A restaurant, café or bar registers its mark with IMPI mainly in class 43 (food and drink services). If it also sells branded products, such as sauces, packaged coffee or beverages, it needs the class for those products: 29, 30, 32 or 33. It's worth registering both the name and the logo, and protecting recipes as trade secrets. Official fees are MXN 2,813.77 per class online (2026).
The classes a restaurant needs
| If your business… | Class |
|---|---|
| Provides restaurant, café, bar, catering or takeout services | 43 |
| Sells meat, cheese, oils, jams or packaged prepared food | 29 |
| Sells coffee, bread, sauces, spices, tortillas or ice cream under its brand | 30 |
| Sells its own water, juices, soft drinks or beer | 32 |
| Sells mezcal, tequila, wine or other spirits under its brand | 33 |
| Sells branded merchandise: clothing, mugs, tumblers | 25, 21 |
See the full list in the Nice classification guide.
Name, logo and the rest
- Word mark (name only): the broadest protection, because it covers the name in any design.
- Combined mark (name and logo): protects the image people recognize on your sign and packaging.
- Commercial slogan: if you have a tagline that became part of your identity.
- Recipes and processes: not registered; protected as trade secrets, with confidentiality agreements for cooks and partners.
Mistakes we see in restaurants
- Filing only in class 30 because "we sell food," when the business is the restaurant service (class 43).
- Registering in the name of a partner or the chef instead of the company or the real owner.
- Waiting for the place to take off before registering. By then, someone else may have filed.
- Using a descriptive name ("La Taquería", "Café de Olla") that IMPI won't grant as a trademark.
Frequently asked questions
Which class do we register a restaurant in?
Class 43, which covers restaurant, café, bar and catering services. If you sell packaged products under your brand, add the class for those products.
How much does it cost to register a restaurant trademark in Mexico?
Official IMPI fees are MXN 2,813.77 per class online in 2026, VAT included, plus professional fees if a firm handles it.
Can a recipe be registered?
Not as a trademark or, except in very specific cases, as a patent. It's protected as a trade secret, with confidentiality agreements and control over who knows it.
Should we register the name or the logo?
Ideally both. If you can only do one, the name (word mark) usually gives the broadest protection.
Opening or expanding in Mexico?
Tell us your restaurant's name and what you sell. We'll check availability and recommend the classes.
Check my restaurant's name