How it works
Five steps. You can see all of them now.
You do the thinking and the filing. We walk you through the process. We keep your information straight and make sure that nothing is left out.
Step 1: Create your account
Sign up, confirm your email, and pay once. Your work is saved to your account so that you can come back any time.
- Sign up with your email address and a password.
- Confirm your email address from the link we send you.
- Pay through Stripe’s secure checkout. We never see your card number.
- Come back any time and pick up where you left off.
Step 2: Before you start
- It’s a requirement that you live in the U.S. or its territories to file for yourself.
- This is self-help and guidance software and does not represent legal advice.
Step 3: Your idea and drawings
- Tell us what your invention is, what problem it solves, and what its advantages are.
- Upload sketches or photos from your computer or phone that illustrate your invention.
- Each drawing becomes a numbered figure: Figure 1, Figure 2, and so on.
- Tap each part on the drawing, and a prompt will let you input what that part is.
- We number the parts starting with 101 and build your parts list.
- You can modify, undo, redo, and move anything.
- Your work is automatically saved as you go.
Step 4: Describe the parts
Tell us the name of each part.
- Your parts list will automatically be filled in with names and numbers from your drawings.
- For each part, tell us what it is, what it connects to, what it does, and why it is important in your patent.
- Add more detail if you like: materials, sizes, anything specific to the part.
- Add anything else you might want to claim later.
Step 5: Review and download
Review your work, then download your specifications and drawings, plus a link to the USPTO cover sheet.
- A review of your work and a preview of your specifications, with links to make any modifications.
- Download your specifications and your drawings. This is your provisional patent application.
- Follow the link to the USPTO’s official cover sheet, fill it in, and download it.
- Follow the instructions on the USPTO’s website to file your application. They also provide live support.
- Add a calendar reminder of your 12-month date to file a non-provisional application.
The numbering rule
Every drawing is a figure. Every part gets a number.
Your drawings become FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and so on. Tap a part and name it, and we number it for you: the first part you name is 101, the next is 102.
When the same part shows up in more than one figure, it keeps the same number, so you describe it once. We use this to check your work: every number on a drawing has to be named in your description, and the other way around.
After you file
What happens next
Start this early: before you can file, you’ll need a free USPTO.gov account and a quick identity check. Online it takes about 30 minutes, but by mail it can take up to 10 business days, so it’s smart to start while you work on your documents. The USPTO’s getting-started page shows you how.
- 1
You file
You upload your files to the USPTO’s Patent Center. The USPTO walks you through it, and it also offers live support by phone at 866-217-9197.
- 2
Patent pending
Once you’ve filed, you can say your invention is “patent pending” and put it on all documents.
- 3
Within 12 months
Hand these same documents to a patent attorney or registered patent agent to turn your provisional application into a full patent application.
The whole purpose of a provisional is simple: it takes your idea, the one that’s unique to you, and secures a filing date, so you can then work toward getting a patent. Your full application is what the USPTO reviews for a patent, and it can count from your provisional date.