MPEP § 505 — MPEP § 505
Current through: 2022-07-01

505-Date of Receipt Stamp 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Manual of Patent Examining Procedure 

 Chapter 0500 

 Section 505 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 505 Date of Receipt Stamp [R-01.2024]

 
 37 CFR 1.6 Receipt of correspondence. 

 
 (a) Date of receipt and Priority Mail Express ® 
 date of deposit. Correspondence received in the Patent and Trademark
 Office is stamped with the date of receipt except as follows:
 
 (1) The Patent and Trademark Office is not open for the filing
 of correspondence on any day that is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday
 within the District of Columbia. Except for correspondence transmitted by
 facsimile under paragraph (a)(3) of this section, or filed electronically
 under paragraph (a)(4) of this section, no correspondence is received in the
 Office on Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal holidays within the District of
 Columbia.
 

 (2) Correspondence filed in accordance with § 1.10 
 will be stamped with the date of deposit as Priority Mail
 Express ® with the United States Postal
 Service.
 

 (3) Correspondence transmitted by facsimile to the Patent and
 Trademark Office will be stamped with the date on which the complete
 transmission is received in the Patent and Trademark Office unless that date
 is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia,
 in which case the date stamped will be the next succeeding day which is not
 a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. 
 

 (4) Correspondence may be submitted using the USPTO patent
 electronic filing system only in accordance with the USPTO patent electronic
 filing system requirements. Correspondence officially submitted to the
 Office by way of the USPTO patent electronic filing system will be accorded
 a receipt date, which is the date in Eastern Time when the correspondence is
 received in the Office, regardless of whether that date is a Saturday,
 Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia.
 

 
 

 
 *****

 

 The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) stamps papers and
 fees received through the mail (other than those submitted by Priority Mail
 Express ® in accordance with 37 CFR 1.10 ), by
 facsimile, or via the USPTO patent electronic filing system with the date of their receipt
 in the Office. Papers that are hand-carried to the Office will be date stamped at the
 Customer Service Window. See MPEP § 502 . The stamp is referred to as the “Office Date”
 stamp.
 

 When the last day for taking any action or paying any fee in the Office
 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal holiday within the District of Columbia, the
 action or the fee is considered timely if the action is taken or the fee is paid on the
 next succeeding business day.
 

 New patent applications filed in accordance with 37 CFR 1.10 will be
 stamped by the Office with the date of deposit as Priority Mail
 Express ® with the United States Postal Service. For example,
 if a new patent application is deposited in Priority Mail
 Express ® in accordance with 37 CFR 1.10 on a
 Saturday and the United States Postal Service gives it a date of deposit of Saturday, the
 Office will accord and stamp the correspondence with the Saturday date. 37 CFR 1.6(a)(2) .
 

 Similarly, correspondence submitted via the USPTO patent electronic filing
 system will be accorded a receipt date, which is the date in Eastern Time when the
 correspondence is received in the Office without regard to whether that date is a Saturday,
 Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. See MPEP §§ 502.05 and
 512 .
 

 If an application as originally filed includes the necessary components for
 a filing date (see 37 CFR
 1.53(b)-(d) and MPEP § 506 ), the “Office Date” stamp
 establishes the “filing date.”
 

 [top] 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 501-Filing Papers With the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 

 502-Depositing Correspondence 
 502.01-Correspondence Transmitted by Facsimile 

 502.02-Correspondence Signature Requirements 

 502.03-Communications via Internet Electronic Mail (email) 

 502.04-Duplicate Copies of Correspondence 

 502.05-Correspondence Transmitted by EFS-Web 

 
 

 503-Application Number and Filing Receipt 

 504-Assignment of Application for Examination 

 505-Date of Receipt Stamp 

 506-Completeness of Original Application 
 506.01-[Reserved] 

 506.02-Review of Refusal To Accord Filing Date 

 
 

 507-Drawing Review in the Office of Patent Application Processing 

 508-Distribution 
 508.01-[Reserved] 

 508.02-Papers Received After Patenting or Abandonment 

 508.03-[Reserved] 

 508.04-Unlocatable Patent or Application Files 

 
 

 509-Payment of Fees 
 509.01-Deposit Accounts 

 509.02-Small Entity Status — Definitions 

 509.03-Claiming Small Entity Status 
 509.03(a)-Duty to Investigate Entitlement to Claim Small Entity Status 

 509.03(b)-Change or Correction of Status 

 
 

 509.04-Micro Entity Status — Definitions 
 509.04(a)-Gross Income Basis for Micro Entity Status 

 509.04(b) -Institution of Higher Education Basis for Micro Entity Status 

 509.04(c) -Parties Who Can Sign the Micro Entity Certification 

 509.04(d) -Continued Obligation to Determine Micro Entity Qualification 

 509.04(e) -Notification of Loss of Entitlement to Micro Entity Status 

 509.04(f) -Correcting Errors in Micro Entity Status 

 
 

 
 

 510-U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Business Hours 

 511-Postal Service Interruptions and Emergencies 

 512-Certificate of Mailing or Transmission 

 513-Deposit as Priority Mail Express® with U.S. Postal Service 

 

 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
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 Last Modified: 
 
 03/09/2026 20:50:52