MPEP § 1306 — MPEP § 1306
Current through: 2022-07-01

1306-Issue Fee 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Chapter 1300 

 Section 1306 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 1306 Issue Fee [R-01.2024]

 The issue fee and any required publication fee are due 3 months from the
 date of the Notice of Allowance. The period for payment of the issue fee and any required
 publication fee is not extendable, see 37 CFR 1.311(a) . The amount of the
 issue fee and any required publication fee are shown on the Notice of Allowance. The Notice
 of Allowance will also reflect any issue fee previously paid in the application. The issue
 fee due does not reflect a credit for any previously paid issue fee in the application. If
 an issue fee has previously been paid in the application as reflected in the Notice of
 Allowance, the return of Part B (Fee(s) Transmittal form) will be considered a request to
 reapply the previously paid issue fee toward the issue fee that is now due. For example, if
 the application was allowed and the issue fee paid, but applicant withdrew the application
 from issue and filed a Request for Continued Examination (RCE) and the application was
 later allowed, the Notice of Allowance will reflect an issue fee amount that is due and the
 issue fee that was previously paid. 
 

 Under the changes to 35 U.S.C. 151 in the Patent Law
 Treaties Implementation Act (PLTIA) (Public Law 112-211), the sum specified in the Notice
 of Allowance will constitute the issue fee and any required publication fee, and the Office
 will proceed to issue a patent when the applicant pays the sum specified in the Notice of
 Allowance, regardless of the issue fee and/or publication fee in effect on the date the sum
 specified in the Notice of Allowance is paid. The amounts due under 35 U.S.C. 41(a) 
 (i.e., the issue fee, but not the publication fee) are reduced by 60 per centum for small
 entities and 80 per centum for micro entities. 
 

 Applicants and their attorneys or agents are urged to use the Fee(s)
 Transmittal form (PTOL-85B) provided with the Notice of Allowance when submitting their
 payments, even when no additional fee is due. Unless otherwise directed, all post allowance
 correspondence should be addressed “Mail Stop Issue Fee.”
 

 Where it is clear that an applicant actually intends to pay the issue fee
 and required publication fee, but the proper fee payment is not made, for example, an
 incorrect issue fee amount is supplied, or a PTOL-85B Fee(s) Transmittal form is filed
 without payment of the issue fee, a general authorization to pay fees or a specific
 authorization to pay the issue fee, submitted prior to the mailing of a Notice of
 Allowance, will be allowed to act as payment of the correct issue fee. 37 CFR 1.311(b) . In
 addition, where the deposit account information is added to the Fee(s) Transmittal form
 (PTOL-85B), but the check box authorizing that the deposit account be charged the issue fee
 is not checked, the deposit account will still be charged the required issue fee and any
 required publication fee.
 

 Technology Center personnel should forward all post allowance
 correspondence to the Office of Patent Application Processing (OPAP). The papers received
 by OPAP will be scanned and matched with the appropriate application and the entire
 application will be forwarded to the appropriate Technology Center for processing.
 

 The payment of the issue fee due may be simplified by using a U.S. Patent
 and Trademark Office Deposit Account or a credit card payment with form PTO-2038 for such a
 fee. See MPEP §
 509 . However, any such payment must be specifically authorized by
 reference to the “issue fee” or “fees due under 37 CFR 1.18 .”
 

 The fee(s) due will be accepted from the applicant, assignee, or a
 registered attorney or agent, either of record or under 37 CFR 1.34 .
 

 The Director has no authority to extend the time for paying the issue fee.
 Intentional failure to pay the issue fee within the 3 months permitted by 35 U.S.C. 151 does
 not amount to unintentional delay in making payment.
 

 
 1306.01 Deferring Issuance of a Patent [R-01.2024]

 
 37 CFR 1.314 Issuance of patent. 

 If applicant timely pays the issue fee, the Office will issue the
 patent in regular course unless the application is withdrawn from issue
 ( §
 1.313 ) or the Office defers issuance of the patent. To request
 that the Office defer issuance of a patent, applicant must file a petition under this
 section including the fee set forth in § 1.17(h) and a showing of good and sufficient reasons why it
 is necessary to defer issuance of the patent.
 

 

 There is a public policy that the patent will issue in regular course
 once the issue fee is timely paid. 37 CFR 1.314 . It has been the policy
 of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to defer issuance of a patent, upon request, for
 a period of up to 1 month only, in the absence of extraordinary circumstances or
 requirement of the regulations (e.g., 37 CFR 1.177 ) which would dictate a
 longer period. Situations like negotiation of licenses, time for filing in foreign
 countries, collection of data for filing a continuation-in-part application, or a desire
 for simultaneous issuance of related applications are not considered to amount to
 extraordinary circumstances.
 

 A petition to defer issuance of a patent is not appropriate until the
 issue fee is paid. Issuance of a patent cannot be deferred after an allowed application
 receives a patent number and issue date unless the application is withdrawn from issue
 under 37 CFR
 1.313(b) or (c) . See MPEP § 1306.03 . The
 petition to defer is considered at the time the petition is correlated with the
 application file before the appropriate deciding official ( MPEP § 1002.02(b) ).
 In order to facilitate timely consideration of a petition for deferment of issue, the
 petition should be filed with the Fee(s) Transmittal form (PTOL-85B) and clearly labeled
 as a Petition to Defer Issue; Attention: Office of Petitions and filed via (A) the USPTO
 patent electronic filing system; (B) facsimile transmittal to (571) 273-0025; or (C)
 hand-delivered to the Office of Petitions, see MPEP § 502 , subsection (III)(H).
 Confirmation of receipt of the petition can be made by calling the Petitions Helpdesk. A
 petition under 37 CFR
 1.314 that is not granted prior to issuance of the patent is not
 effective to withdraw an application from issue or to defer grant. 
 

 

 
 1306.02 Simultaneous Issuance of Patents [R-08.2012]

 Where applications have been allowed and a Notice of Allowance and
 Fee(s) Due (PTOL-85) has been mailed in each application, a request for simultaneous
 issuance will be granted. Unless all the applications have reached this stage of
 processing, or a specific requirement of the regulations is involved (e.g.,
 37 CFR
 1.177 ), a request for simultaneous issuance generally will not be
 granted.
 

 Applicants and their attorneys who desire the simultaneous issue of
 allowed applications must submit the request to: Mail Stop Issue Fee, Commissioner for
 Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, Attention: Office of Patent
 Publication.
 

 The request must contain the following information about
 each allowed application for which simultaneous issue is
 requested:
 

 
 (A) Application number,

 (B) Filing date,

 (C) Name(s) of inventor(s),

 (D) Title of invention, and

 (E) Date of allowance.

 
 Separate copies of the request must accompany each 
 Fee(s) Transmittal (PTOL-85B).
 

 

 
 1306.03 Practice After Payment of Issue Fee; Receipt of Issue
 Notification [R-01.2024]
 

 Patents issue shortly after the payment of the issue fee. As a result,
 applicants have a limited time, after the payment of the issue fee, to file continuing
 applications, Quick Path Information Disclosure Statements, or petitions under
 37 CFR
 1.313(c) to withdraw an application from issue. Therefore, the
 best practice is for applicants to file these submissions as early as possible.
 Preferably, continuing applications should be filed before the payment of the issue fee.
 See MPEP §
 211.01(b) , subsection I.
 

 Effective April 18, 2023, the USPTO began issuing and publishing patent
 grants electronically via the USPTO patent electronic filing system . Patents are issued
 on a Tuesday shortly after the patent number is assigned. Issue Notifications are
 available electronically via the USPTO patent electronic filing system (Patent Center)
 after the payment of the issue fee, usually on the Wednesday or Thursday before the
 patent issues. For those applicants who participate in the e-Office action program, the
 USPTO emails notification of the Issue Notification to the applicant’s designated email
 address. For more information regarding the e-Office action program, see Electronic
 Office Action, 1342 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 45 (June 2, 2009). For those who do not
 participate in the e-Office action program, the USPTO foresees the possibility that a
 patent may issue electronically before the applicant receives a mailed Issue
 Notification. The USPTO encourages applicants to use the e-Office action program to
 avoid this possibility. Alternatively, once an issue fee has been paid, the application
 should be diligently monitored for assignment of a patent number and issue date. 
 

 In order to minimize disruptions and delays in the publication process,
 filing of papers should be avoided when feasible after the Notice of Allowance has been
 mailed unless necessary for “Query Printer Waiting”, amendments submitted under
 37 CFR
 1.312 , information disclosure statements, and petitions. Corrected
 filing receipts will not be mailed after the date of mailing of the Notice of Allowance
 unless special circumstances exist. Duplicate filing of papers is not recommended (and
 may be treated as a failure to engage in reasonable efforts to conclude prosecution
 pursuant to 37 CFR
 1.704(c)(10) ). The same correspondence should not be mailed and
 faxed to the Office unless the duplication has been specifically required by the Office.
 See MPEP
 § 719.01(a) .
 

 

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 1301-Substantially Allowable Application, Special 

 1302-Preparation of an Application for Allowance 
 1302.01-General Review of Disclosure 

 1302.02-Requirement for a Rewritten Specification 

 1302.03-Notice of Allowability 

 1302.04-Examiner’s Amendments and Changes 
 1302.04(a)-Title of Invention 

 1302.04(b)-[Reserved] 

 1302.04(c)-Cancellation of Claims to Nonelected Invention 

 1302.04(d)-Cancellation of Claim Lost in Interference 

 1302.04(e)-Cancellation of Rejected Claims Following Appeal 

 1302.04(f)-[Reserved] 

 1302.04(g)-Identification of Claims 

 1302.04(h)-Rejoinder of Claims 

 
 

 1302.05-Correction of Drawing 

 1302.06-Prior Foreign Application 

 1302.07-[Reserved] 

 1302.08-Interference Search 

 1302.09-Classification, Print Figure, and Other Notations 

 1302.10-Issue Classification Notations 

 1302.11-[Reserved] 

 1302.12-Listing of References 

 1302.13-Signing 

 1302.14-Reasons for Allowance 

 
 

 1303-Notice of Allowance 
 1303.01-Amendment Received After Allowance 

 1303.02-Undelivered 

 1303.03-Not Withheld Due to Death of Inventor 

 
 

 1304-Amendments After D-10 Notice 
 1304.01-Withholding From Issue of “Secrecy Order” Applications 

 
 

 1305-Jurisdiction 

 1306-Issue Fee 
 1306.01-Deferring Issuance of a Patent 

 1306.02-Simultaneous Issuance of Patents 

 1306.03-Practice After Payment of Issue Fee; Receipt of Issue Notification 

 
 

 1307-[Reserved] 

 1308-Withdrawal From Issue 
 1308.01-Rejection After Allowance 

 1308.02-For Interference or Derivation Purposes 

 1308.03-Quality Review for Examined Patent Applications 

 
 

 1309-Issue of Patent 
 1309.01-[Reserved] 

 1309.02-“Printer Rush” Cases 

 
 

 

 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
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 Last Modified: 
 
 03/09/2026 20:49:26