The Nice Classification contains 45 classes for organizing goods and services in trademark applications.
The system was established by the Nice Agreement in 1957 and is administered and maintained through the World Intellectual Property Organization. It gives trademark offices and applicants a shared international framework for describing what a mark covers, making classifications easier to compare across countries.
Classes 1 through 34 cover goods, such as chemicals, machinery, clothing, food, and software-related products. Classes 35 through 45 cover services, including advertising, telecommunications, education, transport, scientific services, hospitality, and legal or security services. Class 45 is the final class and includes legal, security, and personal or social services.
The number 45 refers to the classification system’s classes, not the number of trademarks an applicant may register. An application may designate multiple classes when a business operates across several product or service areas, and fees commonly increase with additional classes. The system is revised over time, so individual terms and class descriptions can change, but the 45-class structure remains the standard framework.