How can an applicant obtain specific information about their patent application status?

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.

While the USPTO limits the information provided over the phone, applicants have other methods to obtain detailed status information. MPEP 203.08 suggests:

“Applicants can obtain more information using the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. PAIR provides customers direct secure access to their own patent application status information, as well as to general patent information publicly available.”

Applicants can use Private PAIR to access confidential application information, including filing dates, office actions, and current status. For applications not yet published, this is the primary method for obtaining detailed status information.