Verified statement

Statements that are verified include assurances of the accuracy and truth regarding those statements; they are sometimes called declarations. Verified statements are made under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the statements provided are true and believed to be true or accurate. Essentially, this means you have been warned of the legal consequences of making willful false statements in any document filed with us. Why do we do this? Filing an application with the USPTO starts a legal proceeding regarding your trademark to determine whether it can be federally registered, which would provide extensive and exclusive legal rights that generally would span the entire United States.

The USPTO will only accept certain statements in an application or application- or registration-related submission if they are verified. If these statements are not true or accurate, then third parties or the USPTO could potentially cancel the application or registration.

This webpage focuses only on the statements the USPTO requires to be verified in an application or allegation of use. The specific statements requiring verification depend on:

• The type of filing basis in your application (for example, use-in-commerce)
• Whether you are filing an allegation of use (which is either an amendment to allege use (AAU) or statement of use (SOU))
• The timing of when the verified statement is being filed.

There are many other trademark-related submissions that require verified statements, such as maintenance submissions submitted after registration. Verification is a legal tool used to gather critical information and evidence regarding the trademark and the trademark owner.

For more information about the requirements for verified statements generally, see TMEP Sections 804-804.02, 1104.08, 1109.06.

Which assurances to include

Below are the verified statements required for a trademark application, AAU, and SOU.

Initial application

An application filed under Trademark Act Section 1(a) based on a use in commerce must include ALL the following statements:

• The signatory believes that the applicant is the owner of the trademark/service mark sought to be registered.
• The mark is in use in commerce on or in connection with the goods/services in the application.
• The specimen(s) shows the mark as used on or in connection with the goods/services in the application.
• To the best of the signatory’s knowledge and belief, the facts recited in the application are accurate.
• To the best of the signatory's knowledge and belief, no other persons, except, if applicable, concurrent users, have the right to use the mark in commerce, either in the identical form or in such near resemblance as to be likely, when used on or in connection with the goods/services of such other persons, to cause confusion or mistake, or to deceive.

An application filed under Section 1(b) or a foreign application filed under Section 44(d) or a foreign registration filed under Section 44(e) based on intent to use must include ALL the following statements:

• The signatory believes that the applicant is entitled to use the mark in commerce.
• The applicant has a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce on or in connection with the goods/services in the application.
• To the best of the signatory’s knowledge and belief, the facts recited in the application are accurate.

To the best of the signatory's knowledge and belief, no other persons, except, if applicable, concurrent users, have the right to use the mark in commerce, either in the identical form or in such near resemblance as to be likely, when used on or in connection with the goods/services of such other persons, to cause confusion or mistake, or to deceive.

For more information about:

• The required verified statements for a Section 1 or 44 application, see TMEP Sections 804.02, 804.03.
• The required verified statements in a Madrid Section 66(a) application, see TMEP Sections 804.05, 1904.01(c).

Note: This webpage does not discuss a Madrid Section 66(a) filing basis for a U.S. trademark application, which is based on a request for extension of protection of an international registration to the United States sent from the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organization. In this application basis, the verified statement is part of the international registration with the IB, which we do not review.

Amendment to allege use (AAU)

An AAU is filed in a Section 1(b) intent-to-use application to convert it to a Section 1(a) use-in-commerce application. An AAU is filed before the application is approved for publication. The AAU must include ALL the following statements:

• The signatory believes the applicant is the owner of the mark sought to be registered.
• The mark is in use in commerce on or in connection with all the goods/services in the application or notice of allowance, or as subsequently modified.
• The specimen(s) shows the mark as used on or in connection with the goods/services in commerce.
• To the best of the signatory's knowledge and belief, no other persons, except, if applicable, concurrent users, have the right to use the mark in commerce, either in the identical form or in such near resemblance as to be likely, when used on or in connection with the goods/services of such other persons, to cause confusion or mistake, or to deceive.

For more information about:

• The required verified statements for an AAU, see TMEP Section 1104.08.
• An intent-to-use application and filing an AAU, see the ITU basis webpage.

Statement of use (SOU)

An SOU is filed in a Section 1(b) intent-to-use application to convert it to a Section 1(a) use-in-commerce application. An SOU is filed after the application is approved for publication and after we issue a notice of allowance. The SOU must include ALL the following statements:

• The signatory believes that the applicant is the owner of the mark sought to be registered.
• The mark is in use in commerce on or in connection with all the goods/services in the notice of allowance, or as subsequently modified.
• The specimen(s) shows the mark as used on or in connection with the goods/services in commerce.
• To the best of the signatory's knowledge and belief, no other persons, except, if applicable, concurrent users, have the right to use the mark in commerce, either in the identical form or in such near resemblance as to be likely, when used on or in connection with the goods/services of such other persons, to cause confusion or mistake, or to deceive.

For more information about:

• The required verified statements for an SOU, see TMEP Section 1109.06.
• An intent-to-use application and filing an SOU, see the ITU basis webpage.

Common mistakes

We may ask you to fix or supplement your verified statements for a variety of reasons, including the following:

• The declaration is unsigned.
• Required statements are missing.
• A signature is submitted without, or separate from, a declaration, oath, or other method of verification.
• The date the declaration was signed or the date the document was notarized is omitted.
• The application, AAU, or SOU was not filed within a year after it was signed.

Who can sign verified statements

If you are an individual or a sole proprietorship (that is, you are not a legally-organized business such as a partnership or corporation), the only people who can sign your verified statements are:

• You
• Someone with firsthand knowledge of the facts and actual or implied authority to act on your behalf
• A qualified U.S.-licensed attorney, if you have one.

If you are a corporation, partnership, LLC, or other type of business entity, the only people who can sign for you are:

• Someone with legal authority to bind the entity (e.g., a corporate officer of a corporate applicant, or a general partner of a partnership applicant)
• Someone with firsthand knowledge of the facts and actual or implied authority to act on your behalf
• A qualified U.S.-licensed attorney, if you have one.

For more information about who can sign verified statements, see TMEP Sections 611.03(a), 804.04.

Submission must be personally signed

Whoever is signing a submission to the USPTO must personally sign the printed document with pen-and-ink, enter by typing their signature electronically, or direct the document-signing software to enter their name. Another person cannot sign for an attorney, an applicant or registrant, or other authorized signer.

For more information about a signature being personally signed or entered, see TMEP Section 611.01(b), (c).

What happens if verification is not signed by proper person

Any submission not signed by an authorized person could delay or prolong the application process, lead to the abandonment of your application, and/or jeopardize the legal validity of any resulting registration.

If the USPTO determines that a submission was not signed by an authorized person, the submission will not be accepted and any arguments, evidence, or amendments in the submission will not be considered or entered in the record.

For more information about who can sign a verified statement, see TMEP Sections 611.01(b), 611.03(a), 804.04.

Timeframe for signing and filing a verified statement

Applications, AAUs, SOUs and related documents must be filed with the USPTO within one year after having been signed. If more time has elapsed, you must submit the required verified statements again. In such case, slightly modified versions of the verified statements will be required. See TMEP Section 804.02 for more information about those modifications.

You must always specify the date a document is signed.

For more information about when a verified statement must be signed and the required signature date, see TMEP Sections 804.01(b), 804.03, 1104.10(b)(ii), 1109.11(c).

How to provide a verified statement, omitted statements, name/title of signer, or date signed

You must use our Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) to file submissions relating to your trademark application or registration. To respond to a verification issue in a non-final office action, use the TEAS Response to Office Action (ROA) online form. To respond to this issue in a final office action, use the TEAS Request for Reconsideration after Final Action form. These forms include the verified statements within the declaration text in the “Declaration Signature” section of the forms. The instructions provided in both forms are the same.

For technical assistance with these response forms, contact TEAS@uspto.gov.

When providing a declaration in a TEAS submission, the form will require signatures in two locations - in the declaration signature section and in the response or request for reconsideration signature section. The same individual may not always have the authority to sign in both places. See “Who can sign verified statements” above for who can sign the TEAS “Declaration Signature” section and directly below for who can sign a TEAS response form.

Who can sign a TEAS response or request form:

• If you have a qualified U.S.-licensed attorney, the attorney must sign the response.
• If you don’t have such an attorney, and
  • you are an individual applicant, then you must sign and date the response yourself.
  • you are a juristic applicant (e.g., corporation, partnership), then someone with legal authority to bind the juristic applicant (e.g., a corporate officer or general partner) must sign and date the form. For joint applicants, all joint applicants must sign.

  ADVISORY: When submitting a signed document to the USPTO, the person submitting it is certifying that the allegations and other factual contentions have evidentiary support.

  For more information on who can sign a response, see TMEP Sections 611.03(b), 611.06, 712.01.

  Methods for electronically signing your declaration and TEAS submission

  • Electronic signature. The signer personally types the signature in the TEAS signature block. The signature may be any combination of letters, numbers, spaces, and/or punctuation marks placed between two forward slash (/) symbols (e.g., /john doe/) that the signer has adopted as a signature. If the filer is not the signer of the form, the filer may email the completed unsigned form from within TEAS to the signer to personally type the signer’s signature. The form will then be automatically returned to the filer for submission.
  • Pen-and-ink traditional handwritten signature. The filer prints out the completed form in text format and sends it to the signer who reviews and personally signs and dates it in the usual pen-and-ink manner. The signature and date portion, together with the wording of a declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20, if required, is then scanned by the filer as a jpg or pdf image file and attached to the form for electronic submission.
  • Document-signing software signature. The filer downloads the signature page and emails it to the signer who reviews the completed form using the link on the signature page. The signer personally applies their signature using software that creates a digital certificate, token, or audit trail. If the software does not automatically enter the date signed, the signer must enter the date. The signature page, including (1) the wording of a declaration under 37 C.F.R. section 2.20, if required, and (2) the timestamp generated by the USPTO’s electronic filing system, is then returned to the filer for upload to the form for electronic submission.

  All signatures must specify the first and last name and title or position of the signer, and include the date of signing.

  For more information on the requirements for signing documents electronically, see TMEP Section 611.01(c).

  TEAS online form instructions

  To submit the required verified statements.

  1. After entering the form and providing the application serial number, answer “Yes” to the question regarding submitting a “Signed Declaration” to verify an application.
  2. Follow the instructions within the form for signing the declaration and signing the response.

  Note: When submitting a verified statement, the TEAS online form will require two signatures. See above regarding who can sign a declaration and who can sign a response.

  To submit the name/title or position of signer or date the application, AAU, or SOU was signed.

  1. After entering the form and providing the application serial number, answer "Yes" to the question regarding submitting a “Miscellaneous Statement.”
  2. On the page of the form with the heading "Additional Statement(s)," check the box for "Miscellaneous Statement."
  3. Enter, by typing in the text field for the “Miscellaneous Statement,” the name and/or title or position of the signer, or the date the application, AAU, or SOU was signed, and state that the date refers to the actual date the application, AAU, or SOU was signed.
  4. Follow the instructions in the form for signing the response.

  To submit a statement from a notary public regarding the date the application was notarized.

  1. After entering the form and providing the application serial number, answer “Yes” to the question regarding submitting a “Miscellaneous Statement.”
  2. On the page of the form with the heading "Additional Statement(s)," check the box for "Miscellaneous Statement."
  3. Upload an image file in pdf or jpg of the statement from the notary public using the “Click here to Attach/Remove Miscellaneous” button. Include in the text field a statement explaining what is being attached.
  4. Follow the instructions in the form for signing the response.