Trademarks USPTO.gov Account ID Verification Program

Issuing agencies

Abstract

In late 2019, as part of the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO or Office) continuing efforts to protect the integrity of the U.S. trademark register, and to better protect its customers from scams and fraudulent activities related to the trademark register, the USPTO began requiring customers to create a USPTO.gov account to file electronic trademark forms. This enabled the Agency to monitor trademark filing behavior and aided in enforcing the existing USPTO Rules of Practice regarding submissions in trademark matters. On January 8, 2022, in anticipation of moving toward a mandatory identity (ID) verification process to further thwart fraud, the USPTO made ID verification available to USPTO.gov account holders on a voluntary basis. This allowed account holders to verify their identity in either paper or electronic form before ID verification became mandatory. On August 6, 2022, the USPTO will make it mandatory for existing and new account holders who occupy an appropriate user role to verify their identity as a condition for filing electronic trademark forms.