How to Become a Patent Agent

Registration entitles a person to practice before the USPTO only in patent matters (37 C.F.R. § 11.5(a)). Under § 11.5(b)(1), that practice includes:

• preparing and prosecuting patent applications (prosecution is the exchange with the examiner that ends in a patent or a final refusal);
• advising clients before an application or other document is filed;
• drafting the specification and claims, and replies to the Office's communications;
• drafting papers for reexaminations, petitions, and appeals and other proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

A registered practitioner may also employ assistants who are not registered, under the practitioner's supervision (§ 11.5(b)). That is one way to work on patent matters before registration; see current technical specialist jobs and patent agent jobs.

Source: 37 C.F.R. § 11.5.

Agents and attorneys take the same exam and meet the same technical requirement. The difference is state bar membership.

• A patent attorney is registered under § 11.6(a). An attorney is an active member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of any state (§ 11.1).
• A patent agent is registered under § 11.6(b) and is not an attorney.
• Attorneys file a certificate of good standing no more than six months old (§ 11.8(b)). The GRB says an attorney who files none is registered as an agent. An agent who later becomes an attorney may ask to be registered as one (§ 11.7(l)).

Registration as a patent agent does not by itself allow practice before the USPTO in trademark matters, which are open to attorneys (§ 11.14).

Source: 37 C.F.R. § 11.1, § 11.6, § 11.7(l), § 11.8, § 11.14; GRB, Part XIV.

Every applicant must show legal, scientific, and technical qualifications (§ 11.7(a)(2)(ii); 35 U.S.C. § 2(b)(2)(D)). The exam tests the legal part. The GRB gives four ways to show the rest. Categories A, B and C qualify you for all patent matters; Category D, for design patents only.

• Category A: a listed degree. A bachelor's, master's or Ph.D. in one of 47 listed subjects from an accredited U.S. school, or the foreign equivalent. Examples: biology, chemistry, physics, pharmacology, and chemical, civil, electrical or mechanical engineering. Computer science counts only as a bachelor of science from an accredited school. OED also accepts equivalent degrees, such as molecular cell biology for biology.
• Category B: another degree plus science credits. A degree in another subject plus courses for science or engineering majors meeting one option: (1) 24 semester hours of physics; (2) 32 hours, with 8 in chemistry or physics (one course with a lab) and 24 in biology, botany, microbiology or molecular biology; (3) 30 hours of chemistry; or (4) 40 hours, with 8 in chemistry, physics or biology (one with a lab) and 32 in those sciences, botany, microbiology, molecular biology or engineering.
• Category C: the FE exam. A passing result on the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) test, plus a bachelor's degree.
• Category D: design patents only. A degree in architecture, applied arts, art teacher education, fine or studio arts, graphic design, industrial design or product design.

Category B courses need a grade of C- or better and official course descriptions. Mathematics, patent law, pass/fail and non-major science courses do not count. Every category needs an official transcript; a diploma or copy is not accepted. If you fit no category, OED reviews your training individually.

Source: GRB, Parts I and III; 37 C.F.R. § 11.7; 35 U.S.C. § 2.

OED must also find good moral character and reputation (§ 11.7(a)(2)(i)). The background questions on the application call for complete candor; a lack of candor can itself justify denial (§ 11.7(h)(3)). A person convicted of a felony, or of a misdemeanor listed in § 11.7(h)(1), may not apply until two years after the sentence, probation or parole ends. A disbarred person waits five years (§ 11.7(h)(4)).

• U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents may be registered. The USPTO states that only they can be. Design patent registration is for citizens (§ 11.6(d)).
• Other non-citizens living in the United States may seek limited recognition (§ 11.9(b)). They pass the same exam and must show that immigration authorities authorize them to be employed or trained in preparing and prosecuting patent applications. A pending approval is not enough. Recognition lasts only while that status and authorization last, and holders may not describe themselves as registered.
• Non-citizens living abroad cannot take the exam. Under § 11.6(c), a qualified agent registered in their own country may be registered to prosecute applications for applicants located in that country, if that country's office grants reciprocal privileges. The GRB says only the Canadian Intellectual Property Office currently qualifies.

Source: GRB, Parts III.F and III.G; Becoming a patent practitioner; 37 C.F.R. § 11.6, § 11.7, § 11.9.

There is no filing deadline. You apply through OED's Exam Applicant Portal or by mail on Form PTO-158, Application for Registration to Practice Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (not by fax). Include the $118 application fee, the $226 examination fee, official transcripts, course descriptions for Category B, and, for non-citizens, copies of immigration documents.

OED's review typically takes four weeks or less. An incomplete application must be completed within 60 days (§ 11.7(b)(3)). If it is disapproved, the $226 is refunded but the $118 is not, and you may petition the OED Director within 60 days ($452). Until registration, report any change to your answers within 30 days (§ 11.7(c)).

Admitted applicants get a notice setting a period to schedule and take the exam (§ 11.7(b)(4)). The USPTO's summary page calls it generally about 90 days, but its registration examination page, updated September 29, 2026, says OED has temporarily set it to 180 days until further notice. Each extension adds 90 days for $124, without limit, if requested before the window closes. Otherwise you must reapply and pay again.

Source: GRB, Parts IV to VII and X; Becoming a patent practitioner; Registration examination; 37 C.F.R. § 11.7.

• Format: 100 multiple-choice questions with five choices each, in two three-hour sessions of 50. Six hours of testing in all.
• Scoring: 90 questions are scored; 10 unidentified beta questions are not. You pass with 63 of the 90 correct (70%).
• Where: on computer at Prometric test centers in the United States and U.S. territories, year-round, on a date you pick within your window. Prometric charges $221 when you schedule.
• References: the source materials appear on the testing computer: the MPEP (Manual of Patent Examining Procedure), Ninth Edition, Revision 01.2024; the Consolidated Trial Practice Guide (November 2019); the 2013 final rules on representation of others; and the Patent Prosecution Highway notice.
• Test day: bring a valid government photo ID with your signature, matching the name on your application exactly. Late arrivals are not admitted. No notes are allowed. A 15-minute tutorial comes first, an optional one-hour lunch break is scheduled, and a 15-minute survey follows.
• Results: an unofficial result appears on screen. The USPTO says official results generally arrive within 5 business days.

The exam tests patent laws, rules and procedures and their application to facts; it may include ethics questions. The USPTO updated the exam on September 23, 2026. It reports 2,309 exams in fiscal year 2026, with a 46% pass rate.

Source: GRB, Parts IX and X; Registration examination; source materials; Becoming a patent practitioner; OED FAQs; exam statistics.

Results are final, with no regrade (§ 11.7(e)). Within 60 days of the results notice you may review, but not copy, the scored questions you missed, in a 2.5-hour session. To retake the exam, file a new Form PTO-158 and pay $118 and $226 again. Documents on file need not be resent, but changed answers must be updated.

The rules require 30 days between attempts after a first or second failure, 90 days after a third or fourth, and a petition for a sixth attempt (§ 11.7(b)(2)). A notice dated April 14, 2026 (1546 OG 82) waived the longer wait and the five-attempt limit for twelve months and until further notice. Meanwhile you may reapply at once, but your new window opens no sooner than 30 days after the failed attempt.

Source: 37 C.F.R. § 11.7(b), (e); Notice of Temporary Waiver of 37 CFR § 11.7(b)(2); Becoming a patent practitioner.

The OED Director may waive the exam for some former USPTO employees who meet the technical requirement (§ 11.7(d)):

• former examiners who were in the examining corps when they left, rated at least fully successful in each quality element for their last two complete fiscal years, and under no quality warning when they left;
• examiners with less than four years in the corps by July 26, 2004 also need a certificate of legal competency and negotiation authority, with those ratings after receiving it;
• other former employees, by petition, who showed comprehensive patent-law knowledge in a position of responsibility, with the same ratings.

The application and $118 fee must be filed within two years after leaving, or the exam is required (§ 11.7(d)(4)). No examination fee applies. The filing includes Form PTO-275, an undertaking under § 11.10(b) that limits representation in matters the person worked on or was responsible for at the USPTO.

Source: 37 C.F.R. § 11.7(d), § 11.10; GRB, Part II; Becoming a patent practitioner.

• OED publishes your name and postal address to invite information about your moral character (§ 11.8(a)), with a 45-day comment period.
• Within two years of the mailing date of the notice that you passed, file the Data Sheet (Form PTO-107A), an oath or declaration, and the $226 registration fee (§ 11.8(b)). Otherwise you must pass the exam again (§ 11.8(c)).
• Absent adverse character information, the USPTO says the certificate of registration generally arrives about three months after you pass, and your name and address appear on OED's register of practitioners.

The USPTO says you may not hold yourself out as registered until OED gives final approval. Under 35 U.S.C. § 33, anyone not recognized who holds themselves out as recognized, or as qualified to prepare or prosecute patent applications, may be fined up to $1,000 per offense.

Source: 37 C.F.R. § 11.8; Becoming a patent practitioner; GRB, Part XIV; 35 U.S.C. § 33.

• The USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct apply (37 C.F.R. § 11.101 and following).
• Practitioners are subject to USPTO discipline (§ 11.19(a)). Under 35 U.S.C. § 32 the Director may suspend or exclude a practitioner after notice and an opportunity for a hearing.
• Keep OED informed of your office address, one to three email addresses and business phone number, and report changes within 30 days (§ 11.11(a)(1)).
• OED may require a registration statement every two years; failing to file one can lead to administrative suspension (§ 11.11(a)(2), (b)).

Source: 37 C.F.R. § 11.101, § 11.11, § 11.19; 35 U.S.C. § 32.

1. Match your degrees and courses to Categories A to D in the current GRB.
2. Order official transcripts, plus course descriptions for Category B.
3. Gather records for any background question you must explain.
4. Apply online or by mail with the $118 and $226 fees.
5. Once admitted, schedule with Prometric and pay $221. Request any $124 extension before your window closes.
6. Study the current source materials, starting with the MPEP.
7. Take the exam; if you do not pass, you may reapply.
8. Within two years of passing, file the Data Sheet, oath or declaration and $226 fee.
9. After final approval, keep your OED contact details current.

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Source: GRB; Becoming a patent practitioner.

A first-time applicant who passes on the first attempt without an extension pays $791 in these fees ($118 + $226 + $221 + $226). The USPTO amounts come from the fee rule effective January 19, 2025.

Source: 37 C.F.R. § 1.21(a); USPTO fee schedule; Becoming a patent practitioner; OED FAQs; 89 FR 91898.