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USPTO guide

Entering the US national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371

By , Co-founder, PatentAssist.ai
Updated

A PCT application that designates the United States has to be brought into the USPTO by 30 months from its priority date. Most European and Indian applicants reach the US this way. This guide covers what must be filed and when, what happens if you miss the date, the fees by entity size, and the choice between a national stage application and a bypass continuation filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a).

Quick answer

  • Deadline: 30 months from priority, with no extension. A missed deadline needs a petition to revive on the unintentional delay standard.
  • By 30 months: the basic national fee and, if needed, a copy of the international application. Translation, declaration and the other fees can follow on notice, some with a surcharge.
  • Fees: $1,810 large, $724 small, $362 micro, with a non-US search report and up to 20 claims.
  • Foreign applicants: need a registered US practitioner for everything after the 371 papers, since July 20, 2026.

The 30-month deadline

The national stage commences when the PCT time limit under Article 22 or 39 expires, which for the US is 30 months from the priority date (35 U.S.C. 371(b), 37 CFR 1.491). To keep the application alive as to the US, the USPTO must receive the basic national fee and, unless the International Bureau has already communicated it or the USPTO was the receiving Office, a copy of the international application by that date (37 CFR 1.495(b)). The rule says in terms that the 30-month period may not be extended, and the application becomes abandoned as to the US the moment it passes (1.495(a) and (h)).

You can also enter early by express request under 371(f), which starts examination sooner. Some applicants do this when a US competitor is already selling a copy and they want the patent issued quickly.

If you miss it: revival

The application can be revived if the delay was unintentional (37 CFR 1.137(a); MPEP 1893.02). The petition must include the missing national stage papers and fees, the petition fee, and a statement that the entire delay, from the due date to the filing of a grantable petition, was unintentional. The fee is $2,260 for a large entity when the petition is filed within one year of abandonment and $3,000 after that (37 CFR 1.17(m)). The USPTO can ask for more information when there is a question about intent, and a delay that results from a deliberately chosen course of action, such as a decision not to enter that is later regretted, is not unintentional (MPEP 711.03(c)). The old "unavoidable" standard was removed from 35 U.S.C. 371(d) in 2012.

What 35 U.S.C. 371 requires

Section 371(c) lists five items. Only the first two, in part, are hard 30-month requirements. If the basic fee and copy are in on time, the USPTO sends a notice setting a period for the rest (37 CFR 1.495(c)).

  • National fee. The basic national fee by 30 months. Search, examination and size fees can follow, with a $170 surcharge for a large entity if paid after 30 months (1.492(h)).
  • Copy and English translation. The copy is usually communicated by the IB, so you need not send one. If the application was filed in German, French, Japanese or any other language, an English translation of the application as filed is required. Filing it after 30 months costs a $150 processing fee (1.492(i)). The USPTO can ask for a verification of the translation (1.495(f)).
  • Article 19 amendments. If you amended the claims before the IB, a copy and English translation must arrive by 30 months unless the IB has sent them. Late ones are treated as cancelled (1.495(d)).
  • Inventor's oath or declaration. Each inventor signs a declaration under 37 CFR 1.63, or the applicant files a substitute statement under 1.64 (37 CFR 1.497). It can be postponed until the application is otherwise allowable if an application data sheet naming every inventor and their address is filed in time; the last moment is payment of the issue fee (1.495(c)(3)). A PCT Rule 4.17(iv) declaration made in the international phase also counts.
  • IPER annex translations. If you filed a Chapter II demand and amended under Article 34, English translations of the annexes are due by 30 months, or later with the processing fee (1.495(e)).

Mark the submission clearly as an entry into the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371. If the papers are ambiguous between a 111(a) application and a 371 entry, the USPTO treats them as a 371 entry (1.495(g)).

National stage fees by entity size

National stage fees are set by 37 CFR 1.492, not 1.16. The search fee depends on who did the international search. A small entity pays 60% less and a micro entity 80% less; a European or Indian company with 500 or fewer employees, counting affiliates, can qualify as a small entity. The USPTO fees guide explains the entity rules and the issue and maintenance fees that come later.

USPTO national stage fees under 35 U.S.C. 371 in US dollars
Fee Large Small Micro
Basic national fee 37 CFR 1.492(a) $350 $140 $70
Search fee, USPTO was the ISA 37 CFR 1.492(b)(2) $150 $60 $30
Search fee, another ISA's search report (EPO, KIPO, IP India...) 37 CFR 1.492(b)(3) $580 $232 $116
Search fee, all other cases 37 CFR 1.492(b)(4) $770 $308 $154
Search and examination fees when a US ISA or IPEA found every claim novel, inventive and industrially applicable 37 CFR 1.492(b)(1), (c)(1) $0 $0 $0
Examination fee 37 CFR 1.492(c)(2) $880 $352 $176
Each independent claim over 3 37 CFR 1.492(d) $600 $240 $120
Each claim over 20 37 CFR 1.492(e) $200 $80 $40
Multiple dependent claim 37 CFR 1.492(f) $925 $370 $185
Size fee, each 50 sheets (or part) over 100 37 CFR 1.492(j) $450 $180 $90
Surcharge: search fee, examination fee or declaration after the 30-month date 37 CFR 1.492(h) $170 $68 $34
English translation filed after 30 months 37 CFR 1.492(i) $150 $60 $30
Petition to revive, filed within one year of abandonment 37 CFR 1.17(m)(2) $2,260 $904 $452
Petition to revive, filed more than one year after abandonment 37 CFR 1.17(m)(1) $3,000 $1,200 $600

37 CFR 1.492 and 1.17(m), current on eCFR, and the USPTO fee schedule effective January 19, 2025. Checked October 26, 2026.

Worked example: a German company with an EPO search report

A Munich engineering company with 120 employees filed a PCT application in German at the EPO, which also searched it. At 30 months it enters the US as a small entity with 18 claims, 3 independent, and 60 sheets. It pays $140 basic fee + $232 search fee (non-US search report) + $352 examination fee = $724. The English translation goes in with the entry, so no processing fee. If the translator needs two more months, the USPTO's notice sets a deadline and the late translation costs $60, with a $68 surcharge on the search and examination fees paid after the 30-month date. A large entity would pay $1,810.

National stage (371) or bypass continuation (111(a))

A PCT application designating the US has the effect of a US application from its international filing date, so instead of entering the national stage you can file an ordinary application under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) that claims its benefit as a continuation, divisional or continuation-in-part (MPEP 1895). It must be filed while the PCT application is still pending as to the US, name at least one common inventor, and identify the PCT application in the application data sheet. Because the PCT application is abandoned as to the US at 30 months unless a 371 entry is made, the practical deadline is the same.

US national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 compared with a bypass continuation under 35 U.S.C. 111(a)
National stage (371) Bypass continuation (111(a))
Deadline 30 months from priority, not extendable (37 CFR 1.495). Missed: petition to revive. Must be filed while the PCT application is still pending as to the US, so in practice also by 30 months.
Fees with a non-US search report $1,810 large, $724 small: search fee reduced to $580 / $232. $2,000 large, $730 small in Patent Center (the small entity e-filing rate applies). Non-DOCX filing adds $430.
Language English translation by 30 months, or later on notice with a fee. May be filed in any language with a translation, accuracy statement and processing fee (1.52(d)).
New matter Not allowed. The national stage is the PCT application as filed and amended. A continuation-in-part can add new matter (MPEP 1895).
Multiple inventions Unity of invention, the PCT standard (37 CFR 1.475, 1.499). US restriction practice (37 CFR 1.141-1.146), usually stricter.
Fast-track options Advanced out of turn with no search or exam fee if a US ISA or IPEA found every claim allowable. Track One only after an RCE. Track One prioritized examination can be requested at filing (1.102(e)(1)).
Patent term 20 years from the international filing date. Also 20 years from the international filing date, the earliest 365(c) benefit date (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)).

Sources for the table: 37 CFR 1.16, 1.52(d), 1.102(e), 1.475, 1.492, 1.495, 1.496, 1.499; MPEP 1893.03 and 1895; 35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2). Fee totals assume up to 20 claims and 3 independent claims.

In short: take the 371 route when the PCT text is final and the claim set mixes product, process and use claims you want examined together. Take the bypass when you have improved the invention since the PCT filing and want to add that matter, when you want Track One at filing, or when you want to file the original-language text now and translate later. Either way, a foreign priority claim must be made in the new application; in a bypass it goes in the application data sheet within the 1.55(d) time limit.

Unity of invention instead of restriction

A national stage application is examined like a domestic one with two exceptions: prior art is judged from the international filing or priority date, and multiple inventions are handled under the PCT unity of invention standard (MPEP 1893.03(d)). Under 37 CFR 1.475, claims to several inventions stay together if they share a "special technical feature", one that defines the contribution each invention makes over the prior art. The rule also lists combinations that have unity by default, such as a product, a process specially adapted to make it and a use of it.

In a 111(a) application, including a bypass continuation, the examiner applies US restriction practice (37 CFR 1.141 to 1.146) instead, which asks whether inventions are independent or distinct and whether searching them together is a serious burden. That test regularly splits a product from its method of making, which unity would keep together. The examiner can still make a lack of unity requirement in a national stage application, even when the ISA did not, and may do so at any time before final action (37 CFR 1.499). Rejoinder of withdrawn claims applies in both.

Foreign applicants and the 2026 representation rule

Since July 20, 2026, an applicant domiciled outside the US must be represented by a registered patent practitioner, and papers on its behalf must be signed by one (37 CFR 1.31(a)(2), 1.33(b)(3)). The rule covers pending applications too. The USPTO said in the final rule that the documents and fees required by 35 U.S.C. 371(c) will still be accepted as the statute requires, so an entry made without a practitioner is not lost. But the replies, amendments, application data sheet, information disclosure statements and petitions that follow will not be entered unless a practitioner signs them. Appoint US counsel before 30 months. The guide to filing a US patent from abroad covers the rule in more detail.

Rewrite the claims for US examination before you enter

PCT claims written for the EPO, with two-part claims, reference signs and "use" claims, often need reworking for US practice before or just after entry. PatentAssist.ai drafts claims and the specification in USPTO format, so you can generate a US-style claim set from the invention disclosure and compare it with the PCT claims. It does not file national stage papers or respond to USPTO office actions.

Try drafting free for 7 days US, EPO and Indian claim rules

You can also search US patents free for art the ISA may have missed before the US examiner finds it.

Earlier in the process? The PCT application guide covers the international phase and every office's national phase deadline, and the foreign filing license guide explains when a US-made invention can be filed abroad.

More USPTO guides

All guides, by patent office

US national stage: frequently asked questions

What is the deadline to enter the US national stage?

30 months from the priority date, for both Chapter I and Chapter II. By then you must pay the basic national fee and, unless the International Bureau has already sent it, file a copy of the international application (37 CFR 1.495(b)). The 30-month period cannot be extended. If you miss it, the application is abandoned as to the US, and the only route back is a petition to revive under 37 CFR 1.137 on the ground that the delay was unintentional.

What do I need to file to enter the US national stage?

By 30 months: the basic national fee ($350 large, $140 small, $70 micro) and a copy of the international application if the IB has not communicated it. The USPTO then sets a time limit for anything missing: the English translation, the inventor's oath or declaration, the search and examination fees and any size fee, with a surcharge for fees and declarations filed after 30 months. The declaration can wait until allowance if an application data sheet names every inventor.

How much does US national stage entry cost?

With a search report from the EPO or another non-US ISA, the basic, search and examination fees are $1,810 for a large entity, $724 for a small entity and $362 for a micro entity, up to 20 claims and 3 independent claims. If the USPTO was the ISA the search fee drops to $150, and if a US written opinion or IPER found every claim allowable the search and examination fees are zero. Attorney fees and translation are extra.

Should I enter the national stage or file a bypass continuation?

Enter the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 if the PCT text is what you want examined and the claims have more than one invention: unity of invention is more lenient than US restriction practice, and the search fee is lower with a foreign search report. File a bypass continuation under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) if you need to add new matter (as a continuation-in-part), want Track One examination from day one, or want to file in a language other than English with the translation to follow.

Can I revive a PCT application that missed the US 30-month deadline?

Yes, if the delay was unintentional. File a petition under 37 CFR 1.137(a) with the national stage papers and fees, the petition fee ($2,260 for a large entity if filed within one year of abandonment, $3,000 after that) and a statement that the entire delay was unintentional. The USPTO may ask for more facts if the delay was long. Form PTO/SB/64PCT can be used.

Does a foreign applicant need a US attorney to enter the national stage?

The USPTO accepts the documents and fees required by 35 U.S.C. 371(c) as the statute requires. But since July 20, 2026, applicants domiciled outside the US must be represented by a registered patent practitioner, and every other paper, including replies, amendments, the application data sheet and information disclosure statements, must be signed by one (37 CFR 1.31, 1.33(b)(3)).

Sources: 35 U.S.C. 371 and 154; 37 CFR 1.492, 1.495, 1.497, 1.475, 1.499, 1.137 and 1.17; MPEP 1893 and 1895; 91 FR 13510. Checked October 26, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Confirm fees on the USPTO fee schedule before you pay.