Trademark Class Search: List of Trademark Classes 1 to 45

What is a trademark class?

A trademark class is a number from 1 to 45 that tells the Trade Marks Registry which goods or services your brand name covers. Classes 1 to 34 are for goods. Classes 35 to 45 are for services. You pick the class when you file, and your rights stay inside that class.

Take a simple case. A brand called "Saanjh" registered in Class 25 protects clothes and shoes. It does not stop someone else from using "Saanjh" for tea in Class 30, unless the brand is well known. That is why the class matters as much as the name.

The class is also called a trademark category, TM class or class of trademark. They all mean the same thing.

What is a trademark?

A trademark is a sign that tells buyers who a product or service comes from. It can be a word, a logo, a slogan, a shape, a sound or a mix of these. In India it is protected under the Trade Marks Act, 1999. Registration gives you the exclusive right to use the mark for the goods or services in your class, and the right to use the ® symbol.

Overview: difference between goods and service classes

The difference between goods and services is simple. Goods are things you make or sell. Services are work you do for someone else.

Many businesses need both. A bakery that sells packed cookies in shops needs Class 30 for the cookies. If it also runs a café, it needs Class 43 for the café service.

How to use this trademark class finder

The finder at the top of this page works like a TM classification search. Type what you sell in plain words and it shows the classes that fit, with a short note on what each class includes.

1. Type one product or service at a time before selecting a class. "Herbal face cream" works better than "beauty business".
2. Use everyday words. The finder understands common Indian words too, such as kapde, mithai, namkeen, atta, agarbatti and tiffin.
3. Read the results and the "watch out" note. It tells you the class people most often confuse with the one shown.
4. Repeat for each thing you sell. Write down every class you get. That list is your trademark search class list.
5. Check existing marks. Use the "Search trademarks in this class" link to see if your brand name is already filed in that class.
6. Get it checked before filing. If the results show more than one class, take professional help. A short call with an expert costs nothing and saves a fee lost to a wrong class.

Who should use this tool

• Founders and shop owners naming a new brand
• D2C and Amazon or Flipkart sellers who need a trademark for brand registry
• Startups that sell an app and a software service together
• Restaurants, cloud kitchens and food brands with both products and services
• CAs, lawyers and consultants who want a quick tm class details check for a client

Complete trademark class list 1 to 45

This list of trademark classes follows the Nice Classification that the Trade Marks Registry uses. Each row gives the class number, a plain heading and the goods or services commonly filed in it. It works as a quick trademark classification list. Some people search for it as the trade mark classes list or TM classes; it is the same list. For exact filing terms, check the Nice alphabetical list or ask us.

Goods classes 1 to 34

Service classes 35 to 45

The examples marked NCL 13 moved class on 1 January 2026. Want a printable copy of the trademark classes list? Use your browser's print option and choose "Save as PDF".

Nice Classification: the system behind the 45 classes

The 45 classes come from the Nice Classification, an international list of goods and services set up under the Nice Agreement of 1957 and kept by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization). Most trademark offices in the world use it, so Class 25 means clothing in India, the UK and the US alike.

India follows it by law. Section 8 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 tells the Registrar to classify goods and services in line with the international classification. If there is a doubt about which class something falls in, the Registrar decides, and that decision is final.

The Nice list has two parts:

• Class headings: a short title for each nice class, such as "Clothing, footwear, headwear" for Class 25.
• Alphabetical list: thousands of exact items, each with its class number. This is the list you should take your goods and services wording from.

What changed in NCL 13 from 1 January 2026

WIPO brought the 13th edition (NCL 13-2026) into force on 1 January 2026. It moved some items to new nice classes. The changes most likely to affect Indian businesses:

Marks already registered are not moved to new classes. If you are filing now for eyewear or a similar item, check the class on the IP India e-filing goods list on the day you file, because the list the Registry accepts is what counts.

Basis of trademark classification

The Nice rules for the classification of goods and services give a simple order of thinking when an item is not named in the list.

How goods are classified:

• A finished product goes by what it does. A hair dryer dries hair, so it sits with heating apparatus in Class 11.
• If the function does not settle it, the product goes by what it is made of.
• Raw materials and half-made goods go by the material.
• Cases made for a product go with that product.

How services are classified:

• A service goes by the branch of activity in the class headings. Repair goes to Class 37, transport to Class 39.
• Rental services go in the same class as the service the rented item gives. Car rental is transport, so Class 39.
• Advice goes with the subject. Legal advice is Class 45, IT advice is Class 42, business advice is Class 35.

Why your trademark class matters

Protection is granted class by class

Proper classification decides what you own. A registration protects your mark for the goods and services written in your application, inside the classes you paid for. Outside them, another business can often register the same name for something unrelated, because buyers are unlikely to confuse the two.

Benefits of performing a proper class search

The significance of the class shows up later, when you need to enforce your rights. Picking the right classes at the start brings these benefits:

• Real protection: your rights cover what you actually sell, so you can act against copies.
• Fewer objections: a correct class and clear wording reduce examination reports from the Registry.
• No wasted fee: the government fee is per class and is not refunded for a wrong choice.
• Clean conflict check: you search the right class for similar names before you invest in packaging and ads.
• Easier selling online: marketplace brand registry programmes ask for a trademark that covers the products you list.
• Room to grow: planning classes for products you will launch next year saves a second application later.

How to choose the right trademark class: 6 steps

Choosing the right class takes ten minutes if you follow these steps. They help you identify every class your business needs, not just the obvious one.

1. List everything you sell or plan to sell in the next two or three years. Write products and services separately, and consider products you will launch soon.
2. Describe each item by what it is, not by your company name or industry. "Cotton kurtis" is useful. "Fashion company" is not.
3. Find the class for each item with the finder above or the Nice alphabetical list.
4. Check the service side. If you sell through your own shop or website, add Class 35. If you serve food, add Class 43.
5. Search for similar marks in each class before you settle on the name.
6. Write the specification using accepted terms from the list, and file all the classes in one application if you can.

Documents and details you need to decide the class

• A list of your products and services, with a line on what each one does
• Product labels, packaging or a product catalogue, if you have them
• Your website, app or marketplace store link
• Your future plans: new product lines, franchise, export
• The date you first used the brand, if it is already in use

For filing you will also need the applicant's name and address, the mark (word or logo), and Form TM-48 if an agent files for you. MSME or startup proof lets you pay the lower fee.

Find your class by business type

Popular and most searched trademark classes in India

These are the classes most commonly searched by Indian businesses. Between them, these popular classes cover most small business filings.

Class 9 vs Class 42 for software and apps

If users download or install your app, it is a product in Class 9. If they log in and use it online without owning a copy, it is a service in Class 42 (software as a service). Most app businesses do both, so they file in both classes. A marketplace app usually adds Class 35, and a payments app adds Class 36.

Class 25 vs Class 35 for clothing brands

Class 25 protects the clothes. Class 35 protects the selling: your store, website or marketplace shop. A label that makes clothes and sells only through others needs Class 25. A brand that also runs its own store or website should file both.

Class 29 vs Class 30 for food products

A rough rule: food from animals, dairy, oils and processed fruit or vegetables is Class 29. Food from grains, plants and sugar, plus tea, coffee, spices, bakery and sweets, is Class 30. Ghee and pickles are 29. Atta, masala and mithai are 30.

Class 43 vs Class 30 for restaurants and cloud kitchens

Serving food is a service, so a restaurant, café or cloud kitchen files in Class 43. If you also sell bottled sauces or packed snacks under the same name in shops, those products need Class 29 or 30.

Trademark classes explained: real examples of picking the right class

Three practical cases show how choosing the right class works when a business sells more than one thing. Each one is a common, practical situation.

Example: an Indore skincare brand selling face serums on its own website and on marketplaces. It filed Class 3 for the serums and Class 35 for online retail. A planned ayurvedic hair oil sold as a medicine would need Class 5, so the founders added it to the same application.

Example: a Pune ed-tech startup with live classes and a downloadable learning app. It needed Class 41 for teaching, Class 9 for the app, and Class 42 for the online platform it licenses to schools.

Example: a Lucknow cloud kitchen planning to sell packed kebab masala. Class 43 covers the kitchen. Class 30 covers the masala. Filing only Class 43 would have left the masala packets open to a look-alike brand.

Multi-class application: filing in multiple classes

Section 18(2) of the Trade Marks Act allows one application for multiple classes. You pay the fee for each class, but you file one form, track one application number and get one registration.

Single-class vs multi-class

If one class is likely to face an objection, filing it separately keeps the others on track.

How many classes should you file in?

File for what you sell now and what you have a real plan to sell soon. For most small businesses that is one to three classes. A registered mark not used for five years can be removed on a non-use challenge, so filing in classes you will never use only adds cost.

Trademark fee per class

These are government fees under the First Schedule of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017. Professional fees are extra. So three classes for a startup cost ₹13,500 in government fee when filed online.

Common mistakes when choosing a trademark class

Trademark class selection mistakes happen in a few familiar ways. These are the errors applicants make most often when selecting classes, and how to avoid them.

• Filing by company name instead of by product. "ABC Foods Pvt Ltd" does not tell you a class. The ghee and the spices it sells do.
• Ignoring the service class. Product brands that run their own store skip Class 35 and later find a copycat store name. Ignoring it is the most common gap we see.
• Picking one class for a mixed business. An app with downloads and an online service needs 9 and 42.
• Choosing the cheapest option. Saving one class fee can leave the main product unprotected.
• Using an old class list. Some websites still show old headings. Use the current Nice list.
• Copying the class heading as the description. See the next section.
• Assuming you can add classes later. You cannot, as explained below.

What happens if you choose the wrong class?

Your registration will not cover the goods or services you actually sell. You may not be able to stop a copycat, and someone else can register your name in the right class. The examiner may also object to goods that do not belong in the class you chose. The fee for the wrong class is not refunded, and you have to file a fresh application in the right one.

Can you change or add a class after filing?

No. You cannot move an application to another class or add a new class once it is filed. You can narrow the goods or services, or correct a clerical mistake, with Form TM-M. For anything new, file a new application, which gets a new, later filing date.

Class headings: why you should not copy them

Each class heading is only a short title. "Clothing, footwear, headwear" does not list everything in Class 25, and the Registry can ask you to explain vague wording. Write the actual goods you sell, using accepted terms, for example "T-shirts, kurtis, sarees, jeans, sports shoes". Clear wording helps in three ways: fewer objections, a clean conflict check, and proof of what you own if you ever go to court.

Official trademark class search tools

These tools are available free online, and the IP India list is the one available at the time of filing. Use them to identify the class and to check the exact wording the Registry accepts.

Why not only use IP India's class list?

The class details list linked from the IP India search page is a short set of headings from the Fourth Schedule. It does not tell you where a hair dryer or a tiffin service goes. Use it to read headings, and use the finder or the Nice alphabetical list to place each item.

Check existing trademarks in your class before you file

Once you know your class, search for the same and similar names in it. A registered mark in your class with a similar name is the most common reason for an objection under Section 11. Use our free trademark search and pick your class from the class filter, or open it straight from the finder results. For a final check, use the IP India public search with the class number.

How to file once you know your class

1. Search the name in each class.
2. File Form TM-A on the IP India e-filing portal with the classes and goods or services. You can use ™ from now on.
3. Examination: the Registry may issue an examination report. Reply within one month, or the application can be treated as abandoned.
4. Trade Marks Journal: accepted marks are advertised. Anyone can oppose within four months.
5. Registration: with no opposition, or after you win one, the mark is registered and you can use ®.
6. Renewal: every 10 years, for each class, with Form TM-R.

Need help with any step? See our trademark registration service.

Well-known trademarks: protection beyond the class

A few brands get protection outside their class. Under Section 11(2) of the Trade Marks Act, the Registry can refuse a mark that copies a well-known trademark even for unrelated goods, if the new mark would take unfair advantage of it or harm it. The Registry keeps a list of marks it has declared well known. For everyone else, protection stays inside the classes filed.

Trademark class vs HSN code vs copyright

People often mix these up. They answer different questions.

Need the GST side? Use our HSN code finder.

Trademark law behind the classes

• Section 8, Trade Marks Act, 1999: goods and services are classified as per the international classification; the Registrar decides any doubt.
• Section 18(2): one application can cover many classes, with a fee for each class.
• Section 11: grounds to refuse a mark that clashes with an earlier mark, including well-known marks.
• Section 25: a registration lasts 10 years and can be renewed.
• Section 107: calling an unregistered mark registered, for example by using ®, can lead to imprisonment of up to three years, a fine, or both.
• Trade Marks Rules, 2017: forms, fees and time limits.

Conclusion: important points before you pick a class

In summary, these are the key considerations for any trademark class choice:

• One brand can be filed in many classes. Each class is charged separately.
• Your rights stay within the goods and services you list.
• Write the actual goods instead of just the class heading.
• Add Class 35 if you sell through your own shop or website.
• Search your class for similar names before filing.
• Class selection is final: classes cannot be added after filing.
• Use ™ after filing and ® only after registration.