If you filed a Statement of Use with the USPTO and you’re still waiting for an update — you are not alone, and nothing is wrong with your filing.

But here’s what you need to understand: the wait you are experiencing right now is not a glitch. It is not temporary. And if no one has told you the full picture, this blog post is for you.

Whether you are an existing client who filed a Statement of Use last year and has been watching TSDR refresh with no change in status, or you are a brand owner who just filed and wants to know what to expect — keep reading. This is information you need to have.

What Is a Statement of Use — and Why Does It Matter?

Before we get into the delays, let me give you the short version of context.

When you file a trademark application based on intent to use your mark in commerce (known as a 1(b) application), the USPTO does not register your trademark immediately. First, they examine it. If approved, your mark is published in the Official Gazette for opposition. After that 30-day window, instead of receiving a certificate of registration, you receive something called a Notice of Allowance — which is essentially the USPTO’s way of saying, “Show me the money.” Think Jerry Maguire. They are not handing over your registration yet. Before they do, they want proof — actual evidence — that you are using this trademark in real commerce, in the real world. They want to see it in action: on your website, your product, your course landing page, your packaging. That proof is what they’re asking for.

That’s when you file a Statement of Use (SOU): a sworn declaration that your trademark is now being used in interstate commerce, along with a specimen showing that use in the real world — a product label, a screenshot of your website, a course landing page, etc.

Once your SOU is filed and accepted, you get your trademark registration.

It sounds like a straightforward final step. And it should be. But right now, that final step is anything but quick.

What the USPTO Is Actually Saying About Processing Times

According to the USPTO’s own Trademark Processing Wait Times page — updated as of April 30, 2026 — the average processing time for a Statement of Use is currently 146 days.

Let that number land for a second.

The USPTO’s own target for processing a Statement of Use is 15 days.

They are running at nearly ten times the target processing time. And if you look at the full picture of what’s happening across all intent-to-use filings, the situation is consistent:

• Extension requests are averaging 131 days (target: 15 days)
• Divisional requests are averaging 127 days (target: 15 days)
• Pre-examination for new TEAS applications is averaging 110 days (target: 10 days)

The USPTO is currently processing Statements of Use filed on or before December 20, 2025.

That means if you filed your SOU in the first half of 2025, you are in the window where review should either be underway or recently completed — but the reality is that some filings from that period are still waiting. If you filed your SOU more recently, you are looking at potentially six months or more before you receive any action.

What We Are Seeing From Clients

At Creator’s Law Firm, we work with brand owners and entrepreneurs who have built real businesses on their brand names — coaches with proprietary frameworks, doctors building methodologies, thought leaders whose name is their business. When these clients file a Statement of Use, they are in the final stretch of a process that can take a year or more from start to finish. The wait for that registration certificate is more than bureaucratic — it is the difference between saying “my trademark is registered” and “my trademark is pending.”

We currently have clients who submitted their Statement of Use in mid-2025 who have not yet received a final determination from the USPTO.

At the 146-day average, a June 2025 filing should have received action by late 2025. But averages do not tell the whole story. There is a range — and when the system is this backed up, filings on the longer end of that range are being pushed significantly further out.

This is not something we are raising to alarm you. We are raising it because you deserve to know what’s actually happening, and because understanding the backlog helps you make better decisions about your brand in the meantime.

Why Is This Happening?

The short answer: too many applications, not enough bandwidth to process them.

According to the USPTO’s own FY 2025 Agency Financial Report, the office received 824,192 trademark application classes in fiscal year 2025 — 57,054 more than the prior year. The report describes it directly as “an unanticipated surge in trademark filings.” Even after the USPTO reduced its unexamined inventory by over 20%, there were still 346,378 unexamined application classes sitting in the queue as of September 30, 2025.

That is the backdrop heading into 2026. And that volume does not just affect the front end of the process — it creates pressure all the way down the line, including Statement of Use processing, extension requests, and divisional filings.

The USPTO has been working to hire and reassign examining attorneys to address the backlog. They have also implemented process changes and incentive programs to increase output. And in some areas — like initial examination pendency — those efforts have shown progress. But the SOU pipeline, which operates separately from the examination queue, is still running at 146 days on average — nearly ten times the 15-day target.

The surge in filings created a downstream problem that hasn’t been fully resolved. That may be what you are experiencing right now.

What This Means for Your Brand — and What to Do Right Now

If your SOU is pending, here is what you need to know:

1. Keep your specimens and evidence of use. If the USPTO comes back with a deficiency, you will need to respond promptly. Make sure your specimens are current and accurately reflect how you are using the mark in commerce right now.

2. Deadlines on extensions still apply. If you filed an extension request while waiting to begin use in commerce, those extension windows are not suspended because of the backlog. Continue tracking your deadlines. Missing an extension deadline can result in abandonment of your application — and no amount of backlog excuses a missed filing window.

3. Continue operating as if your mark is in use. Your trademark rights are being built through actual, consistent use in commerce. Don’t let the registration process slow down the business. Keep using your mark. Keep documenting that use.

4. Do not assume silence means a problem. If your TSDR status has not changed, that may simply mean your filing is in queue. However, if you have received a response deadline that is approaching, do not wait on it. Act immediately.

5. Check TSDR regularly. You can check the status of your application at any time at tsdr.uspto.gov. This is your best real-time source of information on where your filing stands.

How to Contact the USPTO About Your Filing

If you have an urgent concern about your Statement of Use or the status of your trademark application, you have two direct options:

Trademark Assistance Center (TAC): 📞 1-800-786-9199 — Select Option 1 The TAC can help with general status questions and routing inquiries.

TEAS Technical Support (for questions specifically about your electronic TEAS filing): 📧 TEAS@uspto.gov

Note: TAC representatives can provide information but are not examining attorneys. If you have a substantive legal question about your application, that requires attorney review — not a call to the TAC.

If You Do Not Have an Attorney Monitoring Your Application

Here is where I need to be direct with you.

If you filed your Statement of Use without an attorney, or if you are using a service that filed on your behalf but does not actively monitor your application — you may not know about a deficiency or office action until it is too late.

The USPTO sends notices to the correspondence address on file. If that address is out of date, or if you are not regularly checking TSDR, you can miss a deadline and lose your application entirely.

At Creator’s Law Firm, we monitor our clients’ applications and keep them informed throughout every stage of the process. We are not just filing and walking away — we are watching, tracking, and communicating, especially during periods like this when processing timelines are unpredictable.

If your application is in limbo and you are not sure what is happening or what to do, that is exactly what we are here for.

You’ve Built Something Real — Make Sure the Legal Foundation Matches

Your brand is one of your most valuable business assets. The trademark registration process exists to protect it. But the process takes time — more time right now than it should — and during that window, your brand is still building, your revenue is still growing, and the stakes keep rising.

Waiting on the USPTO does not mean waiting on your business. It means staying informed, staying compliant with your deadlines, and making sure the people managing your application know what they’re doing.

If you are ready to talk through your trademark status or want expert eyes on your application, book a free Brand Protection Call with our firm.

We will walk through exactly where you stand, what the current timeline means for your specific filing, and what you need to do — or not do — while you wait.

👉 Book your free Brand Protection Call at www.creatorslawfirm.com/freestrategycall