What Does It Cost To Register a Trademark in Canada?

By: Christopher Heer, Kimberley Baillie, Michelle Huong, Nikita Munjal | Last updated: September 28, 2026

Registering a trademark in Canada normally entails up to three types of costs: official fees, professional fees, and taxes.

Official Fees

Official fees are the fees payable to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).

For a trademark application filed online in 2026, the CIPO filing fee is:

Effective January 1, 2027, these online filing fees increase to:

The applicable fee is based on when CIPO receives the payment.

Class headings describe, in very broad terms, the nature of goods or services contained in each class. Class 18, for example, includes mainly leather, imitations of leather and certain goods made of those materials, but importantly, this class does not include clothing, footwear, and headwear made from leather worn by people.

As navigating classes requires careful consideration to avoid misclassifying goods and services in your application, it is always best to consult an expert in this field.

It should be noted that a trademark registration covering a larger number of classes, or areas of commerce, will entail higher official fees at filing. It is also likely to have higher professional fees from application to registration. However, that trademark registration will have a broader scope of exclusive rights and therefore it is a trademark registration of greater value.

This is analogous to the cost to build a 4000 square foot house being more than the cost to build a 2000 square foot house, all else being equal. There is just more time (professional fees) and materials (official fees) involved in building a bigger asset, which will ultimately be worth more.

Professional Fees

Professional fees are the fees charged by a registered trademark agent for the professional work involved in preparing, filing and prosecuting a trademark application.

For a straightforward application, most professional fees are incurred when the application is prepared and filed and, if CIPO raises objections, during examination.

Heer Law’s application-stage professional fee includes:

Heer Law charges the same professional fee for preparing and filing the application regardless of the number of classes included in the application. CIPO, however, charges an additional official filing fee for each class beyond the first, as explained above.

Additional professional fees may arise after filing if CIPO issues an Examiner’s Report or other issues require a response. The amount of those additional fees depends primarily on the nature and complexity of the objections and the work required to address them.

For example, additional work may be required if CIPO raises issues concerning:

After an application is approved, CIPO publishes it in the Trademarks Journal. Third parties then have an opportunity to oppose registration.

Most trademark applications do not become the subject of a fully contested opposition proceeding. If an opposition is filed, however, substantial additional professional fees may arise because an opposition is an adversarial proceeding that can involve pleadings, evidence, cross-examinations, written arguments and an oral hearing.

If no opposition is filed, or if an opposition is decided in the applicant’s favour, the application can proceed to registration.

A trademark search before filing can help identify potentially conflicting registered and pending trademarks and assess the risk of objections or opposition. Heer Law can conduct a trademark search and provide an opinion regarding the registrability of a proposed trademark and potential conflict risks.

Taxes

Professional fees are taxable in Canada such that HST or GST is payable based on the rate in the province or territory in which you, as the client, operates your business. It does not matter if the law firm providing the service to your business is in a different province. And if your business is located outside of Canada, there is no tax on professional fees.

If you are required to collect and remit sales taxes to the Canada Revenue Agency, the sales tax Canadian businesses pay on professional services is offset against the sales tax you collect when selling your goods and services. Thus, sales tax may not be considered a business expense.

There is no tax on official fees paid to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.

Just Tell Me the All-In Cost Already

Most trademarks can be registered in Canada for somewhere between $2,200 to $4,000 CAD (exclusive of tax) spread out over a period of two or more years.

Like with many types of services, you get what you pay for with professional service firms.

Low-cost options are nearly always low service and/or low expertise options, which can lead to undesirable outcomes and negatively impact the value of your business, such as:

Need Help Registering a Trademark in Canada?

Heer Law can assist with trademark searches, preparing and filing Canadian trademark applications, and responding to CIPO Examiner’s Reports and other issues that arise during the registration process.

Book a complimentary 30-minute trademark appointment →

Is Trademark Registration Worth the Money?

The enhanced trademark protection granted by registering your trademarks has been shown to raise the profitability of a business by 1.7% and the valuation of a business by 11.9%, so trademark registration is often money well spent.

Small businesses between $100,000 to $2,000,000 in annual revenue will in most instances have valuations between one to ten times profits. Accordingly, once a business has $100,000 or more in annual profit, it is usually already making an over 100% return on their investment of registering their primary trademark (for the trade name of the business) in Canada. And unlike assets which depreciate, like computers, office furniture and automobiles, the value of a trademark registration almost always appreciates as a business grows.

If you are in the unfortunate position of needing to close or reorganize your business, your trademark may be a source of value. The value of your trademark is tied to the goodwill and reputation that you have built up in your brand. New opportunities to diversify your revenue may arise from leveraging the positive association consumers have with your brand, like for example, collaborating with another company on a particular project.

Obtaining a registration grants the trademark owner the right to exclusive use of the trademark for the goods and services with which it is associated throughout Canada. A trademark registration grants you exclusive federal rights to that mark and a presumption of the validity of that registration, requiring a competitor to furnish evidence to prove otherwise.

In contrast, the rights granted to unregistered marks are limited to their geographical location and their rights are enforceable only if it is proven to a court with evidence that the unregistered trademark has sufficient reputation with relevant consumers in that geographical location. Evidence of sufficient reputation is demonstrated in several ways, including, but not limited to, documentary evidence of sales and advertising figures marketing documents, and expert surveys, all proving consumers associate your unregistered mark with the goods and services you provide.