Trademark classes in Australia (the 45 Nice classes)

Trademarks are not registered for “everything”. They are registered against classes of goods and services. Australia uses the international Nice Classification, a system of 45 classes shared by most countries around the world:

• Classes 1 to 34 cover goods, meaning physical products.
• Classes 35 to 45 cover services.

Your registration only protects you for the goods and services in the classes you choose. Picking the right classes is one of the most important decisions in the whole process, because it defines the scope of your protection and drives the cost.

Goods vs services

The line between goods and services trips a lot of people up. The simplest way to think about it: if you make or sell a thing, you are usually in the goods classes (1 to 34). If you provide an activity for others, you are usually in the services classes (35 to 45).

A clothing label sells physical garments, so it sits in Class 25. The same business running its own online store is also providing a retail service, which sits in Class 35. Those are two different classes, and protecting the brand properly may mean registering both.

How many classes do I need?

You register the classes that cover what you sell or plan to sell, and nothing more. Most small businesses need one to three classes. A useful exercise is to list everything your brand will appear on over the next few years, then map each item to a class.

• Too few classes, and you leave gaps a competitor could move into.
• Too many classes, and you pay for protection you will never use.

Aim for the classes you genuinely need now, plus any you have a real, near-term plan to expand into. The class finder suggests classes from a plain description of your business, which is a good starting point.

Why fees are charged per class

Government fees are charged per class, so the number of classes is the single biggest driver of cost. There are two ways to describe your goods and services within a class, and they are priced differently:

Wording method	Approx. government fee per class	Notes
Pick-list (pre-approved terms)	About $250 per class	Cheaper, faster, fewer objections
Custom wording (free text)	About $400 per class	More flexible, higher fee, more risk of an objection

These are the IP Australia fees that applied from 1 October 2024, and they should be confirmed at lodgement. There is no separate registration fee on top. Our application service is $450 per application, charged separately from the government fees. You can model the full cost of one or several classes with the cost calculator.

Using IP Australia’s pick-list of pre-approved terms is usually the smart choice. It is cheaper, it speeds up examination, and it reduces the risk of an objection over the wording. Custom wording makes sense when your goods or services do not fit any pre-approved term, but it costs more and carries more risk.

Multi-class strategy

When a brand spans several classes, a little planning goes a long way:

• Cover the full customer journey. A cafe might need Class 43 (food and drink services), but a cafe selling its own packaged coffee beans also needs Class 30 (coffee).
• Protect the product and the platform. A software business often needs Class 9 (downloadable software) and Class 42 (software as a service and development).
• Think about retail. If you sell other people’s products as well as your own, Class 35 (retail and wholesale) is often relevant.
• Do not over-reach. Registering classes “just in case” with no real plan is money spent on protection you cannot enforce through genuine use.

Remember that a trademark must actually be used for the goods and services it is registered for. After a continuous 3-year period of non-use, anyone can apply to remove the unused parts, so padding out classes you never trade in offers little real benefit.

Common examples by industry

These illustrate how classes map to real businesses. They are a guide, not a definitive answer for your situation.

Business	Likely classes
Clothing label with online store	25 (clothing), 35 (retail)
Cafe selling its own coffee beans	43 (cafe services), 30 (coffee)
Software / SaaS company	9 (software), 42 (software development)
Skincare brand	3 (cosmetics), 35 (retail)
Brewery	32 (beer), sometimes 43 (taproom services)
Consulting firm	35 (business consulting), often 41 (training)

Common questions

Can I add a class later? You cannot add a class to an existing application after filing. You would file a new application for the extra class, with its own filing date and fee. This is why getting the classes right at the start matters.

Is one class enough? For some businesses, yes. If everything you sell falls within a single class, one class can be plenty. The goal is coverage that matches your actual trade, not the highest number of classes.

What is the difference between a class and a specification? The class is the broad category. The specification is the specific list of goods or services you claim within that class, drawn from the pick-list or written as custom wording.

Does a class protect every product in that category? Only the goods and services you actually list. The class heading sets the general area, but your specification defines the precise scope of your rights.

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Australia uses all 45 Nice classes, and choosing correctly is worth getting right the first time. See the complete list of all 45 classes below.

Not sure where your business fits? Try the class finder, then estimate your cost or speak to us about a trademark application.