How to Register a Trademark in Michigan (2026)
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Michigan · Last updated August 12, 2026
A Michigan trademark or service mark is registered with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) through its Corporations Division, under the Trademarks and Service Marks Act, Act 242 of 1969 (MCL 429.31 et seq.). The state filing fee is $50, and each application covers only one mark in one classification. A Michigan registration lasts 10 years and can be renewed for successive 10-year terms. State registration protects you only within Michigan; businesses selling across state lines or online usually register federally with the USPTO instead, and many owners do both.
How do I register a trademark in Michigan?
File a completed Application for Registration of Trademark/Service Mark (Form 600) with LARA's Corporations Division, along with two samples of the mark and the $50 fee. Michigan requires the mark to already be used in commerce, so there is no intent-to-use option at the state level as there is federally.
How much does a Michigan trademark registration cost?
The Michigan filing fee is a flat $50 per application, payable to the State of Michigan and nonrefundable. Each application covers only one mark in one classification, so registering the same mark in a second class means a second $50 application. Renewal later costs $25 per registration.
How long does a Michigan trademark last?
A Michigan registration is effective for 10 years from the date of registration under MCL 429.35. You can renew it for successive 10-year terms by filing a renewal application within the six months before it expires, together with the $25 renewal fee. LARA notifies registrants in the year before expiration.
Should I register in Michigan or with the USPTO?
A Michigan registration only protects you inside Michigan and cannot stop out-of-state use. If you sell across state lines or online, federal registration with the USPTO gives nationwide priority and the ® symbol. State registration mainly suits purely local Michigan businesses, though some owners file both.
Michigan's 1969 mark statute and a famous publicity case
Michigan's trademark system runs on the Trademarks and Service Marks Act, Act 242 of 1969 (MCL 429.31 et seq.), administered not by a standalone Secretary of State office but by the Corporations, Securities & Commercial Licensing Bureau (CSCL) within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). A distinctive feature is that Michigan will only register a mark already used in commerce to offer goods or services, so unlike the USPTO there is no intent-to-use track. Each Form 600 application is limited to a single mark in a single classification for the flat $50 fee. Michigan is also notable for what it lacks: it has never enacted a right-of-publicity statute, leaving that protection to the common-law tort of appropriation. That common-law right was famously stretched by the Sixth Circuit in Carson v. Here's Johnny Portable Toilets (1983), where a Michigan company's use of the phrase Here's Johnny for portable toilets was held to appropriate Johnny Carson's identity, extending publicity protection beyond a literal name or image to a recognizable catchphrase.
Relevant Laws
Michigan Trademarks and Service Marks Act, Act 242 of 1969 (MCL 429.31 et seq.)
The state statute governing registration of trademarks and service marks with LARA, including the requirement of use in commerce, the certificate of registration (MCL 429.34), and the 10-year renewable term (MCL 429.35).
LARA Corporations Division: Trademark, Service Mark & Insignia
The official Michigan filing office page for state trademark and service mark registration. Provides Form 600, the $50 fee, the one-mark-one-class rule, and renewal information.
Michigan Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Act 448 of 1998 (MCL 445.1901 et seq.)
Michigan's adoption of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, defining trade secrets and providing remedies for misappropriation, including injunctions and damages under MCL 445.1901 to 445.1910.
Lanham Act (Trademark Act of 1946), 15 U.S.C. §1051 et seq.
The federal statute governing nationwide trademark registration through the USPTO. Michigan businesses selling across state lines or online typically register federally rather than, or in addition to, registering with the state.
Regional Variances
Registering in Michigan vs. federally vs. common law
Michigan (LARA Corporations Division)
Protection within Michigan only, under Act 242 of 1969. Flat $50 per Form 600 application, one mark and one class each; mark must already be in use. Lasts 10 years, renewable for 10-year terms at $25.
Federal (USPTO)
Nationwide priority, the ® symbol, and federal-court enforcement. $350 per class, and unlike Michigan it accepts intent-to-use filings. Lasts 10 years, renewable, with Section 8 and 9 maintenance filings.
Common law (use in Michigan)
Rights arise automatically from actual use, limited to your Michigan trading area. Free, but harder to prove and enforce, and you cannot use the ® symbol without a federal registration.
How Michigan handles related brand and identity rights
Trademark term and renewal (MCL 429.35)
10-year term, renewable for successive 10-year terms; renewal application due within the six months before expiration with a $25 fee. LARA notifies the registrant in the year before it expires.
Trade secrets (Act 448 of 1998)
Michigan adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act at MCL 445.1901 et seq., protecting confidential business information through injunctions and damages for misappropriation.
Right of publicity (common law only)
No Michigan statute exists. The common-law tort of appropriation applies, extended by Carson v. Here's Johnny Portable Toilets (6th Cir. 1983) to cover a recognizable catchphrase.
Suggested Compliance Checklist
Confirm the mark is in use in Michigan commerce
Before filing days after startingMichigan only registers marks already used in commerce. Document your date of first use in Michigan and first use anywhere, since Form 600 requires both and there is no intent-to-use option.
Clear the mark against Michigan and USPTO records
Before filing days after startingSearch LARA Corporations Division records and the USPTO Trademark Search database for confusingly similar marks on related goods or services. A prior user generally has superior rights.
Select the single classification for this application
Before filing days after startingEach Michigan application covers one mark in one class. Identify the correct classification, and plan a separate $50 application for each additional class you use the mark in.
File Form 600 with LARA and pay $50
When ready days after startingSubmit the Application for Registration of Trademark/Service Mark to LARA's Corporations Division with two samples of the mark and the nonrefundable $50 fee payable to the State of Michigan.
Calendar the 10-year renewal window
Within 6 months before the 10-year expiration days after startingUnder MCL 429.35, file the renewal application in the six months before your term expires, with the $25 renewal fee, to keep the Michigan registration in force for another 10 years.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirm the mark is in use in Michigan commerce | Michigan only registers marks already used in commerce. Document your date of first use in Michigan and first use anywhere, since Form 600 requires both and there is no intent-to-use option. | - | Before filing |
| Clear the mark against Michigan and USPTO records | Search LARA Corporations Division records and the USPTO Trademark Search database for confusingly similar marks on related goods or services. A prior user generally has superior rights. | - | Before filing |
| Select the single classification for this application | Each Michigan application covers one mark in one class. Identify the correct classification, and plan a separate $50 application for each additional class you use the mark in. | - | Before filing |
| File Form 600 with LARA and pay $50 | Submit the Application for Registration of Trademark/Service Mark to LARA's Corporations Division with two samples of the mark and the nonrefundable $50 fee payable to the State of Michigan. | trademark-application | When ready |
| Calendar the 10-year renewal window | Under MCL 429.35, file the renewal application in the six months before your term expires, with the $25 renewal fee, to keep the Michigan registration in force for another 10 years. | - | Within 6 months before the 10-year expiration |
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Michigan registers a mark only after it is actually used in commerce to offer goods or services, so there is no intent-to-use application at the state level. That differs from the federal system, where the USPTO accepts Section 1(b) intent-to-use filings. If you have not started using the mark yet, a federal intent-to-use application is the way to reserve priority.
No. Under Michigan's system each Form 600 application covers only one mark in one classification. If your mark is used on goods and services that fall into different classes, you must file a separate application, with its own $50 fee, for each class you want to register.
No. Michigan has never enacted a right-of-publicity statute. Instead, control over the commercial use of a person's name, likeness, or identity is protected by the common-law tort of appropriation. The Sixth Circuit's Carson v. Here's Johnny Portable Toilets (1983) applied that Michigan right to a well-known catchphrase, not just a literal name or image.
Yes. Michigan adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act as Act 448 of 1998, codified at MCL 445.1901 to 445.1910. It defines a trade secret, prohibits misappropriation, and allows injunctions and damages. Trademark registration protects a public brand, while the trade-secret act protects confidential information like formulas, methods, and customer lists that you keep secret.
Honestly, not much beyond a low-cost public record of your rights inside Michigan. A state registration is limited to Michigan and cannot reach infringement in other states, while a federal USPTO registration provides nationwide priority, the ® symbol, and federal-court remedies. Michigan registration is most useful for a purely local business or as an inexpensive supplement to common-law rights.
Other Michigan guides
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