How to Register a Trademark in Texas (2026)
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Texas · Last updated August 12, 2026
A Texas state trademark is registered with the Texas Secretary of State under the Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 16 (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 16.001 et seq.). The application fee is $50 per class of goods or services, and a Texas registration lasts five years before it must be renewed. Registration is now online-only through the Secretary of State's Trademarks Online System, because paper filings are no longer accepted. A Texas registration protects your mark within the state but does not give the nationwide rights that a federal USPTO registration provides, so many Texas businesses selling online or across state lines file federally instead.
How much does it cost to register a trademark in Texas?
The Texas Secretary of State charges $50 per class of goods or services to register a trade or service mark under Business and Commerce Code Chapter 16. A later renewal costs $25 per class. These state fees are far lower than the USPTO's $350 per class, but a Texas registration only protects your mark inside Texas.
How long does a Texas state trademark registration last?
A Texas registration is effective for five years. To keep it, you must file a renewal with the Secretary of State during the last six months of the five-year term, and the mark must still be in use. Renewals can be repeated for successive five-year periods, so the registration can continue indefinitely while used.
Do I register a Texas trademark with the Secretary of State or the USPTO?
The Texas Secretary of State handles state registrations under Chapter 16, which cover use within Texas only. The USPTO handles federal registration, which gives nationwide priority and the right to use the register symbol. Businesses selling across state lines or online usually file federally; a purely local Texas business may register with the state.
How do I file a Texas trademark application in 2026?
You file online through the Texas Secretary of State's Trademarks Online System. The office no longer accepts paper applications, so the old Form 901 paper filing is being phased out in favor of the online portal. You provide the mark, the owner, the goods or services and their classes, a specimen showing use, and the $50-per-class fee.
Texas trademarks: Chapter 16, online-only filing, and the Buddy Holly Act
Texas trademark law lives in Chapter 16 of the Business and Commerce Code (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 16.001 et seq.), administered by the Corporations Section of the Texas Secretary of State. A distinctive feature of the modern Texas system is that registration is now fully online: the Secretary of State moved trademark filings to its Trademarks Online System and stopped accepting paper applications, so the historic paper Form 901 is being retired. Texas also has one of the country's most notable right-of-publicity statutes, Chapter 26 of the Property Code, often called the Buddy Holly Act after the Lubbock-born musician. It creates a transferable property right in a person's name, voice, signature, photograph, and likeness that survives death for 50 years, and a claimant who wants to enforce it in the first year after death must register the claim with the same Secretary of State that handles trademarks. On the trade-secret side, Texas adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 134A) effective September 1, 2013, allowing owners to enjoin even threatened misappropriation.
Relevant Laws
Texas Business & Commerce Code Chapter 16 (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 16.001 et seq.)
The Texas trademark statute governing state registration, rights, assignment, and renewal of trade and service marks, administered by the Secretary of State.
Texas Secretary of State - Trademarks & Service Marks
The official Texas filing office page for state trademark registration. Filing is online-only through the Trademarks Online System at $50 per class, with a five-year term renewable at $25 per class.
Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 134A)
Texas's adoption of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, effective September 1, 2013, allowing injunctions against actual or threatened misappropriation and recovery of damages and, in some cases, attorneys' fees.
Texas Property Code Chapter 26 - Right of Publicity (Buddy Holly Act)
Texas's right-of-publicity statute, creating a transferable property right in a person's name, voice, signature, photograph, and likeness that survives 50 years after death.
Regional Variances
Registering in Texas vs. federally vs. by use alone
Texas (Secretary of State, Chapter 16)
Rights within Texas only. $50 per class, online-only via the Trademarks Online System, five-year term renewable at $25 per class. Requires actual use in Texas; no intent-to-use filing.
Federal (USPTO, Lanham Act)
Nationwide priority, presumption of ownership, and the register symbol. $350 per class, ten-year term, and intent-to-use filing is allowed under Section 1(b).
Common law (use in Texas)
Rights arise automatically from use in your actual Texas trading area. Free, but limited in geography and hardest to enforce without a registration certificate.
Related Texas business-brand statutes
Trade secrets: TUTSA (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 134A)
Texas adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act effective September 1, 2013. Covers injunctions against threatened misappropriation, damages, and fee-shifting for willful and malicious conduct or bad-faith claims.
Right of publicity: Buddy Holly Act (Tex. Prop. Code 26)
A statutory, transferable property right in name, voice, signature, photograph, and likeness that lasts 50 years after death. Early enforcement requires registering the claim with the Secretary of State within one year of death.
Non-competes (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 15.50)
Enforceable only if ancillary to an otherwise enforceable agreement and reasonable in time, area, and scope. Often used alongside confidentiality terms to protect brand and trade-secret information.
Suggested Compliance Checklist
Confirm actual use of the mark in Texas
Before filing days after startingTexas registers marks already in use, not intent-to-use marks. Document your date of first use in Texas and gather a specimen showing the mark as actually used on goods or in services.
Clear the mark in Texas and federal records
Before filing days after startingSearch the Texas Secretary of State trademark records and the USPTO Trademark Search database for confusingly similar marks on related goods or services before paying the $50-per-class fee.
Classify goods or services
Before filing days after startingMap exactly what you sell to the international classes. The Texas fee is $50 per class, so an accurate class count both sets your budget and reduces the risk of rejection.
File via the Trademarks Online System
When ready days after startingSubmit the application online through the Texas Secretary of State, because paper filings are no longer accepted. Provide owner, mark, classes, first-use dates, a specimen, and pay $50 per class.
Calendar the five-year renewal window
Last 6 months of the 5-year term days after startingFile a renewal with the Secretary of State at $25 per class during the last six months of the five-year registration, confirming the mark is still in use. Missing the window lets the registration lapse.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirm actual use of the mark in Texas | Texas registers marks already in use, not intent-to-use marks. Document your date of first use in Texas and gather a specimen showing the mark as actually used on goods or in services. | - | Before filing |
| Clear the mark in Texas and federal records | Search the Texas Secretary of State trademark records and the USPTO Trademark Search database for confusingly similar marks on related goods or services before paying the $50-per-class fee. | - | Before filing |
| Classify goods or services | Map exactly what you sell to the international classes. The Texas fee is $50 per class, so an accurate class count both sets your budget and reduces the risk of rejection. | - | Before filing |
| File via the Trademarks Online System | Submit the application online through the Texas Secretary of State, because paper filings are no longer accepted. Provide owner, mark, classes, first-use dates, a specimen, and pay $50 per class. | trademark-application | When ready |
| Calendar the five-year renewal window | File a renewal with the Secretary of State at $25 per class during the last six months of the five-year registration, confirming the mark is still in use. Missing the window lets the registration lapse. | - | Last 6 months of the 5-year term |
Frequently Asked Questions
No. A registration under Business and Commerce Code Chapter 16 only gives rights within Texas. It does not stop someone in another state from using a similar mark, and it does not carry the nationwide priority of a federal USPTO registration. If you sell across state lines or online, a federal registration is usually the better protection.
No. Unlike the federal system, which allows a Section 1(b) intent-to-use application, Texas registers marks that are already in use in the state. You must show a date of first use and provide a specimen of the mark as actually used, so you cannot reserve a mark in Texas before you begin using it.
Yes. Texas enacted the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act, codified at Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 134A, effective September 1, 2013. It lets a trade-secret owner obtain an injunction against actual or even threatened misappropriation and recover damages, and it can award attorneys' fees where misappropriation was willful and malicious or a claim was made in bad faith.
The Buddy Holly Act, Chapter 26 of the Texas Property Code, is the state's right-of-publicity statute. It creates a property right in a person's name, voice, signature, photograph, and likeness that lasts 50 years after death. It is separate from trademark law, but both are administered by the Texas Secretary of State, where an heir must register a publicity claim in the first year after death to enforce it early.
They can be. Under Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 15.50, a Texas non-compete is enforceable only if it is ancillary to an otherwise enforceable agreement and is reasonable in time, geographic area, and scope of activity. Employers protecting brand and trade-secret information often pair a non-compete with confidentiality terms rather than relying on trademark law alone.
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