Can I request a Certificate of Correction to change the Patent Term Adjustment on my patent?

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.

Generally, the USPTO does not grant requests for Certificates of Correction to revise the Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) indicated on a patent. According to MPEP 2733:

“The Office will not grant a request for a certificate of correction under either 35 U.S.C. 254 or 255 to revise the patent term adjustment indicated in a patent, unless the certificate of correction is issued to revise the patent for consistency with (1) the patent term adjustment determined via a decision on the request for reconsideration under 37 CFR 1.705; or (2) the total patent term adjustment indicated on the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) screen that displays the patent term adjustment calculation for the patent.”

This means that Certificates of Correction for PTA are only issued in specific circumstances, typically to align the patent with an official reconsideration decision or to correct a discrepancy between the patent and the PAIR system.

If you believe the PTA on your patent is incorrect, the appropriate course of action is to file a request for reconsideration under 37 CFR 1.705(b), rather than requesting a Certificate of Correction.