What Your TSDR Trademark Status Means

The status line in TSDR is short, and it can be cryptic. Our main copyright and trademark law page covers what registration gives you; this page translates the stages an application passes through, using the USPTO's own process timelines, and tells you what to do at each one. To look up a file, the USPTO says to enter the serial or registration number in TSDR and choose Status or Documents; for a registration, the Maintenance button shows the next filing deadline. Exact status wording in TSDR varies, and the USPTO says to contact its Trademark Assistance Center if you do not understand the status shown.

How to Read Your Status, Step by Step

Open the record. Enter your serial or registration number in TSDR.
Read the status and the status date. The date tells you when the current stage began, which is what most deadlines count from.
Open the Documents tab. The USPTO says official communications, including office actions, are uploaded there.
Find the stage in the table below. Note the next step and the deadline.
Calendar the deadline. The USPTO says it does not extend filing deadlines even when you do not receive its messages.
Save a copy of the status screen. The USPTO recommends keeping one each time you check, as proof of diligence if something goes wrong.

Common application stages in TSDR, what they mean and what comes next (USPTO timelines and rules as of October 25, 2026)
Stage	What it means	Your next step and deadline
New application, not yet assigned	Filed and waiting in the queue for an examining attorney	Nothing to file; the USPTO's average to first action is 4.3 months (data as of October 1, 2026)
Assigned to an examining attorney	Under review for whether federal law permits registration	Watch for an approval or office action
Non-final office action issued	Refusals or requirements to address	Respond within 3 months; one 3-month extension for $125
Final office action (final refusal)	Remaining refusals or requirements made final	Within the same period: respond, appeal to the TTAB, or in limited cases petition the Director
Suspended	Action paused, for example behind an earlier conflicting application	Answer any suspension inquiry; keep monitoring
Approved for publication	The examiner found no remaining grounds for refusal	Publication follows in about one month
Published for opposition	Listed in the weekly Trademark Official Gazette	Others have 30 days, extendable, to oppose or ask for more time
Opposition pending	A third party opposed at the TTAB	Answer the opposition by the Board's deadline
Notice of allowance issued	Intent-to-use mark survived opposition; not yet registered	Statement of use or extension within 6 months
Statement of use filed	Proof of use under review	Watch for approval or an office action
Registered	The mark is on the register	Section 8 declaration between years 5 and 6; renewals every 10 years
Abandoned	The application is dead, often for a missed deadline	Petition to revive within 2 months of the notice, or refile
Cancelled or expired (registration)	The registration has ended	Usually a new application; limited reinstatement routes

What If It Says the Application Is Waiting for Examination?

That is normal for months. The USPTO's Section 1(a) timeline says that after filing, it takes about six to nine months to reach the examiner's review, and its wait-times page, with data as of October 1, 2026, reports an average of 4.3 months to the first examining action. Our page on how long trademark registration takes explains the queue, including the rule that places multiple applications from the same applicant within three months together. A call during this stage claiming you owe fees to get assigned an examiner is a scam pattern the USPTO warns about; see our page on spotting fake USPTO notices.

What If It Shows a Non-Final or Final Office Action?

Then the clock is running. For a non-final action, the USPTO's timeline says you must respond within three months of the issue date, with an optional three-month extension for a fee; the extension costs $125 and can bring the total to six months for Section 1 and 44 applications (37 CFR 2.62(a)). The examiner then reviews the response, which the USPTO says takes about one to two months. Our guide to USPTO office actions covers the common refusals and requirements.

A final office action makes the remaining refusals final. The USPTO says you may appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, respond in a way that overcomes the remaining issues, or in limited circumstances petition the Director, and that if you do none of these by the deadline, the application is abandoned. An appeal costs $225 per class to file.

What Does a Suspension Mean?

The examination is paused, not denied. Action on a later application is suspended while an earlier conflicting application is pending, until that one registers or is abandoned (37 CFR 2.83(c)), and the USPTO can also suspend for other good cause, such as a pending proceeding relevant to registrability (37 CFR 2.67). A suspension can last a long time. If the blocking application belongs to someone else and you have a ground an examiner can use against it, such as your own registration or evidence that its mark is descriptive, our page on letters of protest explains how third parties can put evidence before the examiner. Earlier use alone is a matter for an opposition.

What Happens After Approval and Publication?

The USPTO's timeline says publication in the Trademark Official Gazette comes about one month after approval. That starts the opposition window: anyone who believes they would be damaged may oppose within 30 days of publication, and the period can be extended on request (15 U.S.C. 1063(a)). If someone files an opposition, the case moves to the Board; our page on the TTAB opposition process explains how it runs.

With no opposition, a use-based application registers within about three months after publication, according to the USPTO. An intent-to-use application gets a notice of allowance instead, which the USPTO says it issues within two months after publication and which "is not a registration."

What Does a Notice of Allowance Mean for You?

That you now have to prove use. The USPTO says you must file a statement of use, or an extension request, within six months of the notice's date; each extension lasts six months, and you can file a total of five. A statement of use goes to an examining attorney, and if it is approved, the USPTO says it registers the mark within about two months. If the examiner finds problems with the statement of use, the USPTO's intent-to-use timeline says the office action must be answered within six months of its issue date. Our page on filing as in use or intent to use explains the extension rules and costs.

What If It Says Abandoned?

Move quickly. If the abandonment was for a missed office action or statement of use deadline and the delay was unintentional, the USPTO says to file a petition to revive no later than two months after the issue date of the Notice of Abandonment, or, if you never received the notice, within two months of learning of it and no later than six months after the abandonment date in TSDR (37 CFR 2.66). The petition needs a statement that the delay was unintentional and the $250 fee, plus the missed response or statement of use in most cases. Our page on what to do after a missed office action deadline walks through the details.

If the window has passed, the usual path is a new application with new fees and a later filing date. The USPTO says it does not refund filing fees for an abandoned application.

What Should You Watch After Registration?

The maintenance deadlines. The USPTO says the Maintenance button in TSDR shows your next required filing under "Next maintenance filing required." A Section 8 declaration is due before the end of the sixth year after registration, with a six-month grace period for an extra fee, and a combined Section 8 declaration and Section 9 renewal is due before the end of each ten-year period. If you miss them, the USPTO says the registration will be canceled. Our page on trademark maintenance deadlines and fees lists each filing. If a third party challenges your registration, our page on cancellation proceedings explains what they can and cannot claim.

How Often Should You Check?

The rule sets the minimum: applicants are responsible for monitoring status at least every six months between filing and registration, and registrants at least every six months after filing a Section 8, Section 71 or Section 9 document until it is accepted (37 CFR 2.23(d)). The USPTO's guidance goes further and recommends checking every three to four months. It also suggests keeping your email address current, adding the USPTO to your safe senders list, and keeping a copy of each status screen you check.

What Changes the Answer

Your filing basis. Intent-to-use applications add the notice of allowance and statement of use stages.
A Madrid-based application. Section 66(a) applications get six-month office action response periods (37 CFR 2.62(a)(1)(ii)).
A final versus non-final action. A final action brings the appeal option and abandonment if nothing is filed in time.
An earlier conflicting application. It can hold yours in suspension until it is resolved (2.83(c)).
Whether you received the notice. The revival deadline differs if you never received the Notice of Abandonment (2.66).

A Worked Example

For example, suppose a Columbus, Georgia coffee shop files an intent-to-use application in March 2026. In September, TSDR still shows it waiting for examination, which fits the USPTO's averages. In late October an office action appears in the Documents tab asking for a clearer description of services; the owner calendars the three-month deadline and responds in three weeks.

The mark is approved, published, and no one opposes. TSDR then shows a notice of allowance, and the owner calendars six months from its date. The shop opens on time, so the owner files a statement of use with a photo of the sign and menu. A few months later TSDR shows the mark as registered, and the owner notes the Section 8 deadline shown under the Maintenance button.

Change one fact: the office action email went to an old inbox and TSDR later shows the application as abandoned. Because the owner checks TSDR every few months, the abandonment is caught within weeks, inside the two-month petition window.

Common Mistakes

Waiting for an email instead of checking TSDR. The USPTO does not extend deadlines for messages you did not receive.
Reading "approved for publication" as registered. Opposition and, for intent-to-use filings, a statement of use still lie ahead.
Treating a notice of allowance as a registration. The USPTO says it is not one.
Letting a suspension slide. Suspension inquiries have deadlines too.
Missing the two-month revival window. After it, refiling is usually the only route (2.66).
Paying a caller who cites your status. Status is public; check TSDR's Documents tab before paying anyone.

What to Do This Week

Look up each of your applications and registrations in TSDR.
Note the current stage, the status date and any document dated after your last check.
Calendar the next deadline for each one.
Confirm the correspondence email is one you read.
Set a recurring reminder to check every three to four months.
Save a copy of each status screen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Doesn't My New Filing Show in TSDR Yet?

The USPTO says new documents may not show in TSDR immediately, so a document you filed today may not appear the same day.

Does "Live" or "Dead" Matter?

Yes. The USPTO describes an abandoned application or canceled registration as no longer active, or live. Only live applications and registrations can block another applicant's registration, according to the USPTO's search guidance.

Can I Get Status by Phone?

The USPTO says to contact the Trademark Assistance Center if you do not understand the status shown in TSDR, at 1-800-786-9199.

Does a Registered Status Mean I Never Have to Check Again?

No. Registrants must monitor status after filing maintenance documents until they are accepted (2.23(d)), and the maintenance deadlines continue every ten years.

What If TSDR Shows an Attorney I Did Not Hire?

Check the Status tab's attorney and correspondence information. The USPTO says incorrect correspondence information can be corrected with its Change of Representation form.

Can I Revive After Missing the Statement of Use Deadline?

Often, if the delay was unintentional and you file within the two-month window, with the statement of use or the missed extension requests and their fees, according to the USPTO.

Zala IP Law prepares federal trademark applications, office action responses and statements of use, and monitors deadlines for clients across the United States and internationally. If your TSDR status has you unsure what comes next, request a consultation or call 404-313-1701, and have your serial number ready.

What Does Your Trademark Application Status in TSDR Mean?