US trademark maintenance, we recommend entrusting this matter to a professional firm for deadline management. Maintenance of overseas intellectual property is itself a matter requiring continuous investment, and an overseas intellectual property strategy is not just about filing; it also includes subsequent declarations, renewals, and monitoring. When our team helps clients with US trademark maintenance, we usually send the first reminder six months before the window opens and follow up every two months after it opens, ensuring that no deadline is missed due to personnel changes or overlooked emails.

What to Do Now: An Actionable Checklist

If you already have a U.S. registered trademark, there are several things you can do right now. First, locate the registration certificate and confirm the registration date; second, calculate the window between the 5th and 6th years and mark it on your calendar; third, take stock of the trademark’s actual use in the United States and collect sales pages, invoices, and product photos bearing the trademark; fourth, confirm the classes covered by the registration, and there must be evidence for each class; fifth, if the window has already passed but you are within the grace period, file as soon as possible and pay the surcharge; sixth, if the grace period has also passed, assess whether to reapply and check for any prior rights obstacles. For trademarks that are still in the application process, it is advisable to plan the future maintenance schedule when filing the application. Successfully registering a U.S. trademark is only the beginning; the Section 8 declaration is an unavoidable hurdle. If you need to systematically understand the trademark maintenance rules in the United States and the European Union, you can viewUS and EU trademark and patent filing page., which contains more detailed information on the deadlines and fees.

The foreign-related intellectual property team of Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm focuses on U.S. and EU trademark and patent applications and maintenance. Hotline: 0755-25986969.

Disclaimer: This article is based on U.S. federal trademark laws and regulations and publicly available USPTO practices as of 2026 and is provided for general informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice for any specific matter. Trademark maintenance deadlines, fee schedules, and examination standards may be adjusted at any time. Readers should consider the registration date, class, and use of their own trademarks and consult a qualified attorney for advice specific to their circumstances. Our firm assumes no liability for any decisions made in reliance on the contents of this article.