Application Number and Filing Receipt

37 CFR 1.54  Parts of application to be filed together; filing receipt.

(a) It is desirable that all parts of the complete application be

deposited in the Office together; otherwise, a letter must accompany each part,

accurately and clearly connecting it with the other parts of the application.

See

§ 1.53(f)

and

(g)

with regard to completion

of an application.

(b) Applicant will be informed of the application number and filing

date by a filing receipt, unless the application is an application filed under

§

1.53(d)

. A letter limited to a request for a filing receipt

may be signed by a juristic applicant or patent owner.

I.

APPLICATION NUMBER

Application numbers consisting of a series code and a serial number are

assigned by the Office of Patent Application Processing (OPAP) immediately after mail

has been opened. If an application is filed using the USPTO patent electronic filing

system, an Acknowledgement Receipt that contains a time and date stamp, an application

number and a confirmation number will be provided once the application is successfully

submitted to the USPTO patent electronic system.

The following series codes are assigned to the applications identified

below:

(A) 01/ - 18/ - for nonprovisional applications (utility, plant, and

reissue), during the following time periods:

01 –1925 to 1934,

02 – 1935 to 1947,

03 – 1948 to 1959,

04 – 1960 to 1969,

05 – 1970 to 1978,

06 – 1979 to 1986,

07 – 1987 to 1992,

08 – 1993 to 1997,

09 – 1998 to Nov. 2001,

10 – Dec. 2001 to Nov. 2004,

11 – Dec. 2004 to Dec. 2007,

12 – Dec. 2007 to Mar. 2011,

13 – Dec. 2010 to Aug. 2013,

14 – Aug. 2013 to July 2016,

15 - Jan

tions (utility, plant, and

reissue), during the following time periods:

01 –1925 to 1934,

02 – 1935 to 1947,

03 – 1948 to 1959,

04 – 1960 to 1969,

05 – 1970 to 1978,

06 – 1979 to 1986,

07 – 1987 to 1992,

08 – 1993 to 1997,

09 – 1998 to Nov. 2001,

10 – Dec. 2001 to Nov. 2004,

11 – Dec. 2004 to Dec. 2007,

12 – Dec. 2007 to Mar. 2011,

13 – Dec. 2010 to Aug. 2013,

14 – Aug. 2013 to July 2016,

15 - Jan. 2016 to June 2018,

16 - June 2018 to August 2020,

17 - August 2020 to March 2023, and

18 - November 2022 to present;

(B) 29/ - for design applications;

(C) 35/ - for international design applications;

(D) 60/ - 63/ - for provisional applications during the

following time periods:

60 - June 1995 to October 2007,

61 - October 2007 to August 2014,

62 - May 2014 to March 2022, and

63 - March 2020 to present;

(E) 90/ - for

ex parte

reexamination proceedings;

(F) 95/ - for

inter partes

reexamination proceedings; and

(G) 96/ - for supplemental examination proceedings and

resulting

ex parte

reexamination proceedings.

For applications filed via the USPTO patent electronic

filing system, after the Office receives a successful submission, an Electronic

Acknowledgement Receipt is provided to the person filing the application. The

acknowledgment receipt contains the "receipt date," the time the correspondence was

received at the Office (not the local time at the submitter's location), and a full

listing of the correspondence submitted. The Electronic Acknowledgement Receipt is the

electronic equivalent of a postcard receipt. See

MPEP § 502.05

.

For non-electronic filings, if a self-addressed postcard is submitted

with a patent application, that postcard will be provided with both the receipt date and

application number prior to returning it to the addressee

bmitter's location), and a full

listing of the correspondence submitted. The Electronic Acknowledgement Receipt is the

electronic equivalent of a postcard receipt. See

MPEP § 502.05

.

For non-electronic filings, if a self-addressed postcard is submitted

with a patent application, that postcard will be provided with both the receipt date and

application number prior to returning it to the addressee. The application number

identified on such a postcard receipt is merely the preliminary assignment of an

application number to the application, and should not be relied upon (e.g., with respect

to foreign filings) as necessarily representing the application number assigned to such

application. See

37

CFR 1.53(b)

.

The identifying data on the postcard should include:

(A) inventor’s name(s);

(B) title of invention;

(C) number of pages of specification, claims (for nonprovisional

applications), and sheet(s) of drawing(s);

(D) whether the inventor's oath or declaration is included;

(E) a list of any additional forms included with the application

(e.g., application transmittal form, application data sheet, fee transmittal form,

and/or provisional application cover sheet); and

(F) amount and manner of paying the fee.

A return postcard should be attached to

each

patent

application for which a receipt is desired.

It is important that the return postcard itemize all of the components

of the application. If the postcard does not itemize each of the components of the

application, it will not serve as evidence that any component which was not itemized was

received by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). See subsection III,

below, for additional information pertaining to return postcards. It should be

recognized that the identification of an application by application number does not

necessarily signify that the USPTO has accepted the application as complete

(

37 CFR

1.53(a)

).

II

dence that any component which was not itemized was

received by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). See subsection III,

below, for additional information pertaining to return postcards. It should be

recognized that the identification of an application by application number does not

necessarily signify that the USPTO has accepted the application as complete

(

37 CFR

1.53(a)

).

II.

FILING RECEIPTS

OPAP mails a filing receipt to the attorney or agent, if any, otherwise

to the applicant, at the correspondence address of record for each application filed

which meets the minimum requirements to receive a filing date. The filing receipt

includes the application number, filing date, a confirmation number, and, if available,

the number of an art unit where the application is likely to be examined. The filing

receipt also includes other information about the application as applicable, such as

continuing data, national stage data, foreign priority data, foreign filing license

data, entity status information, and the date the Office anticipates publishing the

application under

35

U.S.C. 122(b)

. The filing receipt represents the official

assignment by the USPTO of a specific application number and confirmation number to a

particular application. See

37 CFR 1.54(b)

. The application

number officially assigned to an application on the filing receipt may differ from the

application number identified on a postcard receipt submitted with such application,

and, as between inconsistent filing receipts and postcard receipts, the application

number on the filing receipt is controlling.

Applicants are encouraged to check their filing receipts

for accuracy with particular attention to the inventor’s and applicant’s names, benefit

and priority claims, and whether or not a nonpublication request, if submitted, was

recognized.

The confirmation number is a four-digit number that is assigned to each

newly filed application

s, the application

number on the filing receipt is controlling.

Applicants are encouraged to check their filing receipts

for accuracy with particular attention to the inventor’s and applicant’s names, benefit

and priority claims, and whether or not a nonpublication request, if submitted, was

recognized.

The confirmation number is a four-digit number that is assigned to each

newly filed application. The confirmation number, in combination with the application

number, is used to verify the accuracy of the application number placed on

correspondence filed with the Office to avoid misidentification of an application due to

a transposition error in the application number. The confirmation number may be found in

the upper left-hand corner of the filing receipt. The confirmation number will also be

available through the USPTO patent electronic filing system. The Office includes the

application’s confirmation number (in addition to the application number) on the cover

sheet accompanying Office actions and on filing receipts. The confirmation number must

be used when submitting a USPTO patent electronic filing system copy of the application

for publication to verify that the application number correctly identifies the

application for which a copy is being submitted for publication. The Office also

recommends that applicants include the application’s confirmation number (in addition to

the application number) on all correspondence submitted to the Office concerning the

application.

A continued prosecution application (CPA) filed under

37 CFR 1.53(d)

(design applications only) will be assigned the application number of the prior

application for identification purposes.

A nonprovisional application, other than an application for a design

patent including a CPA filed under

37 CFR 1.53(d)

, is entitled to a

filing date as of the date of receipt of the specification, with or without claims

d prosecution application (CPA) filed under

37 CFR 1.53(d)

(design applications only) will be assigned the application number of the prior

application for identification purposes.

A nonprovisional application, other than an application for a design

patent including a CPA filed under

37 CFR 1.53(d)

, is entitled to a

filing date as of the date of receipt of the specification, with or without claims. An

application for a design patent, other than a CPA filed under

37 CFR 1.53(d)

, is

entitled to a filing date as of the date of receipt of the specification, including at

least one claim, and any required drawings. See

37 CFR 1.53(b)

. A CPA is entitled to

a filing date as of the date that a proper request under

37 CFR 1.53(d)

is

filed. The filing receipt will be mailed at the time a determination is made that the

application meets the minimum requirements to receive a filing date. The inventor's oath

or declaration, basic filing fee, and search fee and examination fee as set forth in

37 CFR

1.16

, may be filed later than the remaining application papers,

but if so, they must be accompanied by the required surcharge (if appropriate, see

MPEP §

506

). See

37 CFR 1.53(f)

. If the inventor's

oath or declaration, basic filing fee, and/or any required search fee and examination

fee with the appropriate surcharge are not timely filed, the application will be

abandoned. For original (non-reissue) applications filed on or after September 16, 2012,

the filing of the inventor’s oath or declaration may be postponed until the date the

issue fee is paid if an application data sheet in accordance with

37 CFR 1.76

is

timely filed providing the required inventor information. See

35 U.S.C.

115(f)

and

37 CFR 1.53(f)

. The surcharge

required for filing the inventor’s oath or declaration after the filing date of the

application, however, must be paid on filing of the application or in response to a

Notice to File Missing Parts

date the

issue fee is paid if an application data sheet in accordance with

37 CFR 1.76

is

timely filed providing the required inventor information. See

35 U.S.C.

115(f)

and

37 CFR 1.53(f)

. The surcharge

required for filing the inventor’s oath or declaration after the filing date of the

application, however, must be paid on filing of the application or in response to a

Notice to File Missing Parts. Also, for applications filed on or after December 18,

2013, the filing of at least one claim may be postponed until the expiration of the time

period set in Notice to File Missing Parts. Claim(s) and the surcharge must be filed in

response to the Notice to File Missing Parts. See

MPEP § 506

.

A provisional application filed on or after December 18, 2013 is

entitled to a filing date as of the date of receipt of the specification, with or

without claims, in the Office (

37 CFR 1.53(c)

); a provisional

application filed before December 18, 2013 must also include any required drawings to be

entitled to a filing date (

pre-PLT (AIA) 37 CFR 1.53 (c)

). See

also

MPEP §

608.02

, subsection I. See

37 CFR 1.53(c)

. A cover sheet

(

37 CFR

1.51(c)(1)

), which may be an application data sheet

(

37 CFR

1.76

) or a cover letter, identifying the application as a

provisional application is required to prevent the provisional application from being

treated as a nonprovisional application.

37 CFR 1.53(c)(1)

.

Each application which meets the minimum requirements to receive a

filing date is given a filing date. It is important, when referring to application

files, to identify them by their filing dates and confirmation numbers as well as by

application numbers.

Attorney docket numbers must be limited to a maximum of 25 characters to

prevent truncation. The USPTO system data base allows a maximum of 25 characters for the

attorney docket numbers. Spaces, slashes, and hyphens will no longer be included in the

entered docket number on the official filing receipt

o identify them by their filing dates and confirmation numbers as well as by

application numbers.

Attorney docket numbers must be limited to a maximum of 25 characters to

prevent truncation. The USPTO system data base allows a maximum of 25 characters for the

attorney docket numbers. Spaces, slashes, and hyphens will no longer be included in the

entered docket number on the official filing receipt. In an application where CASE or

NAVY-CASE appears before the first character in the docket number, only the characters

after CASE or NAVY-CASE will be entered on the official filing receipt.

For non-electronically filed applications, the application papers are

processed by OPAP and added to the Office’s Image File Wrapper (IFW) system.

Applications which are entitled to a filing date, whether filed by

regular mail, by Priority Mail Express

®

under

37 CFR

1.10

, by hand-delivery, by the USPTO patent electronic filing

system, or otherwise, will not be returned to applicant even if requested. See

37 CFR

1.59

. Accordingly, applicants must be careful not to file

applications which are not intended to be filed, e.g., duplicates of applications

already filed. Note that

37 CFR 1.26(a)

provides that a

change of purpose after the payment of a fee, as when a party desires to withdraw the

filing of a patent application for which the fee was paid, will not entitle the party to

a refund of such fee. See

MPEP § 607.02

.

III.

RETURN POSTCARD

If a submitter desires a receipt for any item (e.g., paper or fee) filed

in the USPTO by means other than the USPTO patent electronic filing system, it may be

obtained by enclosing with the paper a self-addressed postcard specifically identifying

the item. See subsection I, above, and

MPEP § 502.05

for Electronic

Acknowledgment Receipts

refund of such fee. See

MPEP § 607.02

.

III.

RETURN POSTCARD

If a submitter desires a receipt for any item (e.g., paper or fee) filed

in the USPTO by means other than the USPTO patent electronic filing system, it may be

obtained by enclosing with the paper a self-addressed postcard specifically identifying

the item. See subsection I, above, and

MPEP § 502.05

for Electronic

Acknowledgment Receipts. To ensure the receipt of return receipt postcards, users must

either: (A) purchase already stamped postcards from the United States Postal Service

(USPS) or affix postage stamps to their postcards; or (B) if a postage meter is used,

ensure that the meter postmark does not show the date. Any return receipt postcard

containing a dated meter postmark may not be delivered by the USPS to the address

provided on the postcard. Users are reminded that they are solely responsible for

placing the proper postage on self-addressed postcards that are submitted to the USPTO

for the purpose of obtaining a receipt for correspondence being filed in the USPTO.

Users should check with the USPS regarding postage and what size cards are acceptable to

the USPS. Any return receipt postcard that does not contain sufficient postage or is not

acceptable may not be delivered by the USPS to the address provided on the postcard,

and, if returned to the USPTO, may be discarded.

The USPTO will stamp the receipt date on the postcard and place it in

the outgoing mail. A postcard receipt which itemizes and properly identifies the items

which are being filed serves as

prima facie

evidence of receipt in

the USPTO of all the items listed thereon on the date stamped thereon by the USPTO.

The identifying data on the postcard should be so complete as to

clearly identify the item for which a receipt is requested. For example, the postcard

should identify the inventor’s name, application number (if known), confirmation number

(if known), filing date, interference number, title of the invention, etc

in

the USPTO of all the items listed thereon on the date stamped thereon by the USPTO.

The identifying data on the postcard should be so complete as to

clearly identify the item for which a receipt is requested. For example, the postcard

should identify the inventor’s name, application number (if known), confirmation number

(if known), filing date, interference number, title of the invention, etc. The postcard

should also identify the type of paper being filed, e.g., new application, affidavit,

amendment, notice of appeal, appeal brief, drawings, fees, motions, supplemental oath or

declaration, petition, etc., and the number of pages being submitted. If a new

application is being filed, all parts of the application being submitted should be

separately listed on the postcard, e.g., the number of pages of specification (including

written description, claims and abstract), number of claims, number of sheets of

drawings, number of pages of oath/declaration, number of pages of cover sheet

(provisional application).

The postcard receipt will not serve as

prima facie

evidence of receipt of any item which is not adequately itemized on the postcard. For

example, merely listing on the postcard “a complete application” or “patent application”

will not serve as a proper receipt for each of the required components of an application

(e.g., specification (including claims), drawings (if necessary), oath or declaration

and the application filing fee) or missing portions (e.g., pages, sheets of drawings) of

an application if one of the components or portion of a component is found to be missing

by the USPTO. Each separate component should be specifically and properly itemized on

the postcard. Furthermore, merely incorporating by reference in the postcard receipt,

the items listed in a transmittal letter will not serve as

prima

facie

evidence of receipt of those items

g., pages, sheets of drawings) of

an application if one of the components or portion of a component is found to be missing

by the USPTO. Each separate component should be specifically and properly itemized on

the postcard. Furthermore, merely incorporating by reference in the postcard receipt,

the items listed in a transmittal letter will not serve as

prima

facie

evidence of receipt of those items.

The person receiving the item(s) in the USPTO will check the listing on

the postcard against the item(s) being filed to be sure they are properly identified and

that all the items listed on the postcard are presently being submitted to the USPTO. If

any of the items listed on the postcard are not being submitted to the USPTO, those

items will be crossed off and the postcard initialed by the person receiving the items.

Upon return of a postcard receipt from the USPTO, the postcard receipt

should be promptly reviewed by the person who filed the items to ensure that every item

specifically denoted on the postcard was received by the USPTO. If the postcard receipt

has been annotated to indicate that a particular item denoted on the postcard was not

received by the USPTO, the postcard receipt will not serve as

prima facie

evidence of receipt of that item in the USPTO.

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