A practice manual for renewing European Union trade marks. The most common miscalculation here is measuring the term from the registration date. An EUTM runs ten years from its filing date. The longer the examination and any opposition took, the further apart the two dates are, and a deadline calculated from registration falls years late — by the time the reminder fires, even the grace period may have passed.
1. At a glance
- System type
- Ten-year renewal cycle
- Anchor date
- Filing date — not the registration date
- Due date rule
- Tenth anniversary of the filing date
- Renewal window
- 6 months before expiry
- Grace period
- 6 months with a 25% surcharge, capped at EUR 1,500
- Restoration
- Available where all due care was taken — EUR 200
- Fee (electronic)
- EUR 850 for the first class, 50 for the second, 150 per class from the third
- Partial renewal
- Available — classes can be selected
- Representation
- Proprietors outside the EEA need an EEA representative for proceedings
- Risk level
- Caution — the anchor date is the one serious exposure
2. Anchor date and due-date calculation
The anchor is the filing date. Renewal falls due on its tenth anniversary itself, and the renewed term begins the day after expiry. Under the older regime the deadline was the last day of the expiry month; it is now the anniversary date, so any source still saying month-end is out of date.
Worked example
For an EUTM filed 2020-06-15, the first renewal runs as follows. These dates do not change whenever registration issued.
| Item | Formula | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Window opens | Expiry − 6 months | 2029-12-15 |
| Renewal due | Filing + 10 years | 2030-06-15 |
| Grace ends | Due date + 6 months (25% surcharge) | 2030-12-15 |
| Restoration deadline | End of grace + 6 months | 2031-06-15 |
| Next due date | Every 10 years thereafter | 2040-06-15 |
3. The renewal window
- The window opens six months before expiry.
- The office sends a renewal notice, but it carries no legal obligation and non-receipt does not reopen the deadline.
- Proprietors outside the EEA need an EEA representative for proceedings; how far a simple payment can be handled without one varies, so confirm in advance.
- No proof of use is required at renewal — the EUTM system has no periodic declaration of use.
4. Grace period and surcharge
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Grace period | 6 months from the due date |
| Surcharge | 25% of the renewal fee |
| Cap | EUR 1,500 |
| If missed | The right lapses, subject to restoration |
5. Lapse and restoration
After the grace period the right lapses, but restoration can be requested where all due care required by the circumstances was taken. The request must be made within two months of the removal of the cause and within one year of the original deadline. Since the six-month grace period is deducted from that year, in practice the move must be made within six months after the grace period ends.
6. Official fees and partial renewal
Fees for electronic filing. The structure splits the first class from the rest, mirroring the application fee.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Basic fee, first class included | EUR 850 |
| Second class | EUR 50 |
| Each class from the third | EUR 150 |
| Collective and certification marks | EUR 1,500 |
| Grace surcharge | 25%, capped at EUR 1,500 |
7. The United Kingdom rights created by Brexit
EUTMs registered before 2021-01-01 generated equivalent rights in the United Kingdom automatically, and those rights inherited the original EUTM expiry date. Two renewal deadlines therefore fall on the same day.
- The UK right is renewed separately with the UK office, so two renewal fees are payable.
- Renewal fees paid early to the EU office before 2021-01-01 had no effect on the UK right; check the UK payment history separately for cases from that period.
- The UK right follows the rules in the United Kingdom manual, where the grace and restoration periods differ from the EU.
- Because the expiry dates coincide, keep the two matters separate so that handling one does not close the other.
8. Management checklist
- The filing date, from which expiry is derived; recalculate any deadline that was set from registration.
- Whether the case is a direct filing or a Madrid designation, since designations renew at WIPO on the international date.
- The class count, given the split between the first class and the rest.
- Whether a Brexit-derived UK right exists, in which case two matters fall due on the same day.
- Whether the step requires an EEA representative — confirm in advance.
- Whether any class should be dropped this cycle; partial renewal is available but allocation order matters.
- Restoration requires all due care, and the practical deadline is six months after the grace period ends.
Sources, cut-off date and disclaimer
This manual is based on iphere's August 2026 survey of country-by-country overseas maintenance rules, together with values produced by the deadline engine that runs on those same rules. Official fees and deadline rules change by office notice, so please confirm against the official source and your local agent before any actual payment or filing.