What does it mean for a patent application to be considered ‘special’?

This page is an FAQ based on guidance from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only: it is not legal advice.

In the context of patent examination, an application may be designated as ‘special’ under certain circumstances. The MPEP 707.02 provides guidance on this designation for long-pending applications:

Any application that has been pending five years or more should be carefully studied by the supervisory patent examiner and every effort should be made to terminate its prosecution. In order to accomplish this result, the application is to be considered “special” by the examiner.

When an application is considered ‘special’, it receives priority treatment in the examination process. This designation is intended to expedite the examination and bring the prosecution to a conclusion, particularly for applications that have been pending for an extended period.