How to Register a Trademark in Mississippi (2026)
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Mississippi · Last updated August 12, 2026
Trademark protection in Mississippi comes in two layers. Nationwide rights come from federal registration with the USPTO, while a Mississippi state registration under the Registration of Trademarks and Labels Act, Miss. Code 75-25-1 et seq., protects a mark used inside the state. State marks are filed with the Mississippi Secretary of State on Form F0023 for $50 (residents) or $60 (non-residents) per class. A Mississippi registration lasts five years and can be renewed for successive five-year terms. State registration is optional and does not depend on any federal filing.
How do I register a trademark at the state level in Mississippi?
You file an Application to Register or Renew Trade and Service Marks (Form F0023) with the Mississippi Secretary of State under Miss. Code 75-25-1 et seq. You must already be using the mark in Mississippi, and you submit the application, a specimen showing use, and the per-class fee to the Business Services division in Jackson.
How much does a Mississippi state trademark registration cost?
The Mississippi Secretary of State charges $50 per class for residents and $60 per class for non-residents on Form F0023. A separate application and fee are required for each classification of goods or services. This state fee is far lower than the USPTO base fee of $350 per class, but it only protects the mark within Mississippi.
How long does a Mississippi trademark registration last?
A Mississippi state registration lasts five years from the date it is issued. It can be renewed for successive five-year terms, with the renewal application filed within the six months before the current term expires. This five-year cycle is much shorter than the federal ten-year term used by the USPTO, so Mississippi owners must diary the deadline carefully.
Should I register with Mississippi or the USPTO?
If you sell across state lines or online, federal USPTO registration gives nationwide priority and is usually the better choice. A Mississippi state registration under Miss. Code 75-25-1 suits a purely in-state business. It is cheap and fast but stops at the state border and gives no right to the federal court presumptions that a USPTO registration provides.
Mississippi's Registration of Trademarks and Labels Act
Mississippi trademark registrations are governed by the Registration of Trademarks and Labels Act, codified at Miss. Code 75-25-1 through 75-25-37, and administered by the Business Services division of the Mississippi Secretary of State in Jackson. Unlike the federal system, Mississippi requires actual use of the mark within the state before you can register. There is no intent-to-use track. Applications are filed on the Secretary of State's Form F0023 for a flat $50 per class for residents or $60 per class for non-residents, and each class of goods or services needs its own application and fee. The distinctive feature of the Mississippi scheme is its short five-year registration term, renewable for successive five-year periods, which is half the length of the federal ten-year term and demands closer calendar discipline. Mississippi follows the Nice international classification system for grouping goods and services, so a mark used on both apparel and retail services would be filed in two classes. A state registration is entirely independent of any USPTO filing and reaches only conduct inside Mississippi's borders.
Relevant Laws
Registration of Trademarks and Labels Act, Miss. Code 75-25-1 et seq.
Mississippi's state trademark statute, covering registration, classification, the five-year term and renewal, and infringement remedies. Requires actual in-state use before registration.
Mississippi Secretary of State, Trademarks (filing office)
The official Secretary of State page for trademark and service mark registration, with access to Form F0023, the Application to Register or Renew Trade and Service Marks, and the fee schedule.
Mississippi Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Miss. Code 75-26-1 et seq.
Mississippi's adoption of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Defines trade secrets, allows injunctions against misappropriation, and permits damages for actual loss plus unjust enrichment.
Lanham Act (Trademark Act of 1946), 15 U.S.C. §1051 et seq.
The federal statute governing nationwide trademark registration with the USPTO, infringement, and remedies, including the likelihood-of-confusion standard. Applies alongside any Mississippi state registration.
Regional Variances
Mississippi state mark vs. federal USPTO mark
Mississippi (Secretary of State, Miss. Code 75-25-1)
$50 per class for residents, $60 for non-residents on Form F0023. Five-year term, renewable for successive five-year periods. Requires actual in-state use; no intent-to-use basis. Protection stops at the Mississippi border.
Federal (USPTO, Lanham Act)
$350 per class base fee. Ten-year term, renewable indefinitely. Intent-to-use filing allowed. Nationwide priority, the ® symbol, and a federal-court presumption of ownership.
Common law (use alone)
Rights arise automatically from use in Mississippi, limited to the actual trading area. Free, but the hardest to enforce and no certificate or ® symbol.
Related Mississippi intellectual property law
Trade secrets (Miss. Code 75-26-1 et seq.)
Mississippi adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Courts may enjoin actual or threatened misappropriation and award actual loss plus unjust enrichment, preserving secrecy through protective orders.
Right of publicity
No dedicated Mississippi statute. Unauthorized commercial use of a name or likeness is handled under the common-law privacy tort of appropriation.: confirm Mississippi case citations.
Suggested Compliance Checklist
Verify in-state use before filing in Mississippi
Before filing days after startingConfirm the mark is actually in use in Mississippi and gather a specimen. Miss. Code 75-25-1 has no intent-to-use basis, so a state application without current use will be rejected.
Search Mississippi and USPTO records for conflicts
Before filing days after startingCheck the Mississippi Secretary of State's registered marks and run a USPTO Trademark Search for confusingly similar marks on related goods or services before you spend the per-class fee.
Classify goods or services and count classes
Before filing days after startingAssign each product or service to a Nice class. Mississippi requires a separate application and fee per class at $50 (resident) or $60 (non-resident), so the class count sets your total cost.
File Form F0023 with the Secretary of State
When ready days after startingSubmit the Application to Register or Renew Trade and Service Marks with owner details, the mark, class, first-use date, a specimen, and the per-class fee to Business Services, P.O. Box 136, Jackson, MS 39205-0136.
Calendar the five-year Mississippi renewal
Within 6 months before expiration days after startingMississippi registrations last five years. File a renewal on Form F0023 with the renewal fee in the six months before the term ends to keep the registration active for another five years.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verify in-state use before filing in Mississippi | Confirm the mark is actually in use in Mississippi and gather a specimen. Miss. Code 75-25-1 has no intent-to-use basis, so a state application without current use will be rejected. | - | Before filing |
| Search Mississippi and USPTO records for conflicts | Check the Mississippi Secretary of State's registered marks and run a USPTO Trademark Search for confusingly similar marks on related goods or services before you spend the per-class fee. | - | Before filing |
| Classify goods or services and count classes | Assign each product or service to a Nice class. Mississippi requires a separate application and fee per class at $50 (resident) or $60 (non-resident), so the class count sets your total cost. | - | Before filing |
| File Form F0023 with the Secretary of State | Submit the Application to Register or Renew Trade and Service Marks with owner details, the mark, class, first-use date, a specimen, and the per-class fee to Business Services, P.O. Box 136, Jackson, MS 39205-0136. | trademark-application | When ready |
| Calendar the five-year Mississippi renewal | Mississippi registrations last five years. File a renewal on Form F0023 with the renewal fee in the six months before the term ends to keep the registration active for another five years. | - | Within 6 months before expiration |
Frequently Asked Questions
No. A registration under Miss. Code 75-25-1 reaches only conduct within Mississippi. It gives you no rights in other states and none of the nationwide priority or federal-court presumptions that a USPTO registration provides. If you do business across state lines or online, you should register federally for meaningful protection.
No. Unlike the federal system, Mississippi requires that the mark already be in use in the state before you can register it on Form F0023. There is no intent-to-use filing basis, and you must supply a specimen showing actual use. If you are not yet using the mark in Mississippi, wait until you are, or file federally on an intent-to-use basis.
Yes. Mississippi enacted the Mississippi Uniform Trade Secrets Act, codified at Miss. Code 75-26-1 through 75-26-19. It defines a trade secret, allows courts to enjoin actual or threatened misappropriation, permits recovery of both actual loss and unjust enrichment, and directs courts to preserve secrecy during litigation through protective orders and sealed records.
Mississippi has no standalone right of publicity statute. Instead, unauthorized commercial use of a person's name or likeness is addressed through the common-law privacy tort of appropriation of name or likeness, which Mississippi courts recognize. Because there is no dedicated statute, the scope of that protection is defined by case law rather than a fixed code section.: confirm current Mississippi case citations.
Renewals are filed on the same Form F0023 used to register, within the six months before the five-year term expires. The Secretary of State's fee structure charges per class, mirroring the initial $50 resident and $60 non-resident per-class amounts.: confirm the exact renewal fee on the current Secretary of State fee schedule.
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