Trademark Renewal Philippines: IPOPHL DAU, Deadlines & Fees

Last materially reviewed: September 6, 2026

Direct Answer

A Philippine trademark registration runs for ten years from the date of registration and is renewable for ten years at a time. Renewal is not the main risk. IPOPHL requires Declarations of Actual Use at four points across the lifecycle, and it states plainly that “non-filing of the DAU within the prescribed period will mean removal of the TM from the register”. Most Philippine marks are lost to a missed DAU, not to a missed renewal.

Key Takeaways

The term is ten years from the date of registration, renewable ten years at a time, per IPOPHL.
The first DAU is due within three years of the filing date, not the registration date. This catches people out.
Three further DAUs follow: at the fifth anniversary of registration, after renewal, and at the fifth anniversary of each renewal.
A six-month extension is available for the three-year DAU, but only if requested before the three-year period expires and the fee is paid.
Missing a DAU means removal from the register. There is no fee that undoes it.
DAU and renewal fees are charged per class, so multi-class portfolios carry multiplied maintenance costs.
IPOPHL’s schedule lists a renewal surcharge, which signals that late renewal is chargeable rather than automatic. Confirm the exact renewal window with IPOPHL before relying on it.

Jump to: Deadline table · Governing law · Requirements element by element · Exceptions and boundaries · Maintenance fees · Scenarios · Documents to prepare · Step-by-step procedure · Realistic outcomes · Common mistakes · Deadline calendar · FAQs

The Maintenance Deadline Table

Every entry below is taken from IPOPHL’s trademark maintenance page and trademark help pages as read on 6 September 2026. Note the different measuring dates in column three: this is the detail that destroys registrations.

What is due	When	Measured from	Extension available?	Consequence of missing it
3rd year Declaration of Actual Use	Within three years	The filing date of the trademark application, or the international registration date	Yes — a six-month extension may be granted, but only if requested before the three-year period expires and the fee is paid	Removal of the mark from the register
5th year Declaration of Actual Use	Within one year	The fifth anniversary of the registration of the mark	Not stated on the IPOPHL pages read today — confirm with IPOPHL	Removal of the mark from the register
Declaration of Actual Use after renewal	Within one year	The date of renewal of the registration (applies to marks renewed on or after 1 January 2017)	Not stated on the IPOPHL pages read today — confirm with IPOPHL	Removal of the mark from the register
Mid-renewal Declaration of Actual Use	Within one year	The fifth anniversary of each renewal	Not stated on the IPOPHL pages read today — confirm with IPOPHL	Removal of the mark from the register
Renewal of registration	Every ten years	The date of registration, then each renewal date	IPOPHL’s fee schedule lists a renewal surcharge per class; the precise window and any grace period could not be verified from a primary source today — confirm with IPOPHL	The registration lapses if not renewed within the period IPOPHL allows

Two things follow immediately. First, the three-year clock starts at filing, while the five-year clock starts at registration. Because examination takes time, those are different dates, and diarising both from the same date is a common and fatal error. Second, the extension you may be relying on has to be requested before the deadline passes, not after.

Governing Law and Authorities

The right itself is created by registration. Section 122 of Republic Act No. 8293 provides: “The rights in a mark shall be acquired through registration made validly in accordance with the provisions of this law.”

The use requirement is statutory, not merely administrative. Section 124.2 requires the applicant to file a declaration of actual use of the mark with evidence to that effect within three years, and provides that otherwise the application is refused or the mark removed from the register. IPOPHL implements that duty through the DAU schedule above and states the consequence in the same terms: non-filing within the prescribed period means removal from the register.

On duration, IPOPHL’s trademark pages state that “the period of protection is ten (10) years from the date of registration and is renewable for a period of ten (10) years at a time”.

What this guide could not verify today, and therefore does not state. The public full text of RA 8293 on lawphil truncates partway through Section 132, so the renewal provision could not be read from a primary source on 6 September 2026. This article therefore does not state how many months before expiry a renewal may be filed, and does not state the length of any post-expiry grace period, even though earlier versions of this page did. What can be verified is that IPOPHL’s fee schedule includes a renewal surcharge per class, which indicates that late renewal is contemplated and chargeable. Get the exact window from IPOPHL before you rely on it, and do not plan to use it.

The Maintenance Requirements, Element by Element

Element 1: actual use, not intended use

A Declaration of Actual Use is a declaration that the mark is in genuine commercial use in the Philippines for the goods or services registered. A plan to launch is not use.

Element 2: evidence

The declaration is filed “with evidence to that effect”. Assemble it as you trade, not on the deadline. Labels, packaging, receipts, invoices, signage, brochures and dated screenshots of live listings are the practical material.

Element 3: per class

DAU fees are charged per class, and the substantive point follows the fee: use must be shown for the classes registered. A class you cannot support is a class at risk.

Element 4: timing measured from the right date

Three years from filing; one year from the fifth anniversary of registration; one year from the date of renewal; one year from the fifth anniversary of each renewal. Four different anchors.

Element 5: the fee

Each declaration carries a fee. Filing a declaration without paying is not filing it.

Exceptions and Boundaries

The six-month extension, and its limits

IPOPHL states that a six-month extension period “may be granted upon request of the applicant or registrant, provided such request is made prior to the expiration of the three-year period and the required fee is paid”. Three limits are built into that sentence: it is discretionary, it must be requested before the deadline, and it must be paid for. It is not a safety net for a deadline already missed.

Marks renewed before 2017

IPOPHL’s maintenance page ties the post-renewal DAU to marks renewed on or after 1 January 2017. Older renewals should be checked individually with IPOPHL rather than assumed.

Small entity versus big entity

Maintenance is charged at two rates. An applicant declaring assets of PHP 100 million or less may claim small-entity status in IPOPHL’s eTMFile; everyone else pays roughly double.

Multi-class registrations

Both DAU and renewal fees are per class, so a five-class registration carries five times the maintenance cost of a single-class one at every checkpoint. See how to choose the right trademark class.

Partial non-use

Where a mark is used for some registered goods or services and not others, the honest course is to declare what is true. Overstating use in a sworn declaration is a materially worse problem than losing a class.

Maintenance Fees

All amounts below are from IPOPHL’s schedule of trademark-related fees as published and read on 6 September 2026, and are subject to change.

Item	Per class?	Small entity	Big entity
3rd year DAU	Yes	PHP 900.00	PHP 1,920.00
Single extension to file the 3rd year DAU	Not marked per class	PHP 1,800.00	PHP 3,840.00
5th year DAU	Yes	PHP 1,100.00	PHP 2,400.00
Renewal	Yes	PHP 3,100.00	PHP 6,600.00
Renewal surcharge	Yes	PHP 1,500.00	PHP 3,300.00

Note that the extension to file the 3rd year DAU (PHP 1,800 for a small entity) costs twice the declaration itself (PHP 900). Deadlines are cheaper to meet than to extend. For the full lifecycle arithmetic see trademark registration cost in the Philippines.

Scenarios

These are illustrative hypotheticals, not real cases.

Scenario 1: the wrong anchor date

A Pasig retailer files in March 2026 and is registered in November 2027. The owner diarises “DAU: three years” from the registration date and calendars November 2030. The actual deadline was March 2029, measured from filing. By the time the reminder fires, the mark has been removed from the register and the brand has traded for over a year with no registration behind it.

Scenario 2: the late extension request

A small manufacturer realises two weeks after the three-year date that the DAU was not filed and applies for the six-month extension. The extension had to be requested before the three-year period expired. It is not available.

Scenario 3: the unused class

A three-class registrant is trading in two classes only. At the three-year mark the honest declaration covers two classes and the third is lost. This is the correct outcome, and it was decided three years earlier at the classification stage, not at the deadline.

Scenario 4: the clean file

A Baguio services company diarises four dates on the day the certificate arrives, assigns an owner to each, and keeps a running evidence folder of invoices and signage photographs. Each declaration takes an afternoon. Total small-entity maintenance across the first cycle for one class is PHP 2,000 in DAU fees plus PHP 3,100 at renewal.

Documentation to Prepare

The certificate of registration, showing the registration number and registration date.
The application record, showing the filing date — the anchor for the three-year DAU.
The class list and the exact specification of goods and services registered.
Evidence of use for each class: labels, packaging, invoices, receipts, signage, brochures, dated screenshots of live listings or storefronts.
Proof that the evidence relates to the Philippine market and to the registered goods or services.
Your entity’s asset position, for the small-entity declaration.
Any change of name, address or ownership since registration, which may need to be recorded before or alongside a renewal.

Step-by-Step: Keeping the Registration Alive

Extract both anchor dates now. Write down the filing date and the registration date separately. They drive different deadlines.
Build the four DAU dates. Three years from filing; one year from the fifth anniversary of registration; one year from the date of renewal; one year from the fifth anniversary of each renewal, per IPOPHL’s maintenance schedule.
Add the renewal date. Ten years from registration, per IPOPHL, then every ten years thereafter.
Set reminders six months early on every one of them. Six months is the practical lead time for gathering evidence and, where relevant, requesting an extension before the deadline rather than after.
Keep a live evidence folder. Add material as it is created. Reconstructing three years of use in the final week is where declarations go wrong.
Confirm the current fees before each filing. Use IPOPHL’s schedule of trademark-related fees on the day you pay.
Confirm the renewal window directly with IPOPHL. Do not rely on any secondary source, this article included, for how early or how late a renewal may be filed.
File, pay, and keep the receipt. Record the transaction reference against the diary entry so the next person to hold the file can see it was done.

Consequences and Realistic Outcomes

Be explicit about the downside: missing a Declaration of Actual Use ends the registration. IPOPHL states that non-filing within the prescribed period means removal of the trademark from the register, and Section 124.2 of RA 8293 provides for removal on the same basis. There is no penalty fee that restores it and no discretionary grace once the period and any properly requested extension have run.

What follows removal is not automatically catastrophe, and this guide will not overstate it. You may be able to file afresh, but you file as a new applicant: you lose your original filing date, you pay the fees again, you face whatever has been registered in the meantime, and any earlier third-party filing now sits ahead of you. Common-law and unfair-competition arguments may remain available in some circumstances, but they are harder, slower and more expensive than holding a live registration, and they are not a substitute for one. See trademark infringement in the Philippines.

The realistic upside is equally plain. Maintenance is cheap and mechanical. For a single-class small-entity registration the entire first-cycle maintenance burden is two declarations and one renewal, all of them calendar work rather than legal work.

Common Mistakes

Measuring the three-year DAU from registration instead of filing. The single most common way to lose a Philippine mark.
Assuming the six-month extension can be requested after the deadline. It cannot; the request must precede the expiry of the three-year period.
Treating renewal as the only maintenance event. Three of the four DAU deadlines arrive before the first renewal is even due.
Leaving evidence-gathering to the last month. Old packaging, delisted product pages and lost invoices cannot be recreated.
Forgetting that fees are per class. A five-class portfolio is a five-times maintenance commitment.
Letting the file sit with a departed employee or a lapsed agent engagement. Deadlines do not transfer themselves.
Relying on a remembered grace period. Confirm the renewal window with IPOPHL rather than a half-recalled figure.
Declaring use that is not real. A sworn declaration is not a formality.

Practical Tool: Trademark Deadline Calendar

Copy this into your calendar or compliance register, one block per registration, and fill in the real dates.

Mark: ______ Application no.: ______ Registration no.: ______
Filing date: ______ Registration date: ______ Classes: ______ Entity status: ______
Deadline 1 — 3rd year DAU: filing date + 3 years = ______ (reminder at ______, six months earlier; extension, if needed, must be requested BEFORE this date)
Deadline 2 — 5th year DAU: within one year from the 5th anniversary of registration = ______ to ______ (reminder at ______)
Deadline 3 — renewal: ten years from registration = ______ (reminder at ______; confirm the filing window with IPOPHL)
Deadline 4 — DAU after renewal: within one year from the renewal date = ______ to ______ (reminder at ______)
Deadline 5 — mid-renewal DAU: within one year from the 5th anniversary of the renewal = ______ to ______ (reminder at ______)
Owner of each deadline (named person): ______
Evidence folder location: ______
Date fees last confirmed on IPOPHL’s schedule: ______

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a Philippine trademark last?

Ten years from the date of registration, renewable for ten years at a time, per IPOPHL.

Is renewal automatic?

No. The registrant must file and pay. Nothing renews itself.

How early can I file the renewal, and is there a grace period?

IPOPHL’s schedule lists a renewal surcharge per class, which indicates late renewal is contemplated and chargeable, but the exact window and any grace period could not be verified from a primary source on 6 September 2026, so this guide does not state one. Confirm directly with IPOPHL and file early rather than testing the limit.

What happens if I miss a Declaration of Actual Use?

IPOPHL states that non-filing within the prescribed period means removal of the mark from the register. That is the end of the registration.

Can I get an extension?

A six-month extension may be granted for the three-year DAU if requested before the three-year period expires and the fee is paid. IPOPHL’s pages read today do not state extensions for the other declarations; confirm with IPOPHL.

Can I renew a mark I am no longer using?

Renewal and actual use are separate obligations, and the declaration regime is designed to remove unused marks. If a class is genuinely unused, expect to lose it.

Can I refile after removal?

You can generally file a new application, but as a new applicant: new filing date, fees again, and any mark filed in the meantime is ahead of you. See how to register a trademark in the Philippines and the registration timeline.

Official Sources

IPOPHL — Trademark Maintenance (the four Declaration of Actual Use deadlines and their fees, read 6 September 2026)
IPOPHL — Trademark Help and Support (six-month extension conditions; removal from the register for non-filing)
IPOPHL — Trademark (ten-year term, renewable ten years at a time)
IPOPHL — Schedule of Fees: Trademark-Related Fees (DAU, extension, renewal and surcharge amounts, read 6 September 2026)
Republic Act No. 8293 — Intellectual Property Code (Sections 122 and 124.2 as read on lawphil)
IPOPHL — Intellectual Property Code and Implementing Rules and Regulations

Disclaimer

Important: This article provides general educational information about Philippine law, regulation, cybersecurity, technology, or business compliance. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws, agency procedures, technical standards, platform rules, and the facts of each situation may change the result. Verify current requirements through the cited official sources and seek qualified professional advice when your rights, deadlines, money, safety, or legal exposure may be affected.