Can I use a Certificate of Mailing or Transmission for correspondence from outside the United States?

The use of a Certificate of Mailing or Transmission for correspondence from outside the United States depends on the method of transmission. The MPEP clarifies:

“The Certificate of Mailing procedure does not apply to papers mailed in a foreign country. The Certificate of Transmission procedure for both facsimile transmissions and transmissions via EFS-Web, however, also applies to papers transmitted to the Office from a foreign country provided that the correspondence being transmitted is not prohibited from being transmitted by facsimile or via EFS-Web and is not otherwise precluded from receiving the benefits under 37 CFR 1.8.”

Therefore:

• You cannot use a Certificate of Mailing for papers mailed from outside the U.S.
• You can use a Certificate of Transmission for facsimile or EFS-Web transmissions from outside the U.S., as long as the correspondence is eligible for this procedure.

It’s important to verify that your specific type of correspondence is eligible for the Certificate of Transmission procedure before using it from outside the United States.

To learn more:

• Certificate of Mailing
• Certificate of Transmission
• USPTO Correspondence
• International Patent Filing