How to Register a Trademark in Montana (2026)
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Montana · Last updated August 12, 2026
A Montana trademark registration is filed with the Montana Secretary of State's Business Services Division under the state trademark statute, Mont. Code Ann. 30-13-301 et seq. It costs $20 per class and lasts 5 years, renewable for additional 5-year terms under Mont. Code Ann. 30-13-313. A Montana registration only protects your mark inside Montana, so businesses that sell across state lines or online usually pursue federal USPTO registration instead. Montana also protects confidential business information under its Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Mont. Code Ann. 30-14-401 et seq.
How much does it cost to register a trademark in Montana?
The Montana Secretary of State charges $20 to register a mark, plus $20 for each additional class of goods or services, under Mont. Admin. R. 44.5.120. Renewal, assignment, and cancellation each also cost $20. That flat state fee is far lower than the federal USPTO base fee of $350 per class.
How long does a Montana state trademark registration last?
A mark registered with the Montana Secretary of State is effective for 5 years from the date of registration under Mont. Code Ann. 30-13-313. You can renew it for successive 5-year terms by filing a renewal application within six months before the term expires. Miss the window and the registration lapses.
Does a Montana trademark protect me outside Montana?
No. A mark registered with the Montana Secretary of State is good only within the State of Montana. It gives you no priority in other states and cannot stop out-of-state use. For nationwide rights, the right to use the (R) symbol, and federal-court enforcement, you need a federal USPTO registration under the Lanham Act.
Where do I file a trademark application in Montana?
You file with the Montana Secretary of State's Business Services Division, either by mailing the paper Registration of Mark form to P.O. Box 202801, Helena, MT 59620-2801, or through the online portal at biz.sosmt.gov. The mark must already be in use in Montana before you apply, and you submit a specimen showing that use.
Montana's trademark law lives in Title 30, and enforcement leans on trade-secret and privacy statutes
Montana's state trademark scheme sits in Mont. Code Ann. 30-13-301 et seq. (Title 30, Chapter 13, Part 3), administered by the Secretary of State's Business Services Division in Room 260 of the Capitol in Helena. The registration procedure and the $20-per-class fee are fleshed out in the Administrative Rules of Montana at 44.5.120 and 44.5.141, so the statute and the rulebook must be read together. Montana adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act at Mont. Code Ann. 30-14-401 et seq., which is often the sharper tool for a Montana business protecting a customer list, formula, or process that a state trademark never reaches. Montana has no standalone right-of-publicity statute. Unauthorized use of a person's name or likeness is handled through common-law privacy principles, though in 2025 the Legislature enacted HB 513 addressing name, image, and likeness rights for student-athletes, signaling the state is starting to codify this area.
Relevant Laws
Montana Trademark Registration Act, Mont. Code Ann. 30-13-301 et seq.
Montana's state trademark statute (Title 30, Chapter 13, Part 3), governing registration of marks with the Secretary of State. Section 30-13-313 sets the 5-year renewable term.
Montana Secretary of State, Business Services (trademark filing)
The official Montana Secretary of State office where marks are registered. The Registration of Mark form is filed here and online at biz.sosmt.gov; the fee is $20 per class.
Montana Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Mont. Code Ann. 30-14-401 et seq.
Montana's adoption of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, protecting confidential business information such as formulas, methods, and customer lists through injunctions and damages.
Mont. Admin. R. 44.5.120 (Trademark Fees)
The Administrative Rules of Montana provision setting the $20 fee to register a mark plus $20 for each additional class, and $20 each for renewal, assignment, and cancellation.
Regional Variances
Registering in Montana vs. federally vs. by use alone
Montana Secretary of State
$20 per class under Mont. Admin. R. 44.5.120; effective 5 years and renewable for 5-year terms under Mont. Code Ann. 30-13-313. Protection is limited to Montana and requires the mark already be in use in-state.
Federal (USPTO)
$350 per class under the Lanham Act; a 10-year renewable term with nationwide priority, the (R) symbol, and federal-court enforcement. Allows intent-to-use filings, which Montana does not.
Montana common-law rights
Rights arise from actual use within your Montana trading area without any filing, but they are the hardest to prove and cannot support the (R) symbol.
How Montana protects marks, secrets, and likeness
Trademarks
Registered marks under Mont. Code Ann. 30-13-301 et seq., filed with the Secretary of State's Business Services Division in Helena for a flat $20 per class.
Trade secrets
Montana adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act at Mont. Code Ann. 30-14-401 et seq., reaching formulas, methods, and customer lists that a trademark never covers.
Name and likeness
No standalone right-of-publicity statute; unauthorized use is handled under common-law privacy, with 2025's HB 513 adding student-athlete NIL protections.
Suggested Compliance Checklist
Confirm in-state use and clear the mark
Before filing days after startingVerify the mark is already in use in Montana, then search the Secretary of State records at biz.sosmt.gov and the USPTO database for confusingly similar marks on related goods or services.
Classify goods and services
Before filing days after startingList each class the mark is used on. The Montana fee is $20 for the first class plus $20 per additional class under Mont. Admin. R. 44.5.120, so class count drives the total cost.
Prepare the Registration of Mark application
When ready to file days after startingComplete the Secretary of State's Registration of Mark form (Form 73) with owner details, a description or drawing of the mark, classes, first-use date in Montana, and a specimen showing use.
File with the Montana Secretary of State and pay the fee
When ready to file days after startingSubmit the application at biz.sosmt.gov or by mail to the Business Services Division, P.O. Box 202801, Helena, MT 59620-2801, with the $20 base fee plus $20 per additional class.
Calendar the 5-year renewal
Within 6 months before the term ends days after startingUnder Mont. Code Ann. 30-13-313, the registration lasts 5 years. File the $20 renewal within the six months before expiration so protection continues, and record any change in ownership.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirm in-state use and clear the mark | Verify the mark is already in use in Montana, then search the Secretary of State records at biz.sosmt.gov and the USPTO database for confusingly similar marks on related goods or services. | - | Before filing |
| Classify goods and services | List each class the mark is used on. The Montana fee is $20 for the first class plus $20 per additional class under Mont. Admin. R. 44.5.120, so class count drives the total cost. | - | Before filing |
| Prepare the Registration of Mark application | Complete the Secretary of State's Registration of Mark form (Form 73) with owner details, a description or drawing of the mark, classes, first-use date in Montana, and a specimen showing use. | montana-registration-of-mark | When ready to file |
| File with the Montana Secretary of State and pay the fee | Submit the application at biz.sosmt.gov or by mail to the Business Services Division, P.O. Box 202801, Helena, MT 59620-2801, with the $20 base fee plus $20 per additional class. | - | When ready to file |
| Calendar the 5-year renewal | Under Mont. Code Ann. 30-13-313, the registration lasts 5 years. File the $20 renewal within the six months before expiration so protection continues, and record any change in ownership. | - | Within 6 months before the term ends |
Frequently Asked Questions
If your business operates only inside Montana, the $20-per-class state registration is cheap and quick. If you sell across state lines, online, or plan to grow, choose federal USPTO registration, which gives nationwide priority, the (R) symbol, and federal-court enforcement. Some Montana businesses do both, using the state filing while a federal application is pending.
No. Unlike the federal system, Montana registers marks that are already in use within the state. You must be selling goods or offering services under the mark in Montana before you apply, and you submit a specimen proving that use. If you only plan to use a mark later, an intent-to-use USPTO application is the route that reserves priority.
Montana adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, codified at Mont. Code Ann. 30-14-401 et seq. It protects information like formulas, customer lists, methods, and processes that derive value from secrecy and are subject to reasonable efforts to keep them secret. A trade-secret claim can reach confidential business information that a trademark registration never covers, and it allows injunctions and damages.
Montana has no standalone right-of-publicity statute. Unauthorized commercial use of a person's name or likeness is generally addressed through common-law privacy principles. In 2025 the Legislature enacted HB 513 covering name, image, and likeness rights for student-athletes, so the area is developing, but for most name-and-likeness disputes Montana still relies on common law.: confirm exact codification and scope of HB 513.
If you do not file the $20 renewal within the six months before the 5-year term ends under Mont. Code Ann. 30-13-313, the registration lapses and the record no longer reflects your rights with the state. You may still hold common-law rights from continued use in Montana, but you would have to re-register to restore the statutory registration benefits.
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