What are the requirements for amending claims in a US national stage application?

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.

When amending claims in a US national stage application, applicants must follow these requirements:

• Provide a complete listing of all claims ever presented, including pending and withdrawn claims.
• Indicate the status of every claim using appropriate identifiers (e.g., Original, Currently Amended, Canceled).
• Include markings to show changes in currently amended claims (underlining for additions, strike-through for deletions).
• Use correct status identifiers for claims that were present on the international filing date or modified/added during the international phase.

As stated in MPEP 1893.01(a)(4): “One of the requirements for effectively amending claims in a national phase application is a complete listing of all claims ever presented, including the text of all pending and withdrawn claims. The status of every claim in such listing must be indicated after its claim number by one of the following identifiers in a parenthetical expression: (Original), (Currently Amended), (Canceled), (Withdrawn), (Previously Presented), (New), and (Not Entered).”