What are the file format requirements for submitting a “Sequence Listing” as an ASCII plain text file?

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.

According to MPEP 2425, the ASCII plain text file for a “Sequence Listing” must meet the following requirements:

• Must be compatible with PC or Mac® computers and MS-DOS®, MS-Windows®, Mac OS®, or Unix®/Linux® operating systems
• Must be in ASCII plain text format, allowing all printable characters but no nonprintable characters (except ASCII CRLF or LF as line terminators)
• Must be named with a .txt extension and follow specific naming conventions
• Must contain no more than 74 printable characters per line
• Must be a continuous file without pagination or hard page breaks

As stated in 37 CFR 1.824(a), “A ‘Sequence Listing’ under § 1.821(c)(1) and the CRF required by § 1.821(e) submitted as an ASCII plain text file may be created by any means, such as text editors, nucleotide/amino acid sequence editors, or other custom computer programs; however, the ASCII plain text file must conform to the following requirements:” The regulation then lists the specific requirements mentioned above.