iPatent · ipatent.qnfo.orgGUIDE · UPDATED 2026-10-02

Provisional vs nonprovisional patent applications

What each US application does, what it costs, the 12-month link between them, and which to file first.

Provisional

• gives an effective filing date for what it describes;
• needs no claims, oath or declaration, and is never examined (35 U.S.C. 111(b));
• lapses twelve months after filing and cannot itself become a patent;
• filing fee $325, $130 for small entities, $65 for micro entities (USPTO fee schedule since 19 January 2025).

Nonprovisional

• is examined and can become a patent;
• needs claims, a full specification, drawings where necessary and an inventor's oath or declaration (35 U.S.C. 111(a), 115);
• costs several times as much in USPTO fees (filing, search and examination), before any attorney's fees: see the USPTO fee schedule.

The link between them

To keep the provisional's date, file a nonprovisional (or an international PCT application) that claims its benefit within twelve months (35 U.S.C. 119(e)). If that deadline is missed unintentionally, the USPTO can restore the right of priority on a petition filed within fourteen months (37 CFR 1.78(b)). Plan on twelve.

Which to file first

A provisional, when you need a date quickly, are still developing the invention, or need time to judge its commercial value, provided it describes the invention fully. File a nonprovisional directly when the invention is settled and you want examination to start.

Draft a disclosure, freeSee a real run

More guides

• What a provisional protects, and how to draft one
• Before you publish: grace periods, pitches and preprints
• Claims in a provisional: optional, and still useful
• Drawings in a provisional patent application