First-Time Filer Expedited Examination Pilot Program FAQs

No. The petition can be filed at any time before the examiner sends out a first office action in your application. However, you should not file the petition to make special before your application is complete under 37 CFR 1.51(b). If you do, the petition will be dismissed without an opportunity for correction.

To help ensure your patent application is complete under 37 CFR 1.51(b) by the time you file a petition to make special under this program, you may delay filing your petition until a filing receipt is issued and you are sure the application includes the following:

• a specification,
• drawing(s), if necessary,
• at least one claim,
• an oath or declaration in compliance with 37 CFR 1.63 (or a substitute statement in compliance with 37 CFR 1.64) for each named inventor, and
• payment of all appropriate fees (that is, basic filing, search, and examination fees, and an application size fee, if required). 

Your application is likely complete under 37 CFR 1.51(b) if: 

(1)  you do not receive any deficiency notice with the filing receipt, or

(2)  you receive a deficiency notice with the filing receipt, but the notice does not indicate that the specification, drawing(s), and/or claim(s) is missing, or that an inventor’s oath/declaration or any necessary fee is missing or deficient.

The following example illustrates the advantage of delaying the filing of the petition to make special until the application is complete.

Assume that you filed a nonprovisional utility application and received a filing receipt and a deficiency notice stating that the inventor’s oath/declaration did not comply with 37 CFR 1.63 (for example, the inventor’s name does not match what is in the application data sheet, it was improperly signed, etc.). You then corrected the deficiency in the oath/declaration and responded to the deficiency notice. The office then issued a corrected filing receipt with no notice. The application would then be complete because the deficiency in the inventor’s oath or declaration was resolved, and the application would still be eligible for the program if all other program requirements were met. 

By contrast, had you filed a noncompliant inventor’s oath/declaration along with the petition, the petition would have been dismissed without an opportunity for correction. So, it is best to wait until you are sure that your application is complete before filing the petition.  

Once placed on an examiner’s special docket, applications typically receive a first office action within 28 days.

No, unless you are a registered patent practitioner. A registered patent practitioner must sign the ADS when someone other than a person (e.g., a company) is listed as the applicant. An improperly signed ADS may prevent other papers from being compliant, which results in an incomplete application.

If your patent application is not complete as of the date the petition to make special under this program is filed, your petition will be dismissed with no opportunity to correct the deficiency. Therefore, it is important to ensure that your ADS is properly signed and your application is complete prior to filing the petition.

For more information on the general requirements of an application, please see 37 CFR 1.51(b).

Yes. You may not email, mail, or fax your patent application or petition. You must file the application and petition electronically using Patent Center.

No. You must file your application electronically using Patent Center, and you must submit the specification, claim(s), and abstract in DOCX format when you file the application.

No. You must submit the specification, claim(s), and abstract in DOCX format when you file the application.

For help with filing using the USPTO’s Patent Electronic Systems, contact the Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (during its operating hours of 6 a.m. to midnight ET, Monday-Friday) or ebc@uspto.gov. More information about the EBC is available on the EBC webpage.