The Patent Bar Exam: Format, Scoring, Fees and Pass Rates

• 100 multiple-choice questions, each with five choices, in two three-hour sessions of 50: six hours of testing.
• 90 are scored. Ten are beta questions being tested for future exams; they are not identified and not scored.
• You pass with 70% of the scored questions: 63 of 90.
• A 15-minute tutorial comes first, there is an optional one-hour lunch break between sessions, and a 15-minute survey follows. No other breaks are scheduled; you may take one, but the clock keeps running.

Source: Registration examination (USPTO); GRB, Parts IX and X.

The exam tests knowledge of patent laws, rules and procedures, and the ability to apply them to facts in order to help patent applicants prepare and prosecute their applications (35 U.S.C. § 2(b)(2)(D)). It may include questions on the ethical and professional conduct rules for registered practitioners.

The USPTO tells applicants to know the patent laws, the rules of practice in Parts 1, 3, 11, 41 and 42 of Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and the procedures in the MPEP (the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure). Where a published rule or policy conflicts with the MPEP, the rule or policy controls.

The questions are based on the published source materials:

• the MPEP, Ninth Edition, Revision 01.2024 (published November 2024; current as of January 31, 2024, so later policy changes are not in it);
• the Consolidated Trial Practice Guide, November 2019 (PTAB trials);
• the 2013 final rules on representation of others before the USPTO;
• the notice implementing the Global and IP5 Patent Prosecution Highway programs.

The USPTO updated the exam on September 23, 2026; it covers the source materials, including MPEP Revision 01.2024. The USPTO announces a change of reference materials before it appears on the exam and asks applicants to check the source materials regularly, including during their exam window.

Sources: GRB, Part IX; source materials (updated May 29, 2026); Registration examination; MPEP; 35 U.S.C. § 2.

• The reference materials, including the MPEP, are on the computer that delivers the questions. Their external links are removed during the exam, and there is no access to websites.
• You may not bring documents, notes, study materials, scratch paper or any electronic device. Prometric gives you scratch paper and a pencil and collects them at the end.
• Bring a valid government photo ID with your signature, in the same name as your application. Late arrivals are not admitted.

Because the MPEP is on screen, a common way to prepare is to practice finding the right section quickly as well as learning the rules; the exam allows about 3.6 minutes a question.

Sources: GRB, Parts IX and X; source materials.

You first apply to the USPTO's Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) and show that you meet the scientific and technical requirement. Once admitted, you get a window to schedule and take the exam at a Prometric center. The USPTO calls the window generally about 90 days, but OED has set it to 180 days until further notice. A 90-day extension costs $124 and must be requested before the window closes.

Passing on a first attempt without an extension costs $791 in these fees.

Sources: 37 C.F.R. § 1.21(a); Becoming a patent practitioner; Registration examination.

You see an unofficial result at the test center when you finish. Passing candidates are told they passed without a score; others see their percentage correct. The USPTO says official results generally arrive within 5 business days.

Results are final: there is no regrade (37 C.F.R. § 11.7(e)). If you fail, you may review the scored questions you missed within 60 days of the results notice, in a 2.5-hour session ($300 at Prometric or $505 at the USPTO). After passing, you have two years to complete registration, or you must pass the exam again.

Sources: Registration exam results and statistics; OED FAQs; 37 C.F.R. § 11.7; GRB, Part XIV.

The USPTO publishes the number of exams given and the share passed by fiscal year:

The figures count exams, not people, so a candidate who sat twice counts twice.

Source: Registration exam results and statistics (updated October 1, 2026).

To retake the exam you file a new application and pay the $118 and $226 fees again. The rules require 30 days between attempts after a first or second failure and 90 days after a third or fourth, and a petition for a sixth attempt. A notice dated April 14, 2026 waived the longer wait and the five-attempt limit for twelve months and until further notice; a new window still opens no sooner than 30 days after a failed attempt.

Sources: 37 C.F.R. § 11.7(b); waiver notice; Becoming a patent practitioner.

• Study from the current source materials, starting with the MPEP chapters on filing, examination, appeals and post-grant practice, and the rules in 37 C.F.R. Parts 1, 11, 41 and 42.
• Practice date and deadline questions until the computation is routine: periods for reply, extensions, and weekends and federal holidays.
• Take full-length practice exams on the clock, and practice finding answers in the MPEP within the time a question allows.
• Try our free practice questions; the Patent Bar course has more than 1,800 more, timed exams and deadline drills.

Source: source materials; GRB, Part IX. The study approach above is our own advice.