If the applicant submits a color drawing but does not include a color claim in the application, and if the color is a material element of the mark, the examining attorney must require the applicant to submit a claim that color(s) is/are a feature of the mark, and a separate color location statement in the "Description of the Mark" field naming the color(s) and specifying where the color(s) appear(s) on the mark. 37 C.F.R. §2.52(b)(1); TMEP §§807.07(a)–(a)(ii).

In an application under Tademark Act §1, 15 U.S.C. §1051, if the examining attorney determines that color is a non-material element of the drawing, the applicant may be given the option of replacing the color drawing with a black-and-white drawing.

In an application under §44, 15 U.S.C. §1126, the drawing of the mark must be a substantially exact representation of the mark in the foreign registration. 37 C.F.R. §2.51(c); TMEP §§807.12(b), 1011.01. If a §44 application is based on a foreign registration that depicts the mark in color, but no claim or description of color is made in the registration document, the examining attorney must inquire whether the foreign registration includes the color(s) shown as claimed or described features of the mark. If the mark in the foreign registration is not intended to be in color, the examining attorney must require evidence to establish that a non-color mark in a U.S. application is a substantially exact representation of the mark shown in color in the foreign registration. In such case, applicant will be required to submit either (1) a statement from the foreign intellectual property office that the mark in the foreign registration is not in color, or (2) a copy of the foreign intellectual property office's written policy regarding how color and/or color claims or descriptions appear in issued registrations. If the examining attorney determines that color is a non-material element of the drawing, the applicant may be given the option of submitting a black-and-white drawing in the U.S. application. TMEP §1011.01; see TMEP §§807.12(b), 1011.03.

In an application under §66(a), 15 U.S.C. §1141f(a), the drawing of the mark must be a substantially exact representation of the mark as it appears in the international registration. 37 C.F.R. §2.51(d); TMEP §807.12(c). The International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (IB) will include a reproduction that is identical to the reproduction in the international registration when it forwards the request for extension of protection of the international registration to the United States. The mark in a §66(a) application cannot be amended. TMEP §807.13(b).

Generally, when a mark is depicted in color, the §66(a) application will contain a claim of the colors featured in the mark. However, because some countries accept color drawings of marks that do not include a color claim, there may be cases where no claim of color has been made in the international registration, but the reproduction of the mark contains color. In these cases, the examining attorney should require the applicant to submit either: (1) a claim of the color(s) featured in the mark and a separate statement in the "Description of the Mark" field describing where the color(s) appear(s) in the mark; or (2) a statement that no claim of color is made with respect to the international registration, and a black-and-white reproduction of the same mark depicted in the international registration to comply with U.S. drawing requirements. See 37 C.F.R. §2.52(b).