The short answer: roughly 18 to 20 months from filing to certificate, where no office action or opposition gets in the way. But the more useful answer is that your protection does not wait that long — it starts on the day you file. Here is what actually happens, and when.
The short answer, and the caveat
A standard Ukrainian trademark takes about 18 to 20 months from filing to the certificate. That figure assumes a clean path: no provisional refusal from the examiner and no opposition from a third party. There is currently no fast-track or accelerated examination in Ukraine, so the timing is driven by the office’s workload rather than by anything you can pay to speed up.
Stage by stage
- Clearance search (before filing) — 1 to 3 business days. We check the register for identical and similar marks and give you an opinion.
- Filing — 1 to 2 business days from your instructions. The filing date, and with it your priority, is secured the day the application is accepted.
- Formal examination. The office checks the documents and the classification — a matter of weeks.
- Substantive examination. The long stage. Examiners test absolute and relative grounds; this is where most of the 18 to 20 months sits.
- Publication and certificate. Once the mark clears, its details are published, the final fees are paid, and the certificate issues.
What can make it longer
Two things stretch the timeline. A provisional refusal (office action) adds the time it takes to prepare and file a reply and for the examiner to consider it. An opposition from a third party adds a separate procedure. Neither is common on a well-cleared, well-drafted application — which is the best argument for getting the search and the class list right before you file.
Your rights don’t wait for the certificate
The single most important point about the timeline: in Ukraine protection runs from the filing date, not from the date the certificate issues. Once you have filed, your priority is fixed against anyone who files later. The 18 to 20 months is the wait for the paperwork, not for the protection — so there is rarely a reason to delay filing.
What about the Madrid System?
If you reach Ukraine through a Madrid designation, the clock works differently. Ukraine has a set window — up to 18 months — to raise any refusal. If it stays silent, protection is confirmed; if it issues a provisional refusal, you will need a local representative to answer it, and that adds time.
Author: Volodymyr Tarasiuk, Ukrainian patent and trademark attorney, Reg. No. 529