Trademark Class Search in India: Find the Right Nice Class Before You File
A trademark class search tells you which of the 45 Nice classes your products or services belong in, and the answer decides what your registration protects and what you pay. India uses the Nice Classification, with classes 1 to 34 for goods and 35 to 45 for services. Pick the wrong one and you either get an objection from the Registry or end up with a certificate that doesn’t cover what you sell.
Key Takeaways
- Your class is set by what you sell or do, not by your company name, industry label, or what competitors filed in.
- Many businesses need more than one class: a clothing brand with an online store usually needs class 25 and class 35.
- Each class carries its own government fee, so over-claiming costs money and under-claiming leaves gaps.
- The Registrar has the final word on classification. If your choice is off, the examiner can reclassify or object.
How Does Trademark Classification Work in India?
Section 7 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 ties Indian practice to the international Nice system and gives the Registrar the last word on any dispute about which class something sits in. In practice that means you describe your goods and services, propose classes, and the examiner either accepts, corrects, or objects.
The Nice system groups goods and services by what they are and what they do. Washing powder goes with other cleaning products in class 3, even if you sell it in a supermarket alongside food. A shop that sells washing powder is a different thing: retail is a service, so it falls in class 35. The same logic runs through the whole list.
WIPO publishes the classification and the alphabetical list of goods and services, and IP India offers its own lookup under the classification section of its online portal.
The 45 Trademark Classes List, Grouped by Sector
A numeric list is hard to scan when you only know your industry. Here is the same list sorted by the kind of business you run.
Materials and industry
1 (chemicals), 2 (paints and coatings), 4 (industrial oils, fuels, candles), 6 (common metals and metal goods), 7 (machines and motors), 8 (hand tools), 17 (rubber, plastics in semi-finished form, insulation), 19 (non-metallic building materials), 37 (construction, repair, installation), 40 (treatment and processing of materials, custom manufacturing).
Home and household
11 (lighting, heating, cooking and sanitary appliances), 20 (furniture, frames), 21 (kitchenware, glassware, brushes), 22 (ropes, nets, tents, sacks), 27 (carpets, mats, wall coverings).
Health and personal care
3 (cosmetics, perfumes, cleaning products), 5 (pharmaceuticals, supplements, sanitary goods), 10 (medical and surgical instruments), 44 (medical, beauty, hygiene and agricultural services).
Technology and communication
9 (computers, software, mobile apps, electronic devices, scientific instruments), 38 (telecommunications, messaging, broadcasting), 42 (software development, SaaS hosting, scientific and technology services).
Fashion and accessories
14 (jewellery, watches), 18 (leather goods, luggage), 23 (yarns and threads), 24 (fabrics, bed and table linen), 25 (clothing, footwear, headwear), 26 (lace, embroidery, buttons, hair accessories).
Food, drink, and hospitality
29 (meat, dairy, preserved and processed foods), 30 (tea, coffee, flour, bakery, spices), 31 (fresh produce, seeds, live animals), 32 (soft drinks, beer, juices), 33 (spirits and wine), 34 (tobacco), 43 (restaurants, cafés, hotels).
Vehicles, logistics, and arms
12 (vehicles and parts), 13 (firearms and explosives), 39 (transport, storage, delivery, travel booking).
Learning, media, and play
15 (musical instruments), 16 (paper, stationery, printed matter), 28 (games, toys, sporting goods), 41 (education, training, entertainment, sport, publishing).
Business, money, and law
35 (advertising, business management, retail and online marketplace services), 36 (banking, insurance, real estate, payments), 45 (legal, security, and personal services).
How to Find Your Trademark Class, Step by Step
Follow these six steps before you file anything.
1
Write out what you sell in plain words
List every product and every service, including the ones you plan to add within a year.
2
Separate goods from services
Things you make and sell are goods. Things you do for others, including running a shop or app, are services.
3
Look up each item in the official lists
Use WIPO’s Nice list or IP India’s classification lookup. Search by the product name, not by your brand.
4
Note the neighbours
A product often has related items in an adjacent class. Skincare sits in class 3, but a medicated cream may sit in class 5.
5
Check the register
Run a trademark search across those classes to see who already holds similar marks.
6
Write the specification
Describe goods and services specifically, because vague wording draws objections.
If a search tool returns two possible classes for one item, read the class headings and the explanatory notes before choosing. When it is still unclear, ask an attorney rather than guess.
Finding the Class for Common Business Types
Starting points drawn from how the classes are defined:
| Business |
Likely Classes |
Why |
| D2C clothing brand with a website | 25, 35 | Garments, plus the online retail service |
| Packaged snacks company | 29, 30, 35 | Depends on the product: fried and processed foods in 29, bakery and cereals in 30 |
| Mobile app that sells a service | 9, 42, plus the service class | Downloadable app, hosted software, and the underlying service |
| Fintech payments platform | 36, 42, 9 | Financial services, software platform, app |
| Café or restaurant chain | 43, possibly 30 or 29 | Serving food is 43; packaged items sold across the counter are goods |
| Coaching institute | 41 | Education and training |
| Skincare brand | 3, possibly 5 | Cosmetics versus medicinal claims |
| Marketplace operator | 35 | Online retail and listing services |
| Contract manufacturer | 40 | Processing materials for others |
These are starting points, not a guarantee. Your actual claims, ingredients, and business model can move a product to a different class.
Where People Choose the Wrong Class
A few patterns repeat:
- Food and supplements cause the most confusion: a protein powder might sit in class 5, 29, or 30 depending on composition and how it is marketed.
- Software splits between class 9 when someone downloads it and class 42 when you host it for them.
- Own-website sellers who sell their own products on their own site often forget class 35 for the retail service.
- Copying a competitor’s class without checking whether that competitor sells the same thing.
What Are the Consequences of Filing in the Wrong Class?
The examiner may reclassify your goods, ask you to restrict the description, or object that the specification is unclear. Since protection runs only to the classes and goods you filed, a missed class usually means a new application and a new fee, rather than a quiet fix later. Confirm your own case with an attorney, but plan on getting it right the first time.
Multiclass Trademark Applications
Section 18(2) of the Act allows a single application to cover more than one class. You file one Form TM-A and list your goods and services under each class. The government fee is charged per class, so a three-class filing costs three times the single-class fee.
Individuals, Startups, Small Enterprises
₹4,500 / class
Online filing
Other Applicants
₹9,000 / class
Online filing
Check the current rates on IP India’s website before you pay. A multiclass filing saves paperwork, but there is a trade-off: an objection raised against one class can slow the whole application. If one class looks risky after the search, discuss splitting it out so the strong classes proceed on their own schedule.
Trim the list. File only where you trade now or have a documented plan to do so within a reasonable time.
What Does an Examination Objection About Classes Look Like?
After you file, the examiner reviews the application and may issue an examination report. Class-related points include a description that is too broad, goods placed in the wrong class, or an item the Registrar wants moved.
You respond with a written reply, usually within a month of the report, and in some cases attend a hearing. Section 7(2) means the examiner’s classification stands unless you persuade them otherwise. Our trademark objection reply service handles these. You can read the Act on India Code.
How LegalDev India Classifies Your Brand
A simple, documented process from first call to filing.
1
You share your details
Tell us your products, services, and plans.
2
We map each item to Nice classes
Every mapping comes with the reasoning written down.
3
We flag risky or overlapping classes
Each flagged class is checked against the register.
4
You receive a recommendation
A class recommendation and a draft specification.
Pricing
| Service |
What You Get |
Price |
| Class recommendation |
Mapped classes with written reasoning |
₹ [insert] |
| Classification plus register check |
Classes checked for conflicts |
₹ [insert] |
| Full filing, multiclass |
Classification, specification, Form TM-A; government fee extra per class |
₹ [insert] |
Details are on our pricing page.
Frequently Asked Questions
List your products and services, then look each one up in the Nice alphabetical list or IP India’s classification lookup. Goods fall in classes 1 to 34 and services in 35 to 45.
Forty-five: 34 for goods and 11 for services.
Yes. Section 18(2) allows one application to cover multiple classes, with a government fee for each class.
Class 35 covers the retail service. If you also sell your own products, add the class for those products, such as 25 for clothing.
That depends on the stage and the nature of the change, and broadening a description is generally not allowed. A new application is often the safer route, so ask an attorney before you file.
Yes, the fee is charged per class.
Class 9 for downloadable software and apps, class 42 for hosted software and SaaS.
You can file a written reply, and a hearing may follow. The Registrar’s decision on classification is final under Section 7(2) of the Act.
It is expensive, and a filing made without genuine intent to trade in a class can draw challenges. File where you operate or plan to.
Yes. Conflicts are class-specific, so search every class you plan to claim.