The requirements for a base application are as follows:

1. Applicant’s Name and Domicile Address;
2. Applicant’s Legal Entity and Citizenship (or state or country of incorporation or organization of each juristic applicant), including the names and citizenship of general partners for domestic partnerships, active members of domestic joint ventures, and the sole proprietor in a sole proprietorship;
3. Filing Basis or Bases. One or more bases for filing, and all requirements of 37 C.F.R. §§2.34, 2.44, or 2.45, as applicable, for each basis;
4. Multiple-Class Applications. If the application contains goods and/or services in more than one class, the application must meet the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §2.86;
5. Filing Fee. A filing fee per class for all classes listed in the application;
6. Signed Verification. A verified statement, dated and signed by a properly authorized person;
7. Drawing. A clear drawing of the mark comprising either: (1) a claim of standard characters and the mark, typed in the appropriate field in the electronic application form; or (2) a digitized image of a mark in special form. If the mark includes color, the digitized image must show the mark in color;
8. Color Claim and Description of Color(s). If the mark includes color, a claim that the color(s) is a feature of the mark; and a statement in the "Description of the Mark" field naming the color(s) and describing where the color(s) appears on the mark;
9. Description of Mark. If the mark is not in standard characters, a description of the mark;
10. Translation. If the mark includes foreign wording, an English translation of that wording;
11. Transliteration of Non-Latin Characters. If the mark includes non-Latin characters, a transliteration of those characters;
12. Consent to Registration of Name or Portrait. If the mark includes an individual’s name or portrait, either: (1) a statement that identifies the living individual whose name or likeness the mark comprises, and written consent of the individual; or (2) a statement that the name or portrait does not identify a living individual;
13. Prior Registrations for Same Mark. If the applicant owns one or more registrations for the same mark, and the last listed owner(s) of the prior registration(s) differs from the owner of the application, a claim of ownership of the registration(s), identified by the U.S. registration number(s);
14. Concurrent Use. If the application is a concurrent use application, the application must meet the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §2.42;
15. Attorney Required to Be Appointed for Applicants With Foreign Domicile. See TMEP §601.01 and §803.05(a) for determining whether an applicant is domiciled outside the United States or its territories. In addition to designating a qualified U.S. attorney, applicant must provide the attorney’s name, postal address, email address, and bar information. See TMEP §811.01 for additional information regarding the requirements for applicant’s attorney’s identification information.; and
16. Identification and Classification of Goods/Services. A correctly classified and definite identification of goods/services taken directly from the USPTO’s Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual (ID Manual) within the electronic form.

37 C.F.R. §2.22(a)(1)-(20).

An applicant has met the base application requirements and will not pay an additional fee (see TMEP §§819.02-819.04) if, in the initial application, the applicant: (1) makes a reasonable attempt to supply all required information as indicated above; and (2) uses the ID Manual within the electronic form for all goods and/or services in the application, including making a reasonable attempt to provide information for any ID Manual entry with a fill-in-the-blank field. See TMEP §§819.02-819.02(n) for information on what constitutes a reasonable attempt to provide the required information set for the above, and §819.03 for information on what constitutes a reasonable attempt to provide information for any ID Manual entry with a fill-in-the-blank field.

The initial application must meet the base application requirements to be subject to only the filing fee and no additional fees. Accordingly, correction of a deficiency made after the application is filed and prior to examination will not avoid a requirement for an applicable additional fee.

Conversely, if the initial application meets the base application requirements, any deficiency arising from an amendment will not incur any additional fees.

Example: The application is for "hair shampoo" in Class 3. The initial application meets all base application requirements. If the applicant later adds "medicated dandruff shampoo" in Class 5, which is within the scope of the original identification, the applicant would only be required to pay the filing fee to add Class 5. An examining attorney must not require the insufficient information fee or free-form text ID fee on the sole basis that the applicant added a class. This is true even if the added class does not meet the multiple-class application requirements, because whether the additional fees are required is based on the initial application and not on deficiencies in later amendments.

In addition, no additional fee is required if the mark type is amended from a trademark or service mark to a certification mark, collective mark, or collective membership mark, or vice versa.