35 U.S.C. · Part II · Chapter 14, Issue of patent
35 U.S.C. 151: Issue of patent
In plain English
When examination shows the applicant is entitled to a patent, the USPTO sends a notice of allowance. It states the issue fee and any publication fee due, and section 151(a) gives the applicant 3 months to pay. Once the fee is paid, the patent issues; if it is not paid on time, the application is regarded as abandoned (section 151(b)).
The 3-month period is statutory and cannot be extended (37 CFR 1.311(a)). The only way back from a missed issue fee is a petition under 37 CFR 1.137 showing that the delay was unintentional, filed with the fee and the petition fee. Section 27 authorizes the USPTO to accept an unintentionally delayed issue fee payment.
Allowance does not end your options. Before the issue fee is paid you can file an information disclosure statement, an amendment under 37 CFR 1.312 or a request for continued examination. After it is paid, the application can be withdrawn from issue only for the reasons in 37 CFR 1.313(c): an admitted unpatentability problem fixed by amendment, an RCE, or express abandonment, for example in favor of a continuing application.
Annotation by Raj Sutariya, Co-founder, PatentAssist.ai. General information, not legal advice; the statute below governs.
Text of 35 U.S.C. 151
Current text, quoted from the official United States Code.
(a) In General.— If it appears that an applicant is entitled to a patent under the law, a written notice of allowance of the application shall be given or mailed to the applicant. The notice shall specify a sum, constituting the issue fee and any required publication fee, which shall be paid within 3 months thereafter.
(b) Effect of Payment.— Upon payment of this sum the patent may issue, but if payment is not timely made, the application shall be regarded as abandoned.
Practical notes
Docket the issue fee as a hard deadline and pay early. Payment in the last days leaves no room for a rejected payment or a technical problem, and the only remedy is a revival petition.
Decide about continuations when the notice of allowance arrives, not after the patent issues. A continuation must be filed while the parent is still pending (section 120), and the parent stops being pending on its issue date, typically a few weeks after the issue fee is paid. The issue notification gives the date.
Read the allowed claims and any examiner's amendment before paying. Errors in the claims are far cheaper to fix now, under 37 CFR 1.312, than by certificate of correction or reissue after grant.
Related rules and guidance
- 37 CFR
- § 1.311, § 1.312, § 1.313, § 1.314, § 1.137, § 1.18
- MPEP
- 1302, 1303, 1306, 1308
Read next
All annotated sections of 35 U.S.C.
Statute text from the United States Code published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives (uscode.house.gov). Text contains those laws in effect through Public Law 119-124 (October 15, 2026). Editorial notes and footnotes are omitted. The annotations are general information, not legal advice; check the official text and a registered patent practitioner before relying on them.