Patent Office Seeks Comments on DOCX Filing Fees
Published Date: 4/27/2026
Notice
Summary
The USPTO is asking for public comments on updating their rules about submitting patent applications in DOCX format. If you don’t use DOCX for certain patent filings, you might have to pay a fee starting from January 2024. Comments are open until June 26, 2026, so now’s the time to speak up if you’re affected!
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Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Non‑DOCX Surcharge on Patent Filings
If you file a nonprovisional utility application under 35 U.S.C. 111 (including continuing applications) and your specification, claims, or abstract do not conform to USPTO DOCX requirements, a non‑DOCX filing surcharge applies. The surcharge amounts listed are $430 (undiscounted entity), $172 (small entity), and $86 (micro entity); the fee took effect January 17, 2024.
30‑Minute DOCX Filing Time Burden
The USPTO estimates that respondents will either spend an extra 0.50 hours (30 minutes) per application to prepare and submit the DOCX file(s) (including optional backup PDF) or pay the non‑DOCX surcharge instead. The collection estimates 168,922 total annual respondent burden hours and an annual respondent hourly cost burden of $75,508,134.
Backup PDF Option and Training Support
Since April 2022, the USPTO has allowed applicants filing in DOCX to submit an applicant‑generated backup PDF along with the DOCX files, and the USPTO continues to offer DOCX training sessions (see www.uspto.gov/about-us/events/patents-docx-filing). This option and training are intended to ease the transition to DOCX formatting.
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