What is a provisional patent application?
A provisional patent application is a lower-cost first filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office that gives your invention a filing date. It is not examined, and it ends 12 months after filing unless you file a full (nonprovisional) application that claims it.
What does a provisional application do?
It gives your invention a US filing date with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The USPTO does not examine it. It is a placeholder that holds your date while you keep working. [1]
After you file, you may describe your invention as "patent pending". [1]
How long does it last?
12 months from the day you file. To keep that early date, you must file a full application, called a nonprovisional application, that claims the provisional within those 12 months. If you don't, the provisional ends and its date is gone. [1]
The 12 months do not count toward the 20-year term of a patent granted later. [1]
What does it need to include?
- A written description of your invention, with any drawings needed to understand it. [1]
- A cover sheet that says it is a provisional application. [1]
- The filing fee. [2]
The description matters most. A later application can only rely on what the provisional actually describes. US law asks for a description clear and complete enough that someone skilled in your field could make and use the invention. [3]
What can I leave out?
A provisional does not need formal patent claims, and it does not need an oath or declaration. Because it is not examined, you don't file a list of prior art with it either. [1]
What does it cost?
| Who is filing | USPTO filing fee |
|---|---|
| Micro entity | $65 |
| Small entity | $130 |
| Large entity | $325 |
These are the USPTO fees in the fee schedule effective January 19, 2025. Micro entity status has income and other limits, so check the USPTO's rules before you claim it. A lawyer's fees, if you use one, are extra. [2]
Is a provisional right for every invention?
Provisional applications are for utility inventions: how something works or is made. They are not available for design inventions, which cover how something looks. [1]
What about sharing my idea before I file?
Showing your invention in public before you file can limit your options. The US gives inventors a limited one-year grace period for their own disclosures, but many other countries give none. [4] If you have already shown your invention to people, it is worth finding out what that means for you: a patent attorney or agent, a law school clinic or the USPTO's Patent Pro Bono Program can tell you.
How does NeuralClaim fit in?
NeuralClaim helps you write your invention down, see the closest patents and papers, and learn what each term means as you reach it. When it is time, it prepares a first provisional draft and a packet. You decide whether and how to file.
This is general information about the patent process, not advice about your invention. For your situation, you can ask a registered patent attorney or agent, a law school clinic, or the USPTO's Patent Pro Bono Program.
Sources
- USPTO, "Provisional Application for Patent", 2026. https://www.uspto.gov/patents/basics/apply/provisional-application
- USPTO, "USPTO fee schedule (effective January 19, 2025)", 2025. https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/fees-and-payment/uspto-fee-schedule
- Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute, "35 U.S. Code 112, Specification", 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/112
- Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute, "35 U.S. Code 102", 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/102
What changed
September 25, 2026: the closing paragraph on how NeuralClaim fits in was reworded. The facts about provisional applications and the fees are unchanged.