Maintain Your Patent
All utility patents which issue from applications filed on or after December 12, 1980 are subject to maintenance fees, which must be paid to maintain the patent in force. For information about which patents are subject to maintenance fees and the time of payment for maintenance fees, please refer to Chapter 2500: Maintenance Fees of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure.
Maintenance fees are due three times during the life of a patent, and may be paid without surcharge at:
- Three to three and a half years after the date of issue for the first payment;
- Seven to seven and a half years after the date of issue for the second payment; and
- 11 to 11 ½ years after the date of issue for the third and final payment.
Maintenance fees may be paid with a surcharge during the following "grace periods:"
- Three and a half years and through the day of the fourth anniversary of the grant of the patent;
- Seven and a half years and through the day of the eighth anniversary of the grant of the patent; and
- 11 ½ years and through the day of the 12th anniversary of the grant of the patent.
If the last day for paying a maintenance fee or any applicable surcharge falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the fee may be paid on the succeeding day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday.
View the fee schedule for information on current fees and costs associated with your patent.
Three Ways to Pay
All fee payments must include both patent and application numbers. If the fee is being paid for reissue, the application number required is the reissue application number. Customers may pay patent maintenance fees by using one of the following three options:
- Visit the Office of Finance Online Shopping Page and use our fast, easy, and secure way to pay patent maintenance fees online, using a credit card, deposit account, or EFT payment methods.
- Pay by fax using a credit card or deposit account. If paying by fax, complete the “Maintenance Fee Transmittal Form” and the “Credit Card Payment Form” (if paying with a credit card), and fax them to 571-273-6500.
- Send payments by mail using a check or money order, credit card, or deposit account. If paying by mail, complete and submit the "Maintenance Fee Transmittal Form" and the “Credit Card Payment Form” (if paying with a credit card).
Mailing address if paying with a check or money order:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,
P.O. Box 979070
St. Louis, MO 63197-9000
Mailing address if paying with a credit card or deposit account (or by hand delivery):
Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Attn: Maintenance Fees
2051 Jamieson Avenue, Suite 300
Alexandria, VA 22314
Note: A maintenance fee payment can be timely made using the certificate of mailing or transmission procedure set forth in 37 CFR 1.8, or the USPS Express Mail procedure set forth in 37 CFR 1.10.
Please send petitions for delayed payment of maintenance fees due to unintentional or unavoidable delay to:
Mail Stop PetitionCommissioner for Patents
PO Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
Please send correspondence related to maintenance fees that does NOT accompany a maintenance fee payment (e.g., entity status changes, fee address changes) to:
Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark OfficeAttn: Maintenance Fees
2051 Jamieson Avenue, Suite 300
Alexandria, VA 22314
Checking the Maintenance Status of Your Patents
Bibliographic data and the fee amounts due for a specific patent are available through the Office of Finance Online Shopping Page. This information is also available through our Maintenance Fee Branch. To contact the Maintenance Fee Branch, call 571-272-6500. Select option #1, then option #1 again when prompted by our automated system.
Weekly lists of patents for which maintenance fees may now be paid and of patents expired for failure to pay maintenance fees are available through the Official Gazette Notices. Choose the year and week of interest, and select either the "Notice of Maintenance Fees Payable" or the "Notice of Expiration of Patents Due to Failure to Pay Maintenance Fee" link, located near the top of the Web page.
Expiration for Failure to Pay Maintenance Fees
If the maintenance fee and any applicable surcharge are not paid, the patent will expire at the end of the applicable grace period as listed above. A patent that expires for failure of payment will expire on the anniversary date that the patent was granted in the fourth, eight, or 12th year after the grant of the patent.
You can verify the status of your patent with regard to the payment of maintenance fees online or by contacting the Maintenance Fee Branch at 571-272-6500.
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