The USPTO sends a courtesy email at the start of each maintenance filing window — Section 8 at year 5, combined Section 8 and 9 at year 9, and each 10-year cycle after. The catch is where it goes, and what happens when the email address on file is no longer the right one.
Done in seconds. No sign-up required.
| When sent | First day of each statutory filing window (year 5, year 9, every 10 years after) |
| Sent to | Attorney of record if any; otherwise the owner email on file |
| From address | Always ends in @uspto.gov |
| Obligation | None. The USPTO is explicit it isn't required to send reminders. |
| Effect of not receiving | Doesn't excuse a missed deadline. Cancellation still applies. |
| In effect since | Late January 2015 |
The USPTO courtesy email is well-intentioned, but the routing rules create predictable gaps. Five to ten years is a long time, and the email address tied to the original registration often isn't the address actively read by the trademark owner when the deadline arrives.
Common scenarios where the email doesn't reach the owner:
Each scenario sounds rare. Across a 20-year registration with three filing windows, the odds compound.
Updating the correspondence address on file with the USPTO is straightforward and free. It involves filing a Change of Address or Representation (CAR) form through the TEAS portal at uspto.gov. Use it any time:
Doing this is one of the cheapest insurance policies in trademark practice. It's also the kind of task that gets postponed indefinitely.
A reminder you control — tied to your own personal email, not your law firm's correspondence system — survives attorney changes, firm departures, and ownership transfers. You receive an email a few days before each filing window opens, regardless of what's happening at the USPTO end.
Combined with the USPTO courtesy reminder, you have two independent signals: one from the official record-keeper, one from a system you can control. If either reaches you, you have time to file. If both reach you, the message is reinforced. If only one reaches you because of a routing problem at the USPTO, you still have a working alert.
Setting up a trademark renewal reminder takes about 30 seconds. The reminder lives at your email address, not your law firm's, so it keeps working even if everything else changes.
Yes, the USPTO sends courtesy email reminders. The reminder goes out on the first day of each statutory filing period — for example, on the 5th anniversary of registration for the Section 8 declaration of use. The USPTO is clear that these emails are a courtesy and that failure to receive one does not excuse a missed deadline.
The email goes to the attorney of record if you have one, or to the owner's email address on file if you filed pro se. If your attorney has changed firms, retired, or stopped representing you, the email may not reach the right inbox. The same applies if your own email address has changed since the original filing.
The reminder is sent on the first day of the statutory filing period for the upcoming maintenance filing — the 5-year anniversary of registration for Section 8, the 9-year anniversary for the combined Section 8 and Section 9, and every 10 years thereafter. Some firms note they've seen additional follow-up communications, but the USPTO's documented commitment is one reminder per window.
No. The USPTO's own page states: "the USPTO is not obligated to send reminders of these deadlines, and failure to receive a reminder does not excuse you from meeting your deadline." Treat the courtesy email as a useful nudge, not a guaranteed safety net.
You file a Change of Address or Representation (CAR) form through the TEAS portal at uspto.gov. If your attorney of record has changed, you also need to file the appropriate Power of Attorney or Revocation of Power of Attorney form. The change isn't automatic — it has to be filed.
Common reasons include: the attorney of record has left the firm or retired, the firm closed, the email goes to a generic inbox no one monitors, the owner's email address has changed since the original filing, or the message is caught in a corporate spam filter. A second reminder system that you control closes those gaps.
Free. No account. Tied to your personal email, not your law firm's. You'll get an email before each Section 8 and Section 9 window opens — regardless of who the attorney of record is or whether the USPTO email reaches you.
Set Trademark Renewal ReminderLast modified: