January 7, 2021
Michael J. Pistorio

On January 8, 2022, all Trademark Electronic Application (TEAS) and TEASi filers can begin the process of verifying their identifications when logging into their USPTO accounts. ID verification must be completed by April 9, 2022, after which time those who have not had their identifications verified will be locked out of TEAS and TEASi.

The purpose of the ID verification is to ensure that the owner of a USPTO.gov account is, in fact, the person named in the account. The USPTO has recently struggled with a large influx of fraudulent trademark filings from foreign entities. The USPTO claims that ID verification program aims to reduce the number of fraudulent filings.

Please note that users filing under a sponsor will not have to undergo the identification verification. Foreign USPTO.gov filers (those without a United States Government-issued identification) cannot have their identifications verified automatically through the verification wizard detailed below, and will instead be forwarded to a live “referee” for a web conference in order to verify identification when attempting to have their ID verified.

USPTO.gov account holders do not need to verify their identification, but any accounting holder wanting to submit filings, including unrepresented owners (even if they used to have an attorney), will need to verify their account using a government-issued form of identification. The USPTO account name must match the name on the government-issued ID used to verify the account, which cannot be changed except in specific circumstances (i.e. an official government-recognized name change).

The USPTO is utilizing a third-party identification verification provider (“Id.me”) to perform the identity verification online using a wizard. A device with a front-facing camera and internet access is required. The verification wizard will ask for a social security number, a selfie using the front-facing camera, and prompt a photograph of the government-issued ID. The software will then run a soft credit check to verify the user.

In the case that the identification verification fails through the wizard, the user will be forwarded to a live “referee” for a web conference to verify identification.

For those who are unable to complete the online verification process or wish not to use it, a notarized-paper ID verification process is available.

For more information, please see the USPTO’s pdf guidance about this program (English only) at the following web address:

https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Identity-verification-14Dec2021.pdf