# MPEP § 601.01(g): Applications Filed Without All Figures of Drawings

> Federal · Agency guidance · In force

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.01(g)

## Section

- **Citation:** MPEP § 601.01(g)
- **Heading:** Applications Filed Without All Figures of Drawings
- **Jurisdiction:** Federal
- **Kind:** Agency guidance
- **Status:** In force
- **Text as of:** August 14, 2026
- **Source:** Compiled text
- **Location:** USPTO MPEP / Chapter 0600 - Parts, Form, and Content of Application / MPEP § 601.01(g)

## Text

I.
REVIEW BY THE OFFICE OF PATENT APPLICATION PROCESSING
The Office of Patent Application Processing (OPAP) reviews
application papers to determine whether all of the figures of the drawings that
are mentioned in the specification are present in the application. If an
application filed under
35 U.S.C. 111
prior to
December 18, 2013, or a design application, is filed without all of the drawing
figure(s) referred to in the specification, and the application contains something
that can be construed as a written description, at least one drawing, if necessary
under
35 U.S.C.
113
(first sentence), and, in a nonprovisional application,
at least one claim, an OPAP notice (e.g., a “Notice of Omitted Item(s)”) will be
sent indicating that the application papers so deposited have been accorded a
filing date, but are lacking some of the figures of drawings described in the
specification. For an application, which is not a design application, filed under
37 CFR
1.53(b)
or (c) on or after December 18, 2013, if the
application is filed without all of the drawings, but contains something that can
be construed as a specification, with or without claims, an OPAP notice (e.g., a
“Notice of Omitted Items”) will be sent indicating that the application papers so
deposited have been accorded a filing date, but are lacking some drawings.
The procedure for handling nonprovisional
applications having omitted items was revised in “Change in Procedure for Handling
Nonprovisional Applications Having Omitted Items,” 1315 OG 103 (February 20,
2007).
Under the revised procedure, the mailing of an OPAP notice
regarding a missing drawing figure(s) in a nonprovisional application will permit
the applicant to:
(A) promptly establish prior receipt in the USPTO of the
drawing(s) at issue
plications having omitted items was revised in “Change in Procedure for Handling
Nonprovisional Applications Having Omitted Items,” 1315 OG 103 (February 20,
2007).
Under the revised procedure, the mailing of an OPAP notice
regarding a missing drawing figure(s) in a nonprovisional application will permit
the applicant to:
(A) promptly establish prior receipt in the USPTO of the
drawing(s) at issue. An applicant asserting that the drawing(s) was in fact
received by the USPTO with the application papers must, within two months
from the date of the OPAP notice, file a petition under
37 CFR
1.53(e)
with the petition fee set forth in
37 CFR1.17(f)
, along
with evidence of such deposit. The petition fee will be refunded if it is
determined that the drawing(s) was in fact received by the USPTO with the
application papers deposited on filing. The two-month period is extendable
under
37
CFR 1.136
;
(B) promptly submit the omitted drawing(s) in a nonprovisional
application and accept the date of such submission as the application filing
date. An applicant desiring to submit the omitted drawing(s) in a
nonprovisional application and accept the date of such submission as the
application filing date must, within two months from the date of the OPAP
notice, file any omitted drawing(s) and a petition under
37 CFR
1.182
with the petition fee set forth in
37 CFR 1.17(f)
,
requesting the later filing date. For applications filed before September
16, 2012, the omitted drawings must be filed with an oath or declaration in
compliance with
pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.63
and
pre-AIA
37 CFR 1.64
referring to such drawing(s). The
two-month period is extendable under
37 CFR 1.136
; or
(C) accept the application as deposited in the USPTO by filing
an appropriate amendment. Applicant may accept the application as deposited
in the USPTO by either:
re September
16, 2012, the omitted drawings must be filed with an oath or declaration in
compliance with
pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.63
and
pre-AIA
37 CFR 1.64
referring to such drawing(s). The
two-month period is extendable under
37 CFR 1.136
; or
(C) accept the application as deposited in the USPTO by filing
an appropriate amendment. Applicant may accept the application as deposited
in the USPTO by either:
(1) filing an amendment including replacement drawing
sheets in compliance with
37 CFR 1.121(d)
to
renumber the drawing figures consecutively (if necessary), and a
substitute specification (excluding claims) that amends the
specification to cancel any references to any omitted drawing(s) and
corrects the references in the specification to the drawing figures to
correspond with any relabeled drawing figures, in compliance with
37 CFR 1.121(b)(3)
and
1.125
, without adding the subject matter that
was in the omitted drawing(s) and without adding any new matter (see
35 U.S.C. 132(a)
). The application will
maintain the filing date as of the date of deposit of the original
application papers in the USPTO. The original application papers
(i.e., the original disclosure of the invention) will include only
those application papers present in the USPTO on the original date of
deposit. Amendment of the specification is required in a
nonprovisional application to cancel all references to the omitted
drawing, both in the brief and detailed descriptions of the drawings
and including any reference numerals shown only in the omitted
drawings. In addition, an amendment with replacement sheets of
drawings in compliance with
37 CFR 1.121(d)
is
required in a nonprovisional application to renumber the drawing
figures consecutively, if necessary, and amendment of the
specification is required to correct the references to the drawing
figures to correspond with any relabeled drawing figures, both in the
brief and detailed descriptions of the drawings, or
, an amendment with replacement sheets of
drawings in compliance with
37 CFR 1.121(d)
is
required in a nonprovisional application to renumber the drawing
figures consecutively, if necessary, and amendment of the
specification is required to correct the references to the drawing
figures to correspond with any relabeled drawing figures, both in the
brief and detailed descriptions of the drawings, or
(2) filing an amendment to add the missing figure(s) by
relying on an incorporation by reference under
37 CFR
1.57(b)
or other portions of the original
disclosure, without adding any new matter (see
35 U.S.C.
132(a)
). Applicant is required to submit new and
replacement drawing sheets in compliance with
37 CFR
1.121(d)
to add the missing figure(s). If an
application was filed on or after September 21, 2004, and contains a
claim under
37 CFR 1.55
for
priority of a prior-filed foreign application, or a claim under
37 CFR 1.78
for
the benefit of a prior-filed provisional, nonprovisional,
international application, or international design application, that
was present on the filing date of the application, and the omitted
portion of the drawings was inadvertently omitted from the application
and is completely contained in the prior-filed application, applicant
may submit an amendment to include the inadvertently omitted portion
of the drawings pursuant to
37 CFR
1.57(b)
. The amendment should be identified as
an amendment pursuant to
37 CFR 1.57(b)
and
must comply with the requirements of
37 CFR
1.57(b)
and
37 CFR 1.121
. See
MPEP § 217
. The
application will maintain the filing date as of the date of deposit of
the original application papers in the USPTO. The original application
papers (i.e., the original disclosure of the invention) will include
only those application papers present in the USPTO on the original
date of deposit
FR 1.57(b)
and
must comply with the requirements of
37 CFR
1.57(b)
and
37 CFR 1.121
. See
MPEP § 217
. The
application will maintain the filing date as of the date of deposit of
the original application papers in the USPTO. The original application
papers (i.e., the original disclosure of the invention) will include
only those application papers present in the USPTO on the original
date of deposit.
The submission of omitted drawing(s) in a nonprovisional application
and acceptance of the date of such submission as the application filing date is
tantamount to simply filing a new application. Thus, applicants should consider
filing a new application as an alternative to submitting a petition under
37 CFR
1.182
(with the petition fee under
37 CFR
1.17(f)
) with any omitted drawing(s), which is a cost effective
alternative in instances in which a nonprovisional application is deposited without
filing fees. Likewise, in view of the relatively low filing fee for provisional
applications, and the USPTO’s desire to minimize the processing of provisional
applications, the USPTO will not grant petitions under
37 CFR 1.182
to
accept omitted drawing(s) and accord an application filing date as of the date of
such submission in provisional applications. The applicant should simply file a new
completed provisional application. The mailing of an OPAP notice regarding missing
drawing figure(s) in a provisional application will permit the applicant to either:
lications, the USPTO will not grant petitions under
37 CFR 1.182
to
accept omitted drawing(s) and accord an application filing date as of the date of
such submission in provisional applications. The applicant should simply file a new
completed provisional application. The mailing of an OPAP notice regarding missing
drawing figure(s) in a provisional application will permit the applicant to either:
(1) promptly establish prior receipt of the drawing(s) at issue by filing a petition
under
37 CFR
1.53(e)
with the petition fee set forth in
37 CFR 1.17(f)
,
along with evidence of such deposit; or (2) accept the application as deposited by
failing to file a petition within a two-month non-extendable time period.
Applications in which an OPAP notice regarding omitted items has
been mailed will be retained in OPAP to await a reply to the notice. Failure to
timely reply to the OPAP notice in a nonprovisional application will result in
abandonment of the application. Nonprovisional applications that are timely completed
will then be forwarded to the appropriate Technology Center for examination of the
application. For provisional applications in which applicant accepts the application
as deposited by failing to timely file a petition in response to an OPAP notice
regarding omitted items, if the provisional application is complete under
37 CFR
1.51(c)
, it will be held in the Office’s Image File Wrapper
(IFW) system and automatically abandoned at the end of its pendency period. See
MPEP §
601.01(a)
for treatment of nonprovisional applications that
are not complete under
37 CFR 1.51(b)
and
MPEP §
601.01(b)
for treatment of provisional applications that
are not complete under
37 CFR 1.51(c)
.
The treatment of an application subsequent to the mailing of a
“Notice of Omitted Item(s)” is discussed in
MPEP § 601.01(d)
.
Applications are often filed with drawings with several views of the
invention where the views are labeled using a number-letter combination, e.g., Fig.
1A, Fig. 1B, and Fig. 1C
601.01(b)
for treatment of provisional applications that
are not complete under
37 CFR 1.51(c)
.
The treatment of an application subsequent to the mailing of a
“Notice of Omitted Item(s)” is discussed in
MPEP § 601.01(d)
.
Applications are often filed with drawings with several views of the
invention where the views are labeled using a number-letter combination, e.g., Fig.
1A, Fig. 1B, and Fig. 1C. If a figure which is referred to in the specification by a
particular number cannot be located among the drawings, and the drawings include at
least one figure labeled with that particular number in combination with a letter,
correction will be required. For example, if the drawings show Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C
and the brief description of the drawings refers only to Figure 1, this is an error
in the specification which must be corrected.
II.
REVIEW BY EXAMINER
If it is discovered that an application that was forwarded for
examination was filed without all of the drawing figure(s) referred to in the
specification, and a Notice of Omitted Items or other OPAP notice regarding
omitted items has
not
been mailed by OPAP, the examiner
should review the application to determine whether the application is entitled to
a filing date if the application was filed under
35 U.S.C.
111(a)
prior to December 18, 2013 or is a design
application. An application filed under
35 U.S.C. 111(a)
prior to
December 18, 2013 or a design application is entitled to a filing date if the
application contains something that can be construed as a written description, at
least one drawing figure (if necessary under
35 U.S.C. 113
, first
sentence), and at least one claim. If the application is not a design application
and was filed under
35 U.S.C. 111(a)
on or after
December 18, 2013, the application is entitled to a filing date if it is filed
with a specification, with or without drawings.
A
ion contains something that can be construed as a written description, at
least one drawing figure (if necessary under
35 U.S.C. 113
, first
sentence), and at least one claim. If the application is not a design application
and was filed under
35 U.S.C. 111(a)
on or after
December 18, 2013, the application is entitled to a filing date if it is filed
with a specification, with or without drawings.
A.
Application Entitled to a Filing Date
If the application is entitled to a filing date, the examiner
should notify applicant of the omission in the next Office action and require
applicant to do one of the following:
(A) accept the application, as filed, without all of the
drawing figure(s) referred to in the specification;
(B) file any omitted drawing figure(s) and a petition under
37
CFR 1.182
with the petition fee set forth in
37 CFR 1.17(f)
,
requesting the date of submission of the omitted drawing figure(s) as the
application filing date. For applications filed before September 16,
2012, the omitted drawing(s) must be filed with an oath or declaration in
compliance with
pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.63
and
pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.64
referring to the omitted
drawing figure(s); or
(C) file a petition under
37 CFR 1.53(e)
with
the petition fee set forth in
37 CFR
1.17(f)
alleging that the drawing figure(s)
indicated as omitted was in fact deposited with the USPTO with the
application papers, including any and all evidence supporting the
allegation. See
MPEP § 503
. The petition
fee will be refunded if it is determined that the drawing figure(s) was
in fact received by the USPTO with the application papers deposited on
filing
etition fee set forth in
37 CFR
1.17(f)
alleging that the drawing figure(s)
indicated as omitted was in fact deposited with the USPTO with the
application papers, including any and all evidence supporting the
allegation. See
MPEP § 503
. The petition
fee will be refunded if it is determined that the drawing figure(s) was
in fact received by the USPTO with the application papers deposited on
filing.
If applicant is willing to accept the application, as filed,
without all of the drawing figure(s) referred to in the application (item A
above), applicant is required to submit (1) an amendment to the specification
canceling all references to the omitted drawing figure(s) including any
reference numerals shown only in the omitted drawing figure(s), (2) an
amendment with replacement sheets of drawings in compliance with
37 CFR
1.121(d)
renumbering the drawing figure(s) submitted on
filing consecutively, and (3) a further amendment to the specification
correcting references to drawing figure(s) to correspond with the relabeled
drawing figure(s), both in the brief and detailed descriptions of the drawings.
The amendment should be submitted in response to the Office action.
If an application contains a claim under
37 CFR
1.55
for priority of a prior-filed foreign application,
or a claim under
37 CFR 1.78
for the benefit
of a prior-filed provisional, nonprovisional, international application, or
international design application, that was present on the filing date of the
application, and the omitted portion of the drawing(s) was inadvertently
omitted from the application and is completely contained in the prior-filed
application, applicant may submit an amendment to include the inadvertently
omitted portion of the drawing(s) pursuant to
37 CFR
1.57(b)
. The amendment should be submitted in response to
the Office action and must comply with
37 CFR
1.57(b)
and
37 CFR 1.121
. See
MPEP § 217
.
Any petition filed in accordance with item (B) or (C) above
will be forwarded to the Office of Petitions.
B
he prior-filed
application, applicant may submit an amendment to include the inadvertently
omitted portion of the drawing(s) pursuant to
37 CFR
1.57(b)
. The amendment should be submitted in response to
the Office action and must comply with
37 CFR
1.57(b)
and
37 CFR 1.121
. See
MPEP § 217
.
Any petition filed in accordance with item (B) or (C) above
will be forwarded to the Office of Petitions.
B.
Application NOT Entitled to a Filing Date
If upon review of the application, the examiner determines that
the application filed under
35 U.S.C. 111(a)
prior to
December 18, 2013 or a design application is NOT entitled to a filing date
because the application does not contain any drawing figure, and at least one
drawing figure is necessary under
35 U.S.C 113
, first
sentence, the examiner should forward the application to OPAP for mailing of a
“Notice of Incomplete Application.”

## Nearby sections

- [MPEP § 601 Content of Provisional and Nonprovisional Applications](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.md)
- [MPEP § 601.01 Complete Application](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.01.md)
- [MPEP § 601.01(a) Nonprovisional Applications Filed Under 35 U.S.C. 111(a)](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.01(a).md)
- [MPEP § 601.01(b) Provisional Applications Filed Under 35 U.S.C. 111(b)](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.01(b).md)
- [MPEP § 601.01(c) Conversion to or from a Provisional Application](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.01(c).md)
- [MPEP § 601.01(d) Application Filed Without All Pages of Specification](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.01(d).md)
- [MPEP § 601.01(e) Nonprovisional Application Filed Without at Least One Claim](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.01(e).md)
- [MPEP § 601.01(f) Applications Filed Without Drawings](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.01(f).md)
- [MPEP § 601.01(g) Applications Filed Without All Figures of Drawings](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.01(g).md)
- [MPEP § 601.02 Power of Attorney](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.02.md)
- [MPEP § 601.03 Correspondence Address](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.03.md)
- [MPEP § 601.03(a) Change of Correspondence Address in Applications Filed On or After September 16, 2012](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.03(a).md)
- [MPEP § 601.03(b) Change of Correspondence Address in Applications Filed Before September 16, 2012](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.03(b).md)
- [MPEP § 601.04 National Stage Requirements of the United States as a Designated Office](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.04.md)

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/MPEP_S601.01(g). Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.