If you are a foreign applicant with no address in China, the short answer is no: Chinese law requires you to file through a CNIPA-registered agency. If you do have a Chinese company or residence, you can file online yourself. The harder question is whether filing alone is wise, because the official fee is not refunded when a self-filed application is refused.
What the law actually says
Article 18 of the PRC Trademark Law requires foreign individuals and foreign companies applying in China to appoint a trademark agency established under Chinese law. There is no digital workaround. CNIPA’s online filing system authenticates the applicant, and a foreign passport alone does not get you through it.
The reason is practical rather than protective. Foreign filings arrive in English, and CNIPA examines in Chinese. Someone has to translate the mark, the goods list and the correspondence, and someone in China has to receive official documents and answer within the deadlines.
If you have a Chinese entity, you can file yourself
The rule turns on whether you have a residence or a real business address in China. A Chinese subsidiary, a wholly foreign owned enterprise, or a Chinese ID changes the answer. In that case you can register on CNIPA’s online system, complete the identity checks, and file without an agency.
What you still carry alone is the judgment. Choosing the class and the ten goods items, spotting a conflicting mark that differs by one letter, and handling a refusal inside the 15-day review window are the parts that decide your result. None of them is technical in the sense of needing a lawyer. All of them are easy to get wrong the first time.
What “file it myself” usually means in practice
Most foreign sellers who decide to file alone are not filing alone at all. They buy a low-cost package from an online platform, which is itself an agency, and the difference from a professional filing is what sits inside the package rather than who submits it.
Compare what you get, not the headline price. A filing that includes a conflict search, a risk rating on your chosen class, an English translation of the goods list, and a refusal policy in writing is a different product from a filing that includes submission and nothing else. The official fee is the same 270 RMB per class either way, so the gap in price is the gap in work.
The four things that go wrong when you file by yourself
We see the same four failures in files that arrive after a self-filed application has run into trouble.
- The class is wrong. A clothing brand files in class 25 and sells only through its own online store, which needs class 35 as well. The application succeeds and still leaves the brand exposed.
- The goods list is too narrow or too broad. Ten items cover the fee. Listing the wrong ten spends the money on goods you do not sell.
- A similar mark was missed. Exact-text searching misses marks that sound the same, and misses neighbouring goods groups inside the same class.
- The deadline passes. A refusal notice arrives in Chinese to an address that may not forward, and the review window runs from receipt, not from the date on the file.
When a self-filed application is refused, the 270 RMB official fee is gone. That is roughly the whole saving you were chasing.
What we do, and what it costs
Our trademark registration service uses CNIPA-registered agencies, so the filing route is the same one the law requires. What changes is the work around it: a conflict check before you commit, the class and goods list chosen for how you actually sell, the official fee shown as a separate line on the quote, and, on the Standard plan, a written assessment if the mark is refused.
The pricing page lists the plans in dollars per class, with the 270 RMB official fee shown separately rather than buried in a bundle. The standard process runs about eight months from filing when nothing goes wrong.
Before you decide, find out if the name is even available
The filing decision comes second. Check first whether the name is free in the classes you need, because that answer changes what you should do next. Send us your brand name and the goods you sell, and we will run a preliminary conflict check and come back within one to two business days with a plain answer at no cost. If you would rather do it yourself first, our guide to checking trademark availability in China walks through the free databases.
Quick answers
Can a foreigner file a China trademark without an agency?
No. Foreign individuals and companies without a residence or business address in China must appoint a CNIPA-registered agency to file.
Can I file a China trademark with a Chinese company?
Yes. A Chinese entity or a foreigner holding a Chinese residence permit can file through CNIPA’s online system without appointing an agency.
Is filing myself cheaper?
The official fee is identical. What changes is what is included. Compare the search, the goods list, the translation and the refusal policy before you compare the price.
What happens if my own filing is refused?
The official fee is not refunded. You can respond, or refile with a corrected class or goods list, and either route costs more than doing it once properly.
Sources: PRC Trademark Law, Article 18; CNIPA fee schedule (2026). This is general information, not legal advice, and outcomes depend on the individual case.
