There is no single trademark class for consulting services. In the Nice Classification consultancy is not an independent category but a sub-heading within each service class, specific to that field.
The question is therefore not "which class does consultancy fall into" but "what do you consult on".
Class Map by Field of Consultancy
| Field | Class |
|---|---|
| Business management, organisation, strategy, human resources | 35 |
| Marketing, advertising, brand communications, social media | 35 |
| Import-export, foreign trade organisation | 35 |
| Finance, investment, insurance, real estate | 36 |
| Education, careers, personal development, coaching | 41 |
| IT, software, cyber security, data | 42 |
| Engineering, architecture, technical projects, R&D | 42 |
| Quality control, certification, auditing | 42 |
| Law, intellectual property, trademarks and patents | 45 |
| Security consultancy | 45 |
| Health, nutrition, dietary consultancy | 44 |
| Logistics, transport, warehousing | 39 |
Three Boundaries That Cause Confusion
35 or 41?
The distinction lies in to whom and for what purpose the service is provided. Management consultancy given to a company to improve its processes falls into class 35. If you run a course, seminar or certification programme on the same subject, that is an education service and falls into class 41.
For consultancies doing both, both classes make sense: Which Class Do Education Services Fall Into?
35 or 42?
In fields such as digital transformation consultancy the line blurs. The test: if you are addressing business processes and organisation, 35; if technology architecture, software selection and technical implementation are involved, 42.
Consultancy or software?
If you develop your own software while consulting, these are two separate products. For the software side see Which Class Does Software Fall Into?
Typical Structures
A boutique consultancy in a single field
One class. If you provide only management consultancy, 35 suffices.
A consultancy that also trains
35 + 41. A common model: corporate consultancy alongside open training programmes.
A consultancy with its own platform
35 + 42. Where there is a software tool offered to clients.
A multi-disciplinary consulting firm
Order of priority: whichever field generates most of your turnover comes first. Add the others to the extent you actually provide those services — classes not used for five years are open to a revocation request (Article 26).
On the number of classes: How Many Classes Should a Trademark Cover?
Two Risks Specific to Consulting Brands
1. Distinctiveness — the sector's basic problem
Consulting brands are frequently built from generic business terms: "Consulting", "Partners", "Group", "Solutions", "Advisory", "Strategy", "Management". None carries distinctiveness on its own.
The similarity assessment is made on the core word that remains once they are stripped out. Between "NOVA CONSULTING" and "NOVA PARTNERS" there is, in terms of distinctiveness, no difference.
Choosing an original core word is therefore far more effective than playing with sector suffixes: How to Choose a Brand Name.
2. Personal name marks
Consultancies are commonly named after their founder. You may register your own name, but an earlier registration by someone else is an obstacle: Can You Register Your Own Name?
Proof of Use in Service Marks
For intangible services such as consultancy, documenting trademark use is harder than for product marks. When faced with an opposition or a revocation request, the evidence you would file is: contracts, invoices, proposal and report covers, presentations, website and social media records, event and conference participation.
Keeping those records in order matters particularly for service marks: The Use Requirement and the Five-Year Rule.
Let Us Define Your Scope
Share your service range and revenue split, and our trademark registration team will set out which classes are essential and which unnecessary.
The full list of classes: All 45 Trademark Classes.