How much does a patent cost?

US patent cost: official USPTO fees

The USPTO charges most patent fees at three rates. A small entity pays 60% less than a large entity (35 U.S.C. 41(h)), and a micro entity pays 80% less (section 10(b) of the America Invents Act, as amended by the Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022). Individuals, businesses with 500 or fewer employees and nonprofits usually qualify as small entities; micro entity status adds an income cap of $262,380 for fees paid from September 15, 2026. The full rules are in our guide to small entity vs micro entity status.

The utility filing total is three fees paid together: the basic filing fee ($350), the search fee ($770) and the examination fee ($880) at the large entity rate. A small entity filing in Patent Center pays the micro rate on the basic filing fee, $70 instead of $140 (37 CFR 1.16(a)). Every fee, with fee codes, is on our USPTO patent fees page.

What pushes the USPTO bill up

The headline figures assume a tidy application. These are the fees that most often get added, at the large / small / micro rate:

• Extra claims. $200 / $80 / $40 for each claim over 20, and $600 / $240 / $120 for each independent claim over 3. A multiple dependent claim costs $925 / $370 / $185 once per application.
• Long applications. Specification and drawings over 100 sheets pay $450 / $180 / $90 for each extra 50 sheets or part of 50 (37 CFR 1.16(s)).
• Format. A utility application whose specification, claims or abstract is not in DOCX pays $430 / $172 / $86 more, and paper filing adds a non-electronic filing fee of $400 ($200 small or micro).
• Late replies. Most office actions give 3 months to reply. Extending by one, two or three months costs $235, $690 or $1,590 at the large entity rate (37 CFR 1.17(a)).
• Continued examination. After a final rejection, a request for continued examination costs $1,500 / $600 / $300 the first time and $2,860 / $1,144 / $572 for each later one.
• Speed. Prioritized examination (Track One) costs $4,515 / $1,806 / $903 on top of the normal fees.

When each USPTO fee is paid

The cost is spread over more than a decade. This is the order for a utility patent, at the large entity rate:

The issue fee period of 3 months cannot be extended (37 CFR 1.311(a)). Each maintenance fee can be paid late during a 6-month grace period with a surcharge, after which the patent expires. The dates are explained in how long a patent lasts.

Professional fees: what drives them

Most of what a patent costs goes to the registered patent attorney or agent who drafts and prosecutes it. We do not quote a dollar range here. The best-known survey of US charges, the AIPLA Report of the Economic Survey, is sold to non-members, and the figures that circulate online are usually old or unsourced. What we can say is what moves the number:

• The technology. A hinge with three parts can be described in a few pages. A machine-learning pipeline or a pharmaceutical formulation needs alternative embodiments, data and fallback positions, which take far longer to write.
• How well you describe it. A clear written disclosure with drawings, variants and the problem it solves saves drafting hours. A conversation and a napkin sketch cost more to turn into a specification.
• The search. A professional prior-art search before drafting is an extra line item, but it shapes claims that survive examination.
• Drawings. Formal patent drawings are often billed per sheet.
• Examination. Each office action needs a reply, and many applications get two or more. This is the cost that is hardest to predict at the start; see responding to a USPTO office action.
• Billing model. Some firms quote a fixed fee for drafting and filing and bill prosecution by the hour; others bill everything hourly. Ask for the estimate in writing, split by stage.

If money is the obstacle, the USPTO's Patent Pro Bono Program matches eligible inventors with volunteer practitioners. Its usual income test is gross household income below three times the federal poverty guidelines. The steps for doing it yourself are in how to patent an idea.

Worked examples

A solo inventor with micro entity status

An engineer files a provisional ($65), then within 12 months a nonprovisional with 22 claims, 4 of them independent, on 60 sheets. Filing, search and examination come to $400, plus 2 claims over 20 at $40 and one independent claim over 3 at $120: $600. If the application is allowed without an RCE, the $258 issue fee brings the official fees to $923. Trimming to 20 claims and 3 independent claims would have saved $200.

A startup with small entity status and a rough examination

A 12-person company files 25 claims, 3 independent, in Patent Center: $730 plus 5 extra claims at $80, so $1,130. It takes a two-month extension on one reply ($276), then files an RCE after a final rejection ($600), and pays the $516 issue fee. USPTO fees to grant: $2,522, against $1,246 for the clean case. The professional time behind those two extra rounds of examination usually costs more than the fees.

European patent cost

The EPO charges in euro, with no general small entity rate. These are the main fees from the Rules relating to Fees in force from April 1, 2026:

• Filing fee EUR 135 online, plus EUR 17 for the 36th and each later page.
• Search fee EUR 1,595.
• Designation fee EUR 720, covering every member state.
• Examination fee EUR 2,010.
• Fee for grant EUR 1,135.
• Claims fees: EUR 290 for each claim from the 16th to the 50th, EUR 720 from the 51st.
• Renewal fees while the application is pending, from EUR 725 for the 3rd year to EUR 1,865 for the 10th and later years.

The five core fees total EUR 5,595. Micro-enterprises, natural persons, nonprofits, universities and public research organizations get 30% off the filing, search, examination, designation, grant and application renewal fees, unless they have filed five or more European applications in the previous five years (Rule 7a EPC, Article 14(1) RFees). Claims fees are not reduced.

The bigger European cost comes after grant: validating the patent in each country you need, or requesting a Unitary Patent, then paying renewal fees and translations. Our European patent cost guide works through those, the EPO fees page lists every EPO fee, and how to file a European patent application covers the procedure.

The UK is outside the Unitary Patent, so a European patent covers it as a separate national right. Applicants who mainly need UK protection can also file nationally at the UK Intellectual Property Office; our guide to filing a UK patent application lists the current UKIPO fees and compares the two routes.

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• How long does a patent last?

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• Can AI write a patent application?

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