Trademark Registration in Singapore: Why It Matters and How to Do It Right

Last Updated: June 2026

Trademark registration Singapore starts with one online filing through the IPOS Digital Hub: you choose the goods or services your mark will cover, file Form TM4, and pay from about S$280 per class. The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) then runs a formalities check, examines the mark, publishes it for two months, and issues a registration certificate that lasts 10 years and is renewable. Most applications that face no objection or opposition are registered in about nine months.

This guide walks through the full process: the fees, the Nice Classification of goods and services, what you can and cannot register, the most common reasons applications are rejected, and how renewal works. If you are still deciding whether you even need a trademark, or you are unsure how a registered company name differs from brand protection, read our separate guide on trademark versus company registration first. This post assumes you have decided to register and want to know how.

Key Takeaways

• Trademarks are filed online through the IPOS Digital Hub (the old IP2SG portal closed on 25 May 2022).
• The application fee is about S$280 per class for a pre-approved description, or about S$410 per class for a custom specification.
• Goods and services are grouped into 45 classes under the Nice Classification; you pay per class.
• A registration lasts 10 years and is renewable indefinitely at about S$480 per class.
• A typical application is registered in around nine months if there is no objection or opposition.
• A company name registered with ACRA does not give you brand protection; only a trademark does.

Why register a trademark at all?

A trademark is the sign that tells customers your goods or services come from you and not a competitor. It can be a brand name, a logo, a tagline, a product name, and in some cases a shape or sound. Once registered, it gives you the exclusive right to use that mark for the goods and services you registered it under, and the legal standing to stop others from using a confusingly similar one.

This is the point many founders miss: registering your company with ACRA secures the legal entity name, but it does not protect your brand. Another business can trade under a very similar brand even if your company name is on the ACRA register. Brand protection is the job of a trademark, filed with IPOS, and the two registers are entirely separate. We cover that distinction in full in our trademark versus company registration guide, so the rest of this article focuses on the mechanics of getting registered.

A registered mark is also an asset. You can license it, sell it, or use it as part of the value of your business, and it supports expansion overseas through the Madrid Protocol, which lets you extend a Singapore filing to other member countries.

The trademark registration process step by step

IPOS handles every Singapore trademark application through one online channel. The flow below reflects the current process published by IPOS.

1. Search first. Run a Similar Mark Search on the IPOS Digital Hub to check that no identical or confusingly similar mark already exists for your class of goods or services. A clash found before filing saves the application fee.
2. File the application (Form TM4). Submit your mark, the owner details, and the list of goods or services, grouped by class, through the IPOS Digital Hub or the IPOS Go mobile app. The fee depends on whether you use a pre-approved description (cheaper) or write your own (more expensive).
3. Formalities check. IPOS confirms the filing meets the basic requirements and issues a filing date. The filing date matters because Singapore is a first-to-file system.
4. Examination. An examiner checks the mark against the legal grounds for registration. If there is an objection, you have four months to respond, extendable if needed.
5. Publication. The accepted mark is published in the Trade Marks Journal for two months so the public can inspect it.
6. Opposition period. During those two months, a third party who believes the mark conflicts with theirs can file an opposition. Most applications pass through unopposed.
7. Registration. With no objection or opposition outstanding, IPOS registers the mark and issues the certificate. Protection runs for 10 years from the filing date.

A clean application with no objection and no opposition is usually registered in about nine months, according to IPOS. Objections, requests for more information, or an opposition will extend that.

The IPOS registration process at a glance

Nice Classification: why you pay per class

Singapore, like most countries, sorts goods and services into 45 classes under the international Nice Classification. Classes 1 to 34 cover goods, and classes 35 to 45 cover services. A clothing brand sits in Class 25, a software product in Class 9, and consulting services in Class 35.

You pay the application fee for each class you register in, so the number of classes drives your cost. A cafe that sells branded coffee beans (Class 30) and also runs the cafe as a service (Class 43) would file in two classes and pay twice. Choosing the right classes matters: too few leaves gaps a competitor can exploit, and too many wastes money on protection you will not use. This is one of the areas where getting professional input early pays off, and it is also where our corporate secretarial team often works alongside founders setting up a new venture.

Official fees and timeline

The figures below are the current IPOS fees. IPOS revised several trademark fees with effect from 1 September 2025, so always confirm the live figure on the IPOS site before you file.

• Application, pre-approved description: about S$280 per class. This applies when you pick your goods and services from the IPOS pre-approved list.
• Application, custom specification: about S$410 per class. This applies when your description is not fully adopted from the pre-approved list.
• Renewal: about S$480 per class, every 10 years.

Source: IPOS Forms and Fees and IPOS How to Register, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, fees effective 1 September 2025.

Using a pre-approved description is the simplest way to keep costs down and reduce the risk of an objection over an unclear specification. The trade-off is that the pre-approved wording may not describe a novel product perfectly, in which case a custom specification at the higher fee is the right call.

What can and cannot be registered

To be registrable, a mark must be capable of being represented clearly and must be distinctive, meaning it can distinguish your goods or services from everyone else’s.

Generally registrable: invented or arbitrary brand names, logos, distinctive taglines, product names, and in some cases shapes, colours, and sounds.

Generally not registrable:

• Descriptive terms that simply describe the goods or a quality of them, such as “best”, “cheap”, or “fresh” for food.
• Generic words that are customary in the trade or in everyday language.
• Marks identical or confusingly similar to an earlier registered mark for related goods or services.
• Deceptive marks, or marks contrary to public policy or morality.
• National flags, state emblems, and other protected signs.

Common reasons trademark applications are rejected

Most rejections trace back to a handful of avoidable issues:

• The mark is descriptive or non-distinctive. A name that only describes what you sell will struggle, because the law does not let one trader monopolise ordinary descriptive words.
• It conflicts with an existing mark. A Similar Mark Search before filing is the single best way to catch this early.
• The goods or services are wrongly classified. Filing in the wrong class, or with a vague specification, draws objections and can leave gaps in protection.
• Incomplete or inconsistent filing details. Owner details that do not match supporting documents slow the formalities check.

Each of these can usually be fixed or avoided with a proper search and a carefully drafted specification before you file. That is why many businesses file through a professional rather than risk losing the application fee on a foreseeable objection.

Renewal: keeping your mark alive

A Singapore trademark lasts 10 years from the filing date and can be renewed for further 10-year terms with no limit on the number of renewals, as long as you file Form TM19 and pay the renewal fee (about S$480 per class). The renewal window opens six months before expiry. Miss the expiry date and you face higher late-renewal and restoration fees, and if you let it lapse entirely the mark can be removed from the register and become available to others.

Because the renewal date is a decade away, it is easy to forget, which is exactly when brands lose protection. We cover the deadlines, the late-renewal and restoration windows, and how to diarise them in our dedicated guide on trademark renewal in Singapore.

Where this fits in your wider setup

A trademark rarely sits on its own. If you are still setting up, our guide on how to register a company in Singapore covers the entity side, and online sellers should pair brand protection with the right marketplace accounts, which we cover in our e-commerce business registration guide. Growing businesses also tend to ask about funding and reliefs, summarised in our Singapore Budget 2026 SME summary, and about data handling under the PDPA once a brand starts collecting customer information.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to register a trademark in Singapore?

The IPOS application fee is about S$280 per class if you use a pre-approved description of goods or services, or about S$410 per class for a custom specification. You pay per class, so the total depends on how many classes your mark covers. These fees were revised with effect from 1 September 2025, so confirm the current figure on the IPOS site before filing.

How long does trademark registration take in Singapore?

A straightforward application with no objection and no opposition is usually registered in around nine months. Objections from the examiner, requests for more information, or an opposition filed during the two-month publication period will extend the timeline.

How long does a Singapore trademark last?

A registered trademark lasts 10 years from the filing date. You can renew it for further 10-year terms with no limit on the number of renewals, by filing Form TM19 and paying the renewal fee of about S$480 per class within the renewal window.

Where do I file a trademark application in Singapore?

All applications are filed online through the IPOS Digital Hub or the IPOS Go mobile app. The older IP2SG portal was retired on 25 May 2022, so any guide that still points you to IP2SG is out of date.

Does registering my company name with ACRA protect my brand?

No. An ACRA company registration secures your legal entity name on the company register, but it does not give you brand protection. Only a trademark filed with IPOS gives you the exclusive right to use your brand for your goods or services. The two registers are separate, and we explain the difference in our trademark versus company registration guide.

What is the Nice Classification?

The Nice Classification is the international system that sorts goods and services into 45 classes. Classes 1 to 34 are goods and classes 35 to 45 are services. Your trademark is registered for specific classes, and you pay the application fee for each class you cover.

Talk to us

Choosing the right classes, drafting a specification that survives examination, and clearing a similar-mark search are where applications succeed or fail. If you would rather get it right the first time than risk the application fee on an avoidable objection, Excellence Singapore can run the search, handle the filing, and manage renewals so your brand stays protected.