What are the requirements for claiming the benefit of a prior-filed provisional 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.

To claim the benefit of a prior-filed provisional application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e), the following requirements must be met:

• The nonprovisional application must be filed within 12 months of the provisional application’s filing date (unless the benefit has been restored)
• The provisional application must have at least one common inventor with the nonprovisional application
• The provisional application must be entitled to a filing date and have paid the basic filing fee
• If the provisional application was filed in a language other than English, an English translation and a statement that the translation is accurate must be filed

As stated in the MPEP: “When a later-filed application is claiming the benefit of a prior-filed provisional application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e), the nonprovisional application must be filed not later than 12 months after the date on which the provisional application was filed, unless the benefit of the provisional application has been restored.”