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USPTO guide

How to patent an idea in the US

By , Co-founder and CEO, PatentAssist.ai
Updated

You cannot patent a bare idea, but you can patent an invention: an idea worked out far enough that someone skilled in the field could build or use it from your description. Getting from one to the other, and then through the US Patent and Trademark Office, takes nine steps. This guide walks through each one for a US inventor, with the fees in force in 2026 and the deadlines that cost people their rights.

Quick answer

  • Test: the invention must be eligible, new and non-obvious, and you must be able to describe how it works (35 U.S.C. 101, 102, 103, 112).
  • Route: many inventors file a provisional first ($65 to $325), then the nonprovisional within 12 months.
  • Cost: USPTO fees to grant from $658 (micro entity) to $3,290 (large entity), plus professional fees.
  • Help: a registered patent attorney or agent is the safest route. If you cannot afford one, the USPTO runs a free pro bono program and a pro se assistance program.

1. Check it can be patented

An examiner applies four tests. You can run a rough version of each yourself before spending money.

The four US patentability requirements in plain words
Test In plain words Example
Eligible subject matter 35 U.S.C. 101 A process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, or an improvement of one. Laws of nature, natural phenomena and abstract ideas on their own are not eligible; an abstract idea tied to a specific technical implementation can be. A business method described only as steps a person could do in their head is a weak candidate. A sensor arrangement that measures something in a new way is not.
Novelty 35 U.S.C. 102 Nobody may have patented, published, publicly used, sold or otherwise made the same invention available before your effective filing date. Earlier-filed US applications by others count too, once published. If a 2019 patent shows exactly your folding mechanism, your claim to that mechanism is not new, even if you invented it independently.
Non-obviousness 35 U.S.C. 103 The differences from what already exists must not have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the field. Combining two known parts that each do what they always did is the classic obvious case. Adding a known timer to a known coffee grinder, to make it stop on its own, is likely obvious. A grinder that changes burr spacing from a measured bean property may not be.
Described and claimed properly 35 U.S.C. 112 The application must describe the invention and how to make and use it well enough for a skilled person to do it, and end with claims that distinctly define what you are protecting. "An app that predicts traffic with AI" is a wish. The data used, how the model is trained and how its output controls something is an invention you can describe.

Timing matters as much as substance. Your own public disclosure, sale or offer for sale starts a one-year clock: a US application filed within a year of it is not blocked by it (35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1)(A)). Europe has no such general grace period. Everything made public before the filing date is prior art there (Article 54(2) EPC), so a launch or a conference talk before filing can end your chances outside the US.

2. Write it down

Before anyone drafts claims, write an invention disclosure. It does not need legal language. It does need to cover:

  • the problem, and how people solve it today and why that falls short;
  • how your invention works, part by part or step by step, with sketches, flowcharts or photos;
  • the variations: other materials, shapes, orders of steps, ranges of values, and which ones you would actually use;
  • any test results, and the version you consider best;
  • who contributed to the idea, and dates of any public showing, sale, or offer for sale.

The variations are the part inventors skip and regret. Claims can only cover what the application supports, and you cannot add new matter after filing. A competitor who swaps steel for aluminum should still be inside your patent.

4. Choose provisional or nonprovisional

A provisional application gives you a filing date for 12 months at low cost. It is never examined and never becomes a patent by itself. To keep the date, you must file a nonprovisional that refers to it within 12 months (35 U.S.C. 119(e)); a further 2 months is available only by petition if the delay was unintentional. Foreign applications claiming priority have the same 12-month deadline.

Provisional and nonprovisional applications compared
Provisional Nonprovisional
USPTO fees (large / small / micro) $325 / $130 / $65 $2,000 / $730 / $400 to file
Claims Not required Required
Examined Never Yes
Lifespan 12 months Can become a patent lasting 20 years from its filing date

The trap: a provisional only protects what it describes. A one-page summary gives a date for very little. Write it as fully as you would the real application, just without the formal claims. The details are in our guide to the provisional patent application. Because the 20-year term runs from the nonprovisional filing, a provisional also pushes the end of the patent out by up to a year (how long a patent lasts).

5. Work out your entity status

Your fees depend on who you are. Individual inventors, businesses with 500 or fewer employees (counting affiliates) and nonprofits are usually small entities and pay 60% less. If every inventor and applicant also had gross income of no more than $262,380 last year, is named on no more than four earlier nonprovisional applications, and has not licensed or assigned the invention to anyone over that limit, you can certify micro entity status and pay 80% less. Licensing the invention to a large company ends both. Our small entity vs micro entity guide has an eligibility checker.

6. Draft the application

A US utility application has a specification (background, summary, description of the drawings, detailed description), claims, an abstract and drawings where they help. The claims are what you own. The description must support every claim and teach a skilled person to make and use the invention (35 U.S.C. 112).

This is where professional help makes the most difference. We recommend having a registered patent attorney or agent draft or at least review the claims: they know how examiners read claim language and how competitors design around it. Our guide to how to write patent claims shows the structure, and the patent drawing requirements page covers the drawing rules. Each inventor also signs an oath or declaration, due at the latest when the issue fee is paid (35 U.S.C. 115).

7. File in Patent Center

File electronically in Patent Center, the USPTO's filing system, with the specification, claims and abstract in DOCX. Filing on paper costs more, and a utility application not in DOCX pays an extra fee. A small entity filing a utility application in Patent Center pays $70 rather than $140 for the basic filing fee. You need a USPTO.gov account, and it is personal: it cannot be shared.

If you plan to file abroad, note that for an invention made in the United States you need a foreign filing license from the USPTO before filing abroad within six months of the US filing (35 U.S.C. 184). The filing receipt usually tells you whether one has been granted.

8. Get through examination

An examiner searches and then sends an office action, which usually rejects some or all claims. You reply with arguments, amendments or both, generally within 3 months (extendable for a fee). Several rounds are normal, and an interview with the examiner often settles things faster than letters. Once the examiner agrees, you get a notice of allowance. Our guide to responding to a USPTO office action covers the deadlines, the common rejections and what to do after a final rejection.

9. Pay the issue and maintenance fees

The issue fee ($1,290 / $516 / $258) is due within 3 months of the notice of allowance, and that period cannot be extended. After grant, a utility patent needs maintenance fees at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years, or it expires. The full list is on USPTO patent fees, and the total, including professional costs, is broken down in how much a patent costs.

Worked example: from garage to grant

Maria, a self-employed engineer, builds a bicycle light that dims itself from a wheel-speed sensor. She plans to show it at a trade fair on April 15, 2026.

  • March 2026. She searches and finds dimming lights that use ambient light sensors, but none that use wheel speed. She writes a twelve-page disclosure with circuit diagrams and three alternative sensor positions.
  • April 1, 2026. She files a provisional before the fair, so the show cannot be cited against anything the provisional describes, in the US or abroad. She certifies micro entity status and pays $65.
  • April 1, 2027. This is the last day to file the nonprovisional (and any foreign or PCT application) claiming the provisional. A pro bono attorney drafts 18 claims, 3 independent; USPTO fees $400.
  • Later. An office action rejects claim 1 as obvious; she narrows it to the speed-based dimming curve and it is allowed. Issue fee $258. The patent runs to April 1, 2047, subject to maintenance fees and any term adjustment.

Getting help, including for free

Only registered patent attorneys and agents may represent others before the USPTO. If you hire help, check the person is registered, and be wary of invention promotion firms that sell "evaluations" rather than filings. If you are domiciled outside the United States, you must now use a registered practitioner (91 FR 13510, effective July 20, 2026).

  • Patent Pro Bono Program: free help preparing and filing an application from volunteer practitioners, through regional programs. The usual tests are household income below three times the federal poverty guidelines, a provisional on file or a completed training course, and being able to describe how the invention works.
  • Pro Se Assistance Program: for inventors filing without a practitioner. Help with forms, fees and procedure by phone (1-866-767-3848), email or in person. USPTO staff cannot give legal advice.
  • Inventors Assistance Center: general questions on patent rules and forms, at 800-786-9199.

Get to a first draft faster

PatentAssist.ai turns an invention disclosure into draft claims, a specification, an abstract and drawings in USPTO format, including a provisional specification. It is a drafting tool, not a law firm: use the draft to give your attorney or agent a head start, or as the starting point for the review a pro bono volunteer does with you. Read can AI write a patent application for what AI drafting gets right and wrong.

Try drafting free for 7 days Search patents free

Starting a company around the invention? See PatentAssist for startups and inventors.

More USPTO guides

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Patenting an idea: frequently asked questions

Can you patent just an idea?

No. US law requires the application to describe the invention and how to make and use it, in enough detail that a skilled person could do it (35 U.S.C. 112(a)). You do not need a working prototype, but you need more than the concept: how it is built or how the process runs.

How much does it cost to patent an idea?

USPTO fees for a utility patent, filing to grant, are $3,290 for a large entity, $1,246 for a small entity and $658 for a micro entity, before extra claims, maintenance fees and professional fees. A provisional application costs $325, $130 or $65.

Can I file a patent application myself?

Yes, if you are domiciled in the United States, an inventor can file and prosecute their own application (pro se). The USPTO's Pro Se Assistance Program helps with forms and procedure but cannot give legal advice. Since July 20, 2026, applicants domiciled outside the United States must be represented by a registered patent practitioner. Claims written without experience are often either too narrow to be worth much or too broad to be allowed.

How long does it take to get a patent?

Usually a few years from the nonprovisional filing. The examiner's first action alone often takes more than a year, and most applications go through at least one round of rejection and reply. Prioritized examination (Track One) shortens this for a fee.

Should I tell people about my invention before filing?

Try not to. The US gives inventors a one-year grace period for their own disclosures (35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1)(A)), but most other patent offices, including the EPO, treat anything made public before the filing date as prior art. If you must show it to investors or manufacturers, file first or use a confidentiality agreement.

Is there free help for inventors who cannot afford an attorney?

Yes. The USPTO Patent Pro Bono Program matches eligible inventors with volunteer patent attorneys and agents through regional programs; the usual income test is gross household income below three times the federal poverty guidelines. The Pro Se Assistance Program and the Inventors Assistance Center answer procedural questions for free.

Sources: 35 U.S.C. 101, 102, 103, 112, 115, 119 and 184; Article 54 EPC; USPTO fee schedule; USPTO Patent Pro Bono Program, Pro Se Assistance Program and Inventors Assistance Center. Checked October 26, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.