After withdrawing the finality of a rejection, can the next Office action be made final?

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.

Yes, after withdrawing the finality of a rejection, the next Office action can be made final under certain conditions. The MPEP 706.07(d) states:

“Once the finality of the Office action has been withdrawn, the next Office action may be made final if the conditions set forth in MPEP § 706.07(a) are met.”

This means that examiners must refer to the criteria outlined in MPEP 706.07(a) to determine if a subsequent final rejection is appropriate. These conditions typically involve considering whether new grounds of rejection are being introduced and the overall prosecution history of the application.