# Requirements to file a trademark in Panama A Panamanian trademark application needs the application form, a power of attorney for the Panamanian attorney who files it, an address in Panama for notices if you live abroad, two specimens of the logo if the mark has a design or special lettering, and payment of the fees. An original power of attorney needs no notary and no legalization. A copy does need a notary. [Get a quote](/contact/) ## The power of attorney Under the regulation, an original power of attorney needs neither legalization nor notarization, but copies must be notarized. A scan is a copy, so it does not replace the original unless it is notarized. The power can be a private document that gives the name and details of the owner, and for a company, the law it was formed under and its domicile. If the attorney may withdraw from the application, waive the registration or assign rights, that power must be stated expressly. A power of attorney recorded in DIGERPI’s Power of Attorney Registry can be cited by its recording details instead of being filed again. Source: Executive Decree 85 of 2017, articles 8 to 10; Law 35 of 1996, articles 2-A and 2-B, added by Law 61 of 2012 ## Filing without the power, and the deadline to cure The power of attorney goes with the application. If it is missing, DIGERPI notifies the defect and you have three months to cure it, or the application is treated as abandoned. An attorney can also file as an agent without the power, posting a B/. 100 bond. The power then has to arrive within two months, extendable once by one month if you ask before the deadline. If it does not arrive, the application is treated as never filed and the bond goes to the National Treasury. [Photo: Adam Jones](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Locomotives_Tow_Container_Ship_through_Miraflores_Locks_-_Panama_Canal.jpg)· [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0) Source: Law 35 of 1996, articles 103 and 104, as amended by Law 61 of 2012; Executive Decree 85 of 2017, article 114 ## An address in Panama If you are domiciled abroad, the application must name an address in the Republic of Panama where administrative and court notices can be served. The official form has a box for it. Source: Law 35 of 1996, article 102, numeral 3, as amended by Law 61 of 2012 ## Logo specimens If the mark has special lettering, a shape or a color, or is figurative, mixed or three-dimensional, you file two specimens, one attached to or digitized in the form. Each measures between 8 by 8 and 10 by 10 centimeters. A word mark in plain letters needs no specimens. Older guides ask for three or six labels. That was the 1996 rule, which no longer applies. Source: Law 35 of 1996, article 103, numeral 3, as amended by Law 61 of 2012; Executive Decree 85 of 2017, article 114, numeral 1 ## Claiming priority from an earlier filing abroad Under the Paris Convention you have six months from your first application to file in Panama with priority. The Panamanian application names the country or office, the date and the number of the earlier one. - A copy of the earlier application, certified by the office that received it, with a certificate of its filing date. - You file it with the application or within six months after filing in Panama. If it does not arrive, the priority is treated as not claimed and the application keeps its Panamanian date. - Anything not in Spanish is translated by an authorized public translator. - No legalization is required for these documents. Source: Paris Convention, article 4, approved by Law 41 of 1995; Law 35 of 1996, articles 102 and 103; Executive Decree 85 of 2017, articles 113 and 114 ## One application, several classes Since 2012, one application can cover goods or services in one or several classes. A multi-class application can be divided later, and each part keeps the filing date and the priority. You can also withdraw one or more classes. Source: Law 35 of 1996, articles 93 and 93-A, as amended by Law 61 of 2012; Executive Decree 85 of 2017, article 119 ## Questions people ask ### Do I need a certificate of incorporation for my company? No. The 1996 law asked for it, but that rule was replaced. Today the law requires no notary, authentication or legalization for the application documents. ### Does the power of attorney need an apostille? Not an original. Only the power recorded in DIGERPI’s Power of Attorney Registry, when granted abroad, has to be legalized at a Panamanian consulate or apostilled. ### Can one power of attorney cover all my marks? Yes. Panama is a party to the Trademark Law Treaty, which lets one power cover several applications and registrations, or all present and future ones of the same owner. ## What the law does not say - Whether DIGERPI accepts new trademark applications by email. A 2020 resolution allows email filing for patents and designs, and we have not confirmed that it covers trademarks or that it is still in force. - Whether DIGERPI accepts an unnotarized scan of the power of attorney in practice. The regulation says it should not. ## Official sources - [Law 35 of May 10, 1996, the Industrial Property Law](https://s3-legispan.asamblea.gob.pa/legispan/NORMAS/1990/1996/LEY/Administrador%20Legispan_23036_1996_5_15_ASAMBLEA%20LEGISLATIVA_35.pdf)· [Full text](https://iurispa.com/legislacion/ley-35-de-1996/) Last verified: November 6, 2026 ## Keep reading - [How registration works](/process/) - [Official fees](/costs/) - [Opposition](/opposition/) ## Ready to protect your brand in Panama? Send us your mark and the goods or services you sell. We reply with the classes you need and a fixed written quote. [Get your quote](/contact/) [WhatsApp](https://wa.me/50761970238?text=Hi%2C%20I%20would%20like%20a%20quote%20to%20register%20a%20trademark%20in%20Panama%20(from%20panamatrademarkregistration.com).) [contacto@iurispa.com](mailto:contacto@iurispa.com)