Trademark Class 99 and Multi-Class Applications: When One Application Covers Everything

Class 99 is not a real trademark class. It is the label the Indian Trade Marks Registry uses for a multi-class application under Section 18(2) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 — one Form TM-A covering two or more of the 45 real NICE classes. The certificate lists the actual classes separately.

If you have seen "Class 99" on a Journal entry or a status page and wondered whether it is a class you should file in, the short answer is no. There is nothing to file in. Class 99 is what the Registry writes when a single application spans several classes. The real question is not whether to file in Class 99. It is whether to bundle your classes into one application at all — and what happens if one of them runs into trouble.

What is Class 99 in a trademark application?

India follows the NICE Classification: 45 classes in all, Classes 1 to 34 for goods and Classes 35 to 45 for services. A clothing label lives in Class 25. An online store's retail service lives in Class 35. Software sold as a download lives in Class 9; the same software offered as a hosted service lives in Class 42. Your registration protects you only inside the classes you claim. Nothing else.

Section 18(2) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 is the provision that makes multi-class filing possible. It says, in full: "A single application may be made for registration of a trade mark for different classes of goods and services and fee payable therefor shall be in respect of each such class of goods or services." One application, several classes, a fee for each one. When you file that way, the Registry's systems need a shorthand for "this file covers more than one class". That shorthand is Class 99.

Think of it like a train ticket covering three legs of one journey. The ticket is a single document. The legs are still three separate legs, each with its own seat. Class 99 is the ticket. Classes 25, 35 and 18 are the legs.

What you will actually see: the Trade Marks Journal may list your application under Class 99, and the registration certificate may carry the label too. But the certificate also lists the real classes — 25, 35, 18 — separately. Class 99 never replaces them. It never adds protection of its own. If someone tells you they have "registered Class 99", they have registered their mark in several real classes through one application. That is all it means.

Wait — which classes do you file in under the new NICE edition?

Before you count your classes, check them against the current edition. The 13th edition of the NICE Classification, NCL 13-2026, came into force on 1 January 2026, and it moved several goods between classes. Eyewear, including sunglasses and contact lenses, moved from Class 9 to Class 10. Emergency and rescue vehicles moved from Class 9 to Class 12. Heated clothing and socks moved from Class 11 to Class 25. Essential oils are now classified by purpose — cosmetic use in Class 3, medical use in Class 5, food use in Class 30. And artificial intelligence as a service is now expressly listed in Class 42.

This matters because two of the most-read class guides online are still on old editions. One well-known guide still says "Nice Classification (11th Edition)". Another class finder still says the system is "currently in its 12th edition". Both are out of date. If you pick your classes from a stale guide, you can file in a class the Registry no longer uses for that good — and find out only when the examination report arrives. Use the current list. Our 45-class overview lists every class, and the IP India portal's classification tool carries the current edition.

How does a multi-class (Class 99) application actually work?

The route is the same as any trademark filing, with one difference: you list several classes on a single Form TM-A instead of filing one form per class.

Step 1: search every class you plan to claim. A clear search in Class 25 tells you nothing about Class 35. Run the search class by class on the IP India trademark public search tool, including phonetic-similar marks. This is the step people skip, and it is the step that decides whether the rest of the journey is smooth.

Step 2: file one Form TM-A listing all your classes. You name the mark, list the goods or services under each class in approved NICE wording, and pay the fee for each class. Vague descriptions invite objections, so use the accepted terms for each class rather than writing your own.

Step 3: get your application number. You receive a TM number, usually the same day for an online filing, and you can start using ™ from that point. You can follow the file's progress through our trademark application status check guide.

Step 4: examination. The examiner reviews every class in the application. If there is an objection — a similar mark, a descriptive word, a wrongly classified good — the Registry issues an examination report. You have one month to reply under Rule 33 of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017. Miss that month and the application can be treated as abandoned. One month. Not three, not six.

Step 5: publication in the Trade Marks Journal. If the examination is cleared, the application is advertised in the Journal. Anyone may oppose it within four months under Section 21 of the Act. Four months is a long window, and it runs from advertisement, not from filing.

Step 6: the certificate. If nobody opposes, or every opposition is resolved in your favour, the Registry issues the certificate. It may carry the Class 99 label. It lists your actual classes separately. Your mark is registered for ten years from the application date under Section 25, and you renew it per class with Form TM-R — the renewal ladder is covered in our trademark renewal guide.

One practical point: you cannot expand a single-class application into a multi-class one later. If you filed in Class 25 last year and now want Class 35, that is a fresh application for Class 35, with a fresh — later — filing date. Priority runs from the date of application, so the classes you add later start later. File the classes you genuinely need now, rather than assuming you can bolt them on.

What does a multi-class application cost?

There is no bundle discount. The government fee is charged per class, per mark, whether you file one application or five. Filing online, the fee is ₹4,500 per class for individuals, DPIIT-recognised startups and small enterprises, and ₹9,000 per class for everyone else — companies, LLPs and partnership firms. Paper filing costs a little more: ₹5,000 and ₹10,000 per class. The fees have not changed since the Trade Marks Rules, 2017 came into force, and they are non-refundable even if the application is opposed or refused.

Here is the maths for a real brand. Take Kala Threads, a D2C label selling kurtas, running its own online store, and selling tote bags on the side. Three classes: Class 25 for the clothing, Class 35 for the online retail service, Class 18 for the bags. As a sole proprietor, Kala Threads pays 3 × ₹4,500 = ₹13,500. As a private limited company, the same three classes cost 3 × ₹9,000 = ₹27,000. File them as one multi-class application or as three separate applications — the total is identical. The choice is not about money. It is about risk and administration, which is the next section.

And remember the second bill. Ten years from the application date, renewal on Form TM-R costs ₹9,000 per class by e-filing. Kala Threads' three classes renew at ₹27,000. A multi-class filing gives you one renewal date for all three classes. Three separate filings give you three dates to track — and three chances to miss one.

If you want a quick sense of the full cost picture before you file, our compliance fee calculator puts the government fee next to the other costs of running the business.

What happens if one class runs into trouble?

This is the catch, and it is the part most guides skip. A multi-class application is treated as a single application for all the classes in it. The examiner looks at every class. If one class draws an objection — say a similar mark already exists in Class 35 — the whole application can stall while that class is fought over. The clean classes wait with the disputed one. Your Class 25 clothing registration does not move ahead just because the problem is in Class 35.

The same applies at the opposition stage. An opponent who objects only to your Class 35 retail services can hold up the entire file, including the classes nobody disputes.

There is a way out. Section 22 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 lets you divide the application — a divisional application that separates the disputed class from the clean ones, so the clean classes can proceed to registration while you fight for the disputed class separately. It is the railway equivalent of splitting that three-leg ticket so the good legs can travel on.

Two honest caveats. First, the division is not free: it carries its own fee on top of what you already paid. I am not putting a rupee figure here, because the sources disagree — one leading guide says the fee equals a fresh per-class fee for each separated application, while the Form TM-53 text points to a ₹1,000 divisional fee plus the appropriate class fee under the First Schedule. Before you divide, ask which schedule entry the fee is being charged under. Second, division takes time and paperwork of its own. It rescues the clean classes. It does not make the disputed class any easier to win.

When should you file multi-class, and when separately?

The fee is the same either way, so decide on risk and on how certain you are about each class. Our multi-class vs single-class guide works through the strategic choice in full; here is the short version.

Three rules I apply with clients. First, if every class has a clean search, bundle them — the single file, single renewal date and single certificate are worth having. Second, if any single class looks contestable, file that class separately and bundle the rest. Third, never bundle a class you only might use one day. An unused class is not protection. It is a fee you paid for a shelf you never stocked, and it can be challenged for non-use later.

5 mistakes that cost brand owners money

1. Filing in Class 99 as if it were a class. There is no Class 99 to file in. If an agent's quote lists "Class 99" as a line item with its own fee, ask what real classes it covers. You pay per real class, not for the label.

2. Copying classes from a stale guide. The NICE 13th edition moved goods between classes on 1 January 2026. A guide that still cites the 11th or 12th edition can put you in the wrong class. Check the current edition, not the first result on the search page.

3. Searching only one class. A clear search in Class 25 says nothing about Class 35. Search every class you claim, including phonetic-similar marks. An objection in the class you did not search is still an objection.

4. Missing the one-month examination reply. Rule 33 gives you one month from the examination report. Diarise it the day the report arrives. A missed reply can end the application, and the fee does not come back.

5. Bundling a doubtful class with clean ones. One contested class can freeze the whole file. If the search in one class is shaky, file it separately. The clean classes will thank you.

Should you file in one class or several?

Before you choose, settle the word mark versus logo mark question too — it decides what exactly you are protecting in every class you claim. Our word mark vs logo mark guide explains which to file first and why. Then count the classes your business actually trades in today, search each one, and file the clean ones together. Keep the doubtful one apart. That is the whole decision, and it is a better one than most founders make — because most founders decide on price, and the price is the same either way.

If the filing still feels tangled — several classes, a doubtful search, a brand you plan to franchise — that is the point at which a trademark filing stops being a form and starts being a judgement call. Our trademark registration service handles the search, the class mapping and the filing, including multi-class applications and divisional filings when a class needs separating.

Frequently asked questions

Is Class 99 a real trademark class?
No. The NICE Classification has 45 real classes, 1 to 34 for goods and 35 to 45 for services. Class 99 is only the Registry's label for a multi-class application under Section 18(2) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. It appears on the Journal and sometimes on the certificate, but the certificate always lists the actual classes separately.

Does a multi-class application cost less than separate filings?
No. The government fee is ₹4,500 or ₹9,000 per class either way, with no discount for bundling. Three classes cost ₹13,500 for an individual, startup or small enterprise and ₹27,000 for a company, whether filed as one application or three.

Can I add a class to my trademark later?
Not to the same application. You file a fresh application for the new class, and its priority date is the new filing date. That is why it pays to claim every class you genuinely need at the start, rather than assuming you can bolt classes on later.

What is a divisional application under Section 22?
It is a request to split a pending multi-class application so that a disputed class is separated from the clean ones. The clean classes can then proceed to registration while the disputed class is fought separately. It carries its own fee, so check the First Schedule entry before filing one.

How long does a multi-class registration last?
Ten years from the application date, under Section 25 of the Act. You renew it per class with Form TM-R at ₹9,000 per class by e-filing. A multi-class filing gives you a single renewal date for all its classes; separate filings give you a separate date for each.