The United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has announced that it is increasing the official fees for patent, trade mark and design matters as of 1 April 2026 . Although the changes are quite large in percentage term, UK official fees are relatively low compared to the cost of representation, and so for many applicants there will be little change to the overall cost of obtaining IP protection in the UK. Nevertheless, renewal fees are also going up which will have a significant effect on the total cost of IP ownership over the full term of IP rights.
Trade mark fees were last increased in 1998, design fees were last increased in 2016 and patent fees were most recently increased in 2018. The full list of fee changes for 2026 can be accessed here. For comparison, the European Patent Office (EPO) has increased official fees 4 times since the UKIPO last increased any fees.
The UKIPO has recently invested in new systems, for example the new patent search tool (which replaced the previous search tool, ipsum) and the new One IPO filing service which is due to launch in Spring 2026. Given the time since the last fee increase and the investment into new systems, it is understandable that the 2026 fee increase will allow for continued development of these systems and the services provided by the UKIPO.
PATENTS
The average official patent fee increase is 33%. The new application fee paid at the time of filing a UK patent application online will be £75, up from £60. The fee for requesting a search of a UK patent application online is increasing to £200 (from £150) - a 33% increase. The fee for requesting substantive examination will increase by a similar percentage of 30% with an increase from £100 to £130.
For UK national phase entries, the official fee for entering the UK national phase will increase from £30 to £40. This fee remains low cost compared to other jurisdictions (e.g. the equivalent fee in the USA is $350 or $140 with small entity discount). The cost for requesting search of a UK national phase application will increase from £120 to £160 – a 33% increase. Again, this fee remains low cost compared to other jurisdictions (e.g. the equivalent fee in the USA is at least $580 or $232 with small entity discount if the USPTO did not prepare the international search report).
An excess claim fee for each claim over 25 claims has been payable since 2018. In 2026, the amount of this excess claim fee will increase from £20 to £27. This is a 35% increase. Likewise, an excess page fee for each page of the description over 35 pages has been payable since 2018. In 2026, the amount of this excess page fee will increase from £10 to £13.
Renewal fees are increasing, with the cheapest year (year 5 – the first renewal fee payable in the UK) increasing from £70 to £90 and the most expensive year (year 20 – the maximum term of a patent) increasing from £610 to £810. Of all the renewal fees, the year with the greatest percentage increase is year 7 which is increasing from £110 to £150 (36%). The grace period costs (a surcharge which increases each month of the 6 month grace period) will increase by 33%. The total renewal fees payable to keep a patent in force for the maximum 20 year term will be £6,160 (compared to £4,640 at 2025 fees). Of course, it is likely that renewal fees will again increase over the lifetime of a patent that has been granted recently, meaning that this total will be even higher at the end of the 20 year term.
The official patent fees seeing the largest percentage increase (40%) are fairly uncommon fees: Request for an uncertified copy of a document or a register entry (increasing from £5 to £7) and Request to be informed of future events relating to a patent application or patent (increasing from £25 to £35).
TRADE MARKS
The new fee for filing a UK trade mark application online in one class will be £205, up from £170 (around a 20% increase). The fee for each additional class included in the application is increasing from £50 to £60 (an increase of 20%).
The UKIPO handling fee for submitting an international trade mark application to the WIPO via the UKIPO is increasing by 25%, from £40 to £50.
The fees for recording a change in ownership of a trade mark (assignment), and recording or amending a security interest or license against a trade mark registration are also up 20% from £50 to £60.
The fee to request an extension of time to respond to the UKIPO will soon cost £125, up from £100, which represents a 25% increase.
Fees relating to opposition, invalidation, and revocation actions are also increasing by 25%. For example, the fee to oppose a trade mark application based on a likelihood of confusion only will go up from £100 to £125, but where other grounds of opposition are included, such as passing off or bad faith, the fee will increase from £200 to £250.
Renewal fees for a trade mark registration are payable every 10 years from the filing date. The renewal fee for one class is increasing by 22.5%, from £200 to £245. The fee for each additional class being renewed is increasing from £50 to £60 (an increase of 20%). If the registration is renewed in the six-month grace period following the expiry date, the surcharge will increase from £50 to £60 (an increase of 20%). Of course, it is entirely possible that renewal fees will increase again before a recently registered trade mark is due for renewal.
So, to summarise, all UK trade mark fees are increasing by 20-25%.
REGISTERED DESIGNS
The average official registered design fee increase is 24%. The new fee for filing a registered design application online with a single design will be £60, up from £50 (a 20% increase). The new fee for filing a registered design application online with up to 10 designs will be £85, up from £70 (a 21% increase). The new fee for filing a registered design application online with up to 20 designs will be £110, up from £90 (a 22% increase). The new fee for filing a registered design application online with up to 30 designs will be £135, up from £110 (a 23% increase). The new fee for filing a registered design application online with up to 40 designs will be £160, up from £130 (a 23% increase). The new fee for filing a registered design application online with up to 50 designs will be £185, up from £150 (a 23% increase).
Renewal fees for a registered design are payable every 5 years from the filing date. These renewal fees are increasing, with the cheapest renewal (year 5 – the first renewal fee payable in the UK) increasing from £70 to £85 and the most expensive year (year 20 – for a maximum 25 year term) increasing from £140 to £170. Of all the renewal fees, the year with the greatest percentage increase is year 15 which is increasing from £110 to £135. The grace period costs (a surcharge which increases each month of the 6 month grace period) will increase by 25%. The total renewal fees payable to keep a patent in force for the maximum 25 year term will be £500 (compared to £410 at 2025 fees). Of course, it is likely that renewal fees will again increase over the lifetime of a design that has been registered recently, meaning that this total will be even higher at the end of the 25 year term.
The registered design fee seeing the largest percentage increase (27%) is the cost to Request a certified copy of a registered design (increasing from £30 to £38).
Do you have a question? Get in touch!
Authors: