Record Your Trademark With CBP to Stop Fakes

A federal trademark registration protects your brand on paper. Recording that trademark with U.S. Customs and Border Protection protects it at the border — where the counterfeits actually try to enter the country. For a brand fighting knockoffs, CBP recordation is one of the highest-leverage, lowest-cost tools available: for a modest fee per class of goods, you enlist the federal agency that inspects imports to detain, seize, and destroy fakes of your product before they ever reach the market.

This guide covers who is eligible, what recordation gets you, exactly how to do it, what to submit, and the ongoing role you play once your mark is recorded. It is written for the brand owner — the party using CBP as a shield. For the view from the other side of a seizure, see our companion piece on the two sides of a counterfeit seizure.

What Recordation Actually Does

Recording a mark loads it into the database CBP officers reference when screening imports, so the agency can identify and stop goods that infringe it. In practical terms, recordation converts your private trademark into an active enforcement instruction to the largest border agency in the country. When infringing goods appear, CBP can detain them, seize them, and ultimately destroy them — and it can share intelligence about the shipment with you, turning each interception into a lead you can act on.

Registration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office alone does not do this. The USPTO gives you the rights; CBP recordation is the separate step that puts those rights to work at the border. A brand that has registered but not recorded is leaving its most effective anti-counterfeiting tool on the table.

Eligibility: What You Need First

The entry ticket for trademark recordation is a trademark registered on the Principal Register of the USPTO. A pending application is not enough for a full trademark recordation, and neither is a Supplemental Register mark — the Principal Register registration is the prerequisite. Copyrights follow a parallel track: a copyright registered with the U.S. Copyright Office can be recorded, and pending copyright applications can even be temporarily recorded for a limited window while registration is finalized.

Recordation fees and terms

Type	Fee	Term
Trademark	$190 per class of goods	Runs concurrently with the underlying USPTO registration; renews with it
Copyright	$190 per copyright	20 years
Pending copyright	—	Temporary recordation for a limited period pending registration

The per-class structure means a brand selling across several classes of goods pays for each class it wants covered — a planning point when budgeting recordation across a product line. Even so, at $190 per class the cost is trivial next to the value of stopping counterfeits at the border, which is why recordation is close to a default move for any brand with a real counterfeiting problem.

How to Record, Step by Step

1. Secure the underlying registrationConfirm your trademark is registered on the USPTO Principal Register (or your copyright is registered with the Copyright Office). This is the prerequisite everything else builds on.
2. Gather your supporting materialsAssemble the registration details, images of your genuine goods and packaging, your authorized manufacturers and importers, and a point of contact for CBP. More on each below.
3. File through CBP’s e-Recordation systemSubmit the recordation electronically through CBP’s online IPR e-Recordation portal, entering the registration information and uploading your materials.
4. Pay the feePay $190 per class of goods for a trademark, or $190 per copyright.
5. Confirmation and public listingOnce recorded, your mark is active for CBP enforcement and appears in CBP’s public IPR Search (IPRS) database, which importers and brokers can consult.

What to Submit — and Why It Matters

Recordation is not a box-checking exercise. What you give CBP directly shapes how effectively officers can tell your genuine goods from fakes. The more useful your submission, the better the enforcement.

The list of authorized parties is especially powerful. When CBP knows exactly who is permitted to import your brand, a shipment from an unknown importer becomes an immediate red flag — which is how recordation catches both outright counterfeits and unauthorized gray-market goods.

Your Job Doesn’t End at Recordation

Recording the mark is the start of an active relationship, not a set-and-forget filing. The most important ongoing duty is responsiveness. When CBP detains a suspect shipment, it often reaches out to the rights holder to confirm whether the goods are authentic — and it expects a prompt answer, generally within about 24 hours. A brand that cannot turn around an authenticity determination quickly risks having detained goods released for lack of confirmation. Keeping your point of contact current and responsive is what keeps the enforcement machine working.

The Payoff

Recordation changes your posture from reactive to proactive. Instead of discovering counterfeits already on the market and chasing them through litigation, you intercept them at the border before they ever reach a customer — and each interception feeds you intelligence about who is producing and importing the fakes. Over time, that turns a stream of seizures into a map of the counterfeiting operation attacking your brand, which is the foundation for going after the source. For how that intelligence flows and what a seizure looks like from both sides, see our piece on the two sides of a counterfeit seizure.

Because a strong recordation depends on getting the underlying registration, the classes, the supporting materials, and the authorized-party lists right — and because gray-market protection has specific requirements — brands often handle recordation with counsel who work in customs enforcement. A customs and international trade lawyer can record your marks, structure the submission for effective enforcement, and act on the intelligence each seizure produces.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it cost to record a trademark with CBP?

The fee is $190 per class of goods for a trademark, and $190 per copyright. A brand selling across multiple classes pays per class it wants covered. The cost is modest relative to the value of border enforcement against counterfeits.

Do I need a registered trademark to record with CBP?

Yes. Trademark recordation requires a mark registered on the Principal Register of the USPTO — a pending application or a Supplemental Register mark is not sufficient. Copyrights registered with the U.S. Copyright Office can also be recorded, and pending copyright applications can be temporarily recorded for a limited window.

How long does CBP recordation last?

A trademark recordation runs concurrently with the underlying USPTO registration and renews along with it. A copyright recordation lasts 20 years. Keeping the recordation and its contact information current is important for ongoing enforcement.

Can recordation stop gray-market goods, not just counterfeits?

In defined circumstances, yes. Recordation supports protection against gray-market goods — genuine products not authorized for the U.S. market — under principles including the Lever rule. This area has specific requirements, so it is worth evaluating with counsel for your particular situation.