The goods and services in your U.S. trademark application set the scope of the registration. They have to be specific, they have to match what you are using or have a bona fide intent to use in U.S. commerce, and they are easier to get accepted if you use wording from the USPTO's Trademark ID Manual.
Start with what you sell now, then be careful with the future
List the products you actually sell, or the services you actually provide, under the mark. Be concrete. "Clothing" is usually too broad; "t-shirts" or "dresses" is the kind of wording the USPTO expects.
You can include goods or services you have a bona fide plan to offer, especially in an intent-to-use application, but you will have to use the mark on every listed item before the registration can issue. Unused items have to be deleted later, and deletions can add fees. See applications based on intent to use and deletion fees.
Nice classes
The USPTO uses the international Nice Classification: 45 classes, 34 for goods and 11 for services. Each class is a separate filing, with its own USPTO fee. Related goods can sometimes stay in one class; very different goods (for example, clothing and retail-store services) usually need more than one class.
Class numbers help with filing and searching. They do not, by themselves, decide whether two marks are likely to be confused.
Classification and identification practice is covered in TMEP Chapter 1400.
Use the USPTO ID Manual when you can
The USPTO publishes an Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual, often called the Trademark ID Manual or ID Master List. It is a list of pre-approved wording and class numbers.
Search it for the ordinary name of your product or service and prefer an approved entry when it fits. Using Manual wording is also how most applicants stay at the USPTO's $350 per class base filing fee. Free-form descriptions can trigger surcharges. Markavo's government-fee line for a new application is $450 per class, which includes the $350 USPTO base fee plus $100 for attorney time to draft with ID Manual entries. Details are in our 2026 trademark cost guide and on U.S. trademarks.
To find the Manual, search for "USPTO Trademark ID Manual" or look for the Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual in Trademark Center. (We do not link out to USPTO tools from this article, other than TSDR when you need to review an existing file.)
The use-in-commerce rule
Every identification in a use-based application must already be in use in U.S. commerce. In an intent-to-use application, you will have to show use on every remaining item when you file the Statement of Use. If you cannot, those goods or services have to come out of the application.
Common mistakes
Copying a competitor's identification without checking whether it matches your business.
Wording that is too vague ("accessories", "products", "services") or that reads like a marketing slogan.
Listing a long future product line you may never offer.
Ignoring that trademark coverage is tied to the goods and services in the registration, and that later expansion can require a new application. The natural zone of expansion has limits; see the natural zone of expansion doctrine.
If you are hiring Markavo to file, we will propose identifications from the ID Manual based on what you tell us you sell. You can start a filing on U.S. trademarks.