In fiscal year 2021, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) moved to a new methodology for assigning patent applications to patent examiners based on Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC). Since the initial transition, various modifications have been made to the method by which applications are prioritized and docketed for examination. As a result of these changes, the estimates provided by the First Office Action Estimator for individual applications are not representative of expected examination timeframes. While improvements are made to our ability to provide these estimates, this tool will remain disabled. Additional information will be provided here as it becomes available.
Though the First Office Action Estimator is disabled, you can check the status of your patent application and review the file history in Patent Center. Also visit Patents Data Visualization Center for an average first office action time estimate and total pendency.
Resources
- Classification Main Menu (this includes a search function across the classification taxonomy)
- Cooperative Patent Classification System (CPC)
- Check the filing status of your patent application
- Check Patents Dashboard: USPTO Data Visualization Center for current processing wait times
Definitions
First Office Action
An Office action is a document written by a patent examiner in the course of examination of a patent application. The Office action may cite prior art and gives reasons why the examiner has allowed (approved) the applicant's claims and/or rejected the claims. A first Office action on the merits (FAOM) is typically the first substantive examination of the application.