The Chinese government fee for a trademark application is RMB 270 per class. That number is accurate, and it is not what you will pay.

The gap between the headline official fee and the real cost is where foreign brand owners get their budgeting wrong. The official fee is a rounding error in the total. What drives the number is the professional work around it: the clearance search, the classification strategy, the specification, and the response when something goes wrong. This article breaks out both sides, so you can budget the whole figure rather than the part that CNIPA publishes.

The official fees, in full

Official fees are set by CNIPA under the 2019 fee schedule and are charged per class. They are the same whether you file directly or through an agent.

Application:

  • RMB 270 per class, electronic filing, covering up to ten goods or services items.
  • RMB 300 per class, paper filing, same ten-item allowance.
  • RMB 27 per item beyond ten, electronic; RMB 30 paper.

So a filing in one class with fifteen items costs RMB 270 + (5 × 27) = RMB 405 in official fees. Multi-class filings are charged per class with no discount; three classes at ten items each are RMB 810, not RMB 270.

Other official fees you may meet:

  • Refusal review (驳回复审): RMB 675 electronic, 750 paper, per class.
  • Opposition: RMB 450 electronic, 500 paper, per class.
  • Invalidation (无效宣告): RMB 675 electronic, 750 paper, per class.
  • Non-use cancellation: RMB 450 electronic, 500 paper, per class.
  • Assignment recordal: RMB 450 electronic, 500 paper.
  • Change of name or address: free online, RMB 150 on paper.
  • Licence recordal: RMB 135 electronic, 150 paper.
  • Renewal: RMB 450 electronic, 500 paper, per class, every ten years, plus RMB 225/250 if filed in the grace period.
  • Collective and certification marks: RMB 1,350 electronic, 1,500 paper.

There is no annual maintenance fee in China. Between registration and the ten-year renewal, the only official cost is whatever you trigger.

Why a Chinese agent is mandatory

Here is the structural point that separates China from the US or the EU: under Article 18 of the China Trademark Law, a foreign applicant without a habitual residence or place of business in China must file through a Chinese trademark agency. There is no self-filing route.

Two consequences:

  • The low official fee is not accessible to you directly. Every filing goes through a licensed agent, so the agent's fee is not an optional efficiency you can strip out.
  • Agent fees are commercially set, not regulated. CNIPA publishes no recommended rate, and quotes vary widely by firm, scope and complexity.

A realistic agency fee for competent search-and-file work on a single class falls in the range of RMB 2,000 to 4,000, making a realistic uncontested single-class filing roughly RMB 2,300 to 4,300 all in — in the region of USD 320 to 600.

Extremely low quotes — flat fees advertised as "full service" for a few hundred renminbi — are worth treating with suspicion. The value of an agent is in the clearance search and the drafting of the specification, not in submitting a form. A cheap filing that chooses the wrong subclass or an over-broad specification costs more to fix than the fee it saved.

Where the money actually goes

Breaking down a single class, ten items, uncontested:

  • Official application fee: RMB 270. Fixed, unavoidable, the smallest line item.
  • Clearance search: included in most quotes, or priced separately. The highest-leverage spend.
  • Classification and specification work. Choosing the right class and subclass, and the right items — this is where filings are won or lost.
  • Chinese-character brand strategy, where your Latin mark needs a Chinese counterpart.
  • Filing and prosecution through to registration.
  • Responses to office actions, which may be charged separately if they arise.

Ranking these by value: the search and the specification are worth far more than the filing mechanics. China examines relative grounds ex officio, meaning CNIPA itself will cite earlier similar marks against you. An application for a transliterated foreign brand that collides with an existing mark, or with a squatter's Chinese-character registration, will be refused — and the cheapest way to handle that refusal is to have avoided it.

Conditional costs

A smooth application incurs only the filing and agent fees. Everything below is contingent, and each carries both an official fee and additional agent time:

  • Formal deficiency notice (补正). A procedural issue — unclear items, image problems. No separate official fee, but a deadline to respond, usually thirty days.
  • Substantive refusal. The examination decision. You have fifteen days from receipt to file for review, and that deadline is generally not extendable. Add the RMB 675 review fee plus agent time for the arguments and evidence.
  • Opposition filed against your published mark. You must decide whether to defend, and on what evidence, within the opposition proceedings.
  • A conflicting mark requiring negotiation — a coexistence or consent agreement, or buying out a prior right where that is the pragmatic route.

This is why the budget for a contested filing is not the budget for a clean one. The contingency is not exotic; refusal rates for foreign word marks in the crowded classes are material.

Post-registration costs

  • Renewal every ten years: RMB 450 per class, plus the late fee if you slip into the grace period.
  • Recordals, when the owner's name or address changes, or the mark is assigned or licensed. Small fees, but they matter: an assignment is not effective against third parties until recorded, and an unrecorded change of name can complicate enforcement or renewal.
  • Monitoring. Commercially priced, but the cheapest enforcement money you will spend — catching a similar application in its three-month opposition window is far cheaper than invalidating a registration afterwards.
  • Enforcement, if your mark is infringed. Separate budget, separate article.

There is no maintenance annuity, which makes China's holding cost genuinely low once registered. The expense is concentrated at filing and at any dispute.

Sample budgets

One mark, one class, ten items, uncontested, electronic: Official RMB 270 + agent fee. Realistic total RMB 2,300 to 4,300 depending on the firm.

One mark, three classes, uncontested: Official RMB 810 + three times the agent's per-class fee. Roughly RMB 6,500 to 12,000.

One mark, one class, with a refusal and a successful review: Add RMB 675 official review fee plus agent time for the arguments and evidence — often comparable to or greater than the original filing fee.

Ten-year cost of ownership, one class: Filing once, renewing once, no disputes: the official side is RMB 270 + 450 = RMB 720 across the decade. The professional side is the real number, and it recurs (search on entry, prosecution, renewal handling).

Cost strategy, not cost cutting

Five decisions do more for the total than any negotiation on fees.

1. Search before you file. The single highest-return spend. A professional clearance report covering identical and similar marks, phonetic and visual variants, the Chinese name, subclass mapping and cross-class relationships materially reduces refusal risk. The alternative is a refusal fee, agent time and six months of delay — and possibly refiling.

2. Get the classification right the first time. Sixty percent or more of wasteful filings come from duplicated or misplaced coverage. An application in the wrong subclass in the right class is still a wasted filing. This is worth doing properly rather than quickly.

3. File all your classes together. Fixed incidentals — power-of-attorney preparation, notarisation where required, translation of corporate documents — are shared across a single engagement rather than repeated.

4. Do not over-file defensively. Registering far beyond your realistic use creates registrations that are vulnerable to three years' non-use cancellation and can be cited against your own later applications. Coverage should follow use.

5. Ask for an itemised proposal. Compare quotes on filing per class, pre-filing search, Chinese-character strategy, office-action and refusal work, and renewal as separate lines. A single headline price hides exactly the work that determines whether the filing succeeds — which is the point of the exercise.

Frequently asked questions

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

The official CNIPA fee is RMB 270 per class for electronic filing, covering up to ten goods or services. For a foreign applicant, who must file through a Chinese agent, a realistic all-in cost for one uncontested class is roughly RMB 2,300 to 4,300, depending on the agent and the scope of work.

Can a foreign company file a Chinese trademark application without an agent?

No. Under Article 18 of the China Trademark Law, a foreign applicant without a habitual residence or place of business in China must entrust a Chinese trademark agency. There is no self-filing route for foreign applicants.

What are the official trademark fees in China?

Application RMB 270 per class electronic (300 paper), plus RMB 27 per item beyond ten. Renewal RMB 450 per class. Opposition RMB 450. Refusal review and invalidation RMB 675. Assignment recordal RMB 450. Licence recordal RMB 135. Change of name or address is free online. All figures per class.

Is there an annual fee to maintain a Chinese trademark?

No. A Chinese registration carries no annuity. The only recurring official cost is renewal, RMB 450 per class every ten years, plus a late fee of RMB 225 if filed in the six-month grace period.

How much does a trademark search cost in China?

DIY searching on the China Trademark Network is free. A professional clearance report costs more but covers phonetic and visual variants, the Chinese-language equivalent, subclass mapping and cross-class conflicts — and is usually the best-value line in the whole budget, because it prevents the far larger cost of a refusal and refiling.

Why are agent quotes for China trademark filing so different?

Agent fees are commercially set, not government regulated, and firms scope them differently. Some quotes include a clearance search and specification drafting, others do not; some price office-action responses, others charge them separately. Compare itemised proposals rather than headline prices, since the omitted work is usually the work that determines whether the application succeeds.

What happens if my China trademark application is refused?

You can file for review (驳回复审) within fifteen days of receiving the refusal, on payment of an official fee of RMB 675 per class, plus your agent's time for the arguments and evidence. The deadline is generally not extendable, so the decision point arrives quickly.

Planning a China filing, or want a realistic budget rather than a headline fee? We prepare costed filing proposals that separate official fees, search and prosecution work.