The following is an edited transcript of my video What Is a Domicile Address and Why Do I Need to Provide One?
Have you been asked to provide your domicile address in regards to a trademark application with the USPTO? A few years ago the USPTO changed their rules and procedures to require a physical—or domicile—address for every applicant as part of an effort to crack down on scammers. Whether or not these changes have helped with scams is a different story, but as a result of the rules every applicant must have a physical address tied to the file.
Addresses that won’t suffice for the USPTO without providing a domicile address as well include:
- a virtual office space
- a shared office space that’s not a dedicated address specific to that business
- P.O. boxes
- shared spaces like Mailboxes, Etc or a UPS store
- a ‘care of’ address care of somebody else like a law firm, or
- a registered agent’s address
If any of the above apply to your application and the main address listed for your business, the USPTO requires a domicile address. This could be a home address of one of the owners or officers, or some other physical address.
The good news is that the domicile address can be hidden from the USPTO’s public records if you request. So if you have a P.O. box or shared office space address and you’re required to provide a domicile address, the domicile address will be hidden from the public records so that it’s not easily accessible for somebody reading the USPTO files.
For more on trademark application requirements, visit our website’s trademark registration page.
