How to Register a Trademark in Arkansas (2026)
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Arkansas · Last updated August 12, 2026
An Arkansas trademark or service mark registration is filed with the Arkansas Secretary of State's Business and Commercial Services division under the state Trademark Act, Ark. Code 4-71-201 et seq. It protects a mark used within Arkansas and costs $50 per classification of goods or services. A state registration lasts five years and can be renewed for successive five-year terms. For rights that reach beyond Arkansas, most businesses selling across state lines register federally with the USPTO instead of, or in addition to, filing in Little Rock.
How much does it cost to register a trademark in Arkansas?
The Arkansas Secretary of State charges $50 per classification of goods or services for a state trademark or service mark application, payable to the Secretary of State. The same $50 fee applies to a renewal. If your mark spans several international classes, you pay $50 for each class you register it in.
How long does an Arkansas state trademark last?
A trademark registered with the Arkansas Secretary of State is effective for five years from the date of registration under Ark. Code 4-71-203. You can renew it for another five-year term by filing within the six months before it expires, and you may keep renewing for successive five-year periods so long as the mark stays in use.
Does an Arkansas trademark protect me outside Arkansas?
No. A registration with the Arkansas Secretary of State only reaches use within Arkansas. It gives no nationwide priority and cannot stop an out-of-state business from using a similar mark. If you sell across state lines or online, you generally need a federal registration from the USPTO to protect the mark beyond Arkansas.
Where do I file a trademark application in Arkansas?
State trademark and service mark applications are filed with the Business and Commercial Services division of the Arkansas Secretary of State in Little Rock. The office provides a fillable Application for the Registration of a Trademark or Service Mark, along with classification instructions, on its website at sos.arkansas.gov.
Arkansas: a five-year term and a nationally noted publicity law
Arkansas keeps its state trademark system deliberately lean. Registration runs through the Business and Commercial Services division of the Secretary of State under the Arkansas Trademark Act, Ark. Code 4-71-201 et seq., at a flat $50 per classification, with a five-year term set by Ark. Code 4-71-203 rather than the ten-year federal term. What sets Arkansas apart from most states in the broader brand-and-identity space is the Frank Broyles Publicity Rights Protection Act of 2016, Ark. Code 4-75-1101 et seq., named for the legendary University of Arkansas football coach and athletic director. The Act protects a person's name, voice, signature, photograph, and likeness from unauthorized commercial use, makes that right freely transferable and descendible after death, and does not require the person to be a celebrity. Arkansas has since broadened its definitions of likeness and photograph to reach AI-generated reproductions, making the state an early mover on synthetic-media identity rights.
Relevant Laws
Arkansas Trademark Act, Ark. Code 4-71-201 et seq.
The state statute governing registration and protection of trademarks and service marks with the Secretary of State, including definitions (4-71-201) and the five-year term and renewal rules (4-71-203).
Arkansas Secretary of State - Trademark / Service Mark
The official Business and Commercial Services page for state trademark filing, with the $50-per-class application, classification instructions, FAQs, and the registration form.
Arkansas Trade Secrets Act, Ark. Code 4-75-601 et seq.
Arkansas's adoption of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, defining trade secrets and providing injunctive relief and damages for misappropriation.
Frank Broyles Publicity Rights Protection Act of 2016, Ark. Code 4-75-1101 et seq.
Arkansas's right-of-publicity statute, protecting name, voice, signature, photograph, and likeness from unauthorized commercial use, with rights that are transferable and descendible and now extend to AI-generated likenesses.
Regional Variances
Arkansas state registration vs. federal registration
Arkansas Secretary of State (Ark. Code 4-71-201 et seq.)
Protects the mark within Arkansas only. $50 per classification; five-year term renewable for successive five-year periods. Filed with the Business and Commercial Services division; requires actual use in Arkansas.
Federal (USPTO, Lanham Act)
Nationwide priority, presumption of ownership, the right to use the registered symbol, and federal-court enforcement. $350 per class base fee; ten-year term, renewable indefinitely. Intent-to-use filing available.
Common law (use alone)
Rights arise from actual use and are limited to the Arkansas trading area where the mark is used. Free, but the hardest to enforce and no registered symbol.
How Arkansas handles related brand-and-identity law
Trade secrets
Arkansas adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act as the Arkansas Trade Secrets Act, Ark. Code 4-75-601 et seq., with a three-year limitations period for misappropriation claims.
Right of publicity
The Frank Broyles Publicity Rights Protection Act of 2016, Ark. Code 4-75-1101 et seq., is a statutory right covering name, voice, signature, photograph, and likeness, transferable and descendible, and extended to AI-generated likenesses.
Renewal timing quirk
Unlike the federal ten-year cycle, Arkansas marks expire every five years and must be renewed within the six months before expiration under Ark. Code 4-71-203, so calendaring matters.
Suggested Compliance Checklist
Confirm use of the mark in Arkansas
Before filing days after startingVerify the trademark or service mark is actually in use in Arkansas and gather a specimen and the date of first use in the state, since the Secretary of State's application requires them.
Clear the mark against Arkansas and federal records
Before filing days after startingSearch Arkansas Secretary of State records and the USPTO Trademark Search database for confusingly similar marks on related goods or services to avoid a refusal or an infringement claim.
Classify goods or services
Before filing days after startingUse the Secretary of State's classification instructions to assign your goods or services to international classes. Cost is $50 per classification, so class count drives the fee.
File the Arkansas trademark application
When ready to register days after startingSubmit the Application for the Registration of a Trademark or Service Mark to Business and Commercial Services with $50 per classification payable to the Secretary of State.
Calendar the five-year renewal
Within 6 months before expiration days after startingDocket the five-year expiration and file a renewal with the $50 renewal fee under Ark. Code 4-71-203 during the six-month pre-expiration window to keep the registration in force.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirm use of the mark in Arkansas | Verify the trademark or service mark is actually in use in Arkansas and gather a specimen and the date of first use in the state, since the Secretary of State's application requires them. | - | Before filing |
| Clear the mark against Arkansas and federal records | Search Arkansas Secretary of State records and the USPTO Trademark Search database for confusingly similar marks on related goods or services to avoid a refusal or an infringement claim. | - | Before filing |
| Classify goods or services | Use the Secretary of State's classification instructions to assign your goods or services to international classes. Cost is $50 per classification, so class count drives the fee. | - | Before filing |
| File the Arkansas trademark application | Submit the Application for the Registration of a Trademark or Service Mark to Business and Commercial Services with $50 per classification payable to the Secretary of State. | trademark-application | When ready to register |
| Calendar the five-year renewal | Docket the five-year expiration and file a renewal with the $50 renewal fee under Ark. Code 4-71-203 during the six-month pre-expiration window to keep the registration in force. | - | Within 6 months before expiration |
Frequently Asked Questions
If your business is purely local to Arkansas, a $50-per-class state registration through the Secretary of State may be enough. If you sell across state lines or online, federal registration with the USPTO gives nationwide priority that an Arkansas registration cannot. Many owners do both, or rely on common-law rights from use until they file federally.
State trademark and service mark registration is governed by the Arkansas Trademark Act, codified at Ark. Code 4-71-201 et seq. within the Registration and Protection subchapter. It defines registrable marks, sets the application requirements handled by the Secretary of State, and establishes the five-year registration term and renewal process in Ark. Code 4-71-203.
Yes. Arkansas adopted a version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, known as the Arkansas Trade Secrets Act, codified at Ark. Code 4-75-601 et seq. It defines a trade secret, allows injunctions and damages for misappropriation, and generally requires suit within three years after the misappropriation is or should have been discovered.
Yes. The Frank Broyles Publicity Rights Protection Act of 2016, Ark. Code 4-75-1101 et seq., protects a person's name, voice, signature, photograph, and likeness from unauthorized commercial use. The right is transferable and descendible, the person need not be a celebrity, and Arkansas has expanded its scope to cover AI-generated likenesses.
Arkansas state registration is built around marks already in use in the state, and the application asks for the date of first use in Arkansas. Unlike the federal system, there is no state intent-to-use track that reserves a mark you have not yet used. If you need to lock in priority before launch, the USPTO intent-to-use option is the usual route.
Other Arkansas guides
Arkansas Notice to Vacate: 2026 Landlord Rules, 3-Day & 10-Day Tracks
Asset Protection Planning in Arkansas (2026)
Dealing With Debt Collectors in Arkansas (2026)
How to Break a Lease in Arkansas Legally (2026)
How to Dispute a Bill in Arkansas (2026)
How to File a Small Claims Lawsuit in Arkansas (2026)
Ready to Draft Your Document?
Get AI-powered legal documents with attorney review included. Plans start at $39.99/mo.