What are the requirements for prioritized examination?

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.

Prioritized examination, as outlined in 37 CFR 1.102(e) and MPEP 708.01, has specific requirements:

• Payment of prioritized examination fee, processing fee, and publication fee (if not already paid)
• Application must not contain or be amended to contain more than 4 independent claims, 30 total claims, or any multiple dependent claims
• For utility applications, must be filed via the USPTO’s electronic filing system
• Must include filing fee, search fee, and examination fee upon filing
• Request must be present upon filing or with a request for continued examination (RCE)
• Limited to 15,000 requests per fiscal year

The regulation states: A request for prioritized examination under this paragraph must comply with the requirements of this paragraph and be accompanied by the prioritized examination fee set forth in § 1.17(c), the processing fee set forth in § 1.17(i), and if not already paid, the publication fee set forth in § 1.18(d).