What information should be included when citing U.S. patent documents?

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 citing U.S. patent documents, the following information should be included:

• For U.S. patent application publications: publication number, publication date, name of the applicant, class, and subclass.
• For U.S. patents: patent number, patent date, name of the patentee, and the relevant classification.

Additionally, examiners are encouraged to cite the kind codes printed on U.S. patent application publications and patents.

As stated in the MPEP:

“If a U.S. patent application publication is cited by the examiner, the publication number, publication date, name of the applicant, class, and subclass should be cited under the section ‘U.S. Patent Documents’ on the form PTO-892. For U.S. patents, the patent number, patent date, name of the patentee, and the relevant classification should also be cited under the same section.”

For more details on citing U.S. patents, refer to MPEP § 901.04.