Onboarding documents for students

Welcome to the United States Patent and Trademark Office! We're thrilled that you chose us. The USPTO trains the next generation of intellectual property professionals and the Office of Human Resources is excited to help you begin your onboarding process.

This page contains everything you need to onboard and begin your experience at the USPTO!

Read each item carefully and email any questions or issues that require troubleshooting to extern@uspto.gov.

How to secure and submit sensitive information

Once hired at the USPTO, all externs must submit any and all required externship documents that contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII) securely. To ensure compliance, please see the instructions below:

How to WinZip and encrypt a document containing PII

Student volunteer agreement

Your Student Volunteer Agreement explains the ins and outs of your volunteer service with the United States government.
- Student volunteer agreement attachment A
- Student volunteer agreement attachment B
If you get stuck, here are some handy instructions on How to Complete Your Student Volunteer Agreement
- Remember to submit all documents containing PII securely. Email all extern documents to externs@uspto.gov.

How to fill out your Form I-9

I-9 instructions
Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification)
List of I-9 documents

Do you know the USPTO externship Rules of the Road? Get them here.

"Rules of the Road" policy

Pre-onboarding IT support

Here's everything you need to know about how to get plugged in and begin your externship. Please email the completed form to Summer_Extern_IT_Support@uspto.gov.

Pre-onboarding IT support questionnaire