To enter the U.S. national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371, a PCT applicant must, by 30 months from the earliest priority date, file a copy of the international application with the USPTO, provide an English translation if the application was filed in another language, submit an inventor’s oath or declaration, and pay the basic national fee, search fee, and examination fee. Missing that deadline without meeting the requirements is treated by statute as abandonment of the application.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 35 USC 371 – National Stage: Commencement
The 30-Month Deadline
Everything about national stage entry runs off one date: 30 months from the priority date of the international application. That same window applies whether you entered the international phase through PCT Chapter I or Chapter II.2United States Patent and Trademark Office. 1842 Basic Flow Under the PCT
Not every item has to arrive on time. The search fee, the examination fee, and the inventor’s oath or declaration can be filed after the 30-month date with a surcharge of $170 for large entities, $68 for small entities, or $34 for micro entities. A late English translation carries its own processing fee of $150, $60, or $30 by entity size. The one thing that cannot be late is the copy of the international application itself, which must be on file by the commencement of the national stage.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 35 USC 371 – National Stage: Commencement
Documents You Must File
Five things go in front of the USPTO to complete national stage entry.
A copy of the international application. This is the complete specification, claims, and drawings as originally filed under the PCT. If the International Bureau has already communicated the application to the USPTO under PCT Article 20, a separate submission is not required.3World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Article 20 – Communication to Designated Offices
Any Article 19 or Article 34 amendments. If claims were amended during the international search phase under Article 19, or if the description, claims, or drawings were amended during international preliminary examination under Article 34, those amendments must be submitted at entry. Without them, the USPTO examines only the version originally filed, which may no longer reflect the claim scope you actually want.4United States Patent and Trademark Office. 1871 Processing Amendments Filed Under Article 19 and Article 34 Prior to or at the Start of International Preliminary Examination
An inventor’s oath or declaration. Each named inventor must execute the oath or declaration required by 37 CFR 1.497 and 35 U.S.C. 371(c)(4), confirming original inventorship. If a compliant declaration was already filed during the international phase under PCT Rule 4.17(iv), it does not need to be re-filed.5eCFR. 37 CFR 1.497 – Inventors Oath or Declaration Under 35 USC 371(c)(4) Under 37 CFR 1.495(c)(3), the oath or declaration can be postponed until the application is otherwise in condition for allowance, so long as it is filed no later than when the issue fee is paid. That flexibility helps when inventors are difficult to reach, but late-stage complications with a declaration can jeopardize an otherwise allowed application.
An English translation, if applicable. When the international application was filed in another language, a complete English translation of the specification, claims, and any text in the drawings must be submitted, along with a signed statement verifying the translation’s accuracy.
The national stage fees. The basic national fee, search fee, and examination fee, plus any excess claims fees.
Priority Documents
If the PCT application claims priority from an earlier-filed national application, the certified copy of the priority document is typically handled during the international phase. On entering the U.S. national stage, the USPTO requests a copy from the International Bureau. If none was provided during the international phase, the applicant may need to submit the priority document separately or route it through the WIPO Digital Access Service.6United States Patent and Trademark Office. 1896 The Differences Between a National Application Filed Under 35 USC 111(a) and a National Stage Application Under 35 USC 371
Sequence Listings
Applications disclosing nucleotide or amino acid sequences must comply with WIPO Standard ST.26, which requires sequence listings in XML format. For PCT applications with an international filing date of July 1, 2022 or later, ST.26 governs. You generally do not need to re-submit a sequence listing at national stage entry if the ST.26 XML was already filed as part of the international application and received by the USPTO. A new or amended listing is required if the PCT application disclosed sequences without a compliant listing, if a translation of language-dependent free text is needed, or if you want to amend the listing.7USPTO – United States Patent and Trademark Office. Sequence Listing FAQs
Fees at National Stage Entry
The fees are set out in 37 CFR 1.492 and scale with entity size. The three core fees:
- Basic national fee: $350 large entity, $140 small entity, $70 micro entity.
- Search fee: $770, $308, $154.
- Examination fee: $880, $352, $176.8eCFR. 37 CFR 1.492 – National Stage Fees
The search and examination fees drop to $0 across all entity sizes if the international preliminary examination report or written opinion concluded that every claim satisfies novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability. That is a meaningful reason to work toward a strong international-phase report before entering the U.S. stage.8eCFR. 37 CFR 1.492 – National Stage Fees
Additional fees kick in based on claim count:
- Each independent claim beyond three: $600 large, $240 small, $120 micro.
- Each total claim beyond twenty: $200, $80, $40.
- Multiple dependent claims (per application): $925, $370, $185.8eCFR. 37 CFR 1.492 – National Stage Fees
Fees are due in full at filing. If any required fee is missing, the USPTO issues a notice identifying what is short, along with a deadline and any surcharge. Failing to respond by that deadline abandons the application.9United States Patent and Trademark Office. When Patent Applications Are Incomplete or Missing Information
Qualifying for Small or Micro Entity Fees
The gap between entity tiers is large. A large-entity applicant filing three independent claims and twenty total claims pays $2,000 in basic fees; a micro entity pays $246 for the same filing. Confirming your entity status before filing is worth the effort.
Small entity status is available to individual inventors, businesses with no more than 500 employees (including affiliates), and nonprofit organizations. You cannot have assigned or licensed the invention to any party that fails to qualify as a small entity.10USPTO – United States Patent and Trademark Office. Save on Fees with Small and Micro Entity Status
Micro entity status requires meeting all small entity requirements plus two more conditions. The applicant, each inventor, and every party with an ownership interest must each have earned gross income of $251,190 or less in the preceding calendar year. And none of them can have been named as inventor on more than four previously filed U.S. patent applications, with certain exceptions for assignments to prior employers. The income threshold adjusts annually based on Census Bureau data.11USPTO – United States Patent and Trademark Office. Micro Entity Status
Translation Requirements
Where the international application was filed in a language other than English, a full English translation of the specification, claims, and text in the drawings is required, with a signed statement verifying its accuracy. The USPTO can demand additional verification where it considers that necessary.
If the USPTO finds the translation inaccurate or incomplete, it issues a notice requiring correction within a set timeframe. Failing to correct the translation results in abandonment. A translation filed after the 30-month deadline triggers the processing fee described above ($150, $60, or $30 by entity size).
Translation quality is not just procedural. Discrepancies between the English translation and the original-language application can affect claim scope and become grounds for invalidity challenges in later litigation. Patent translators familiar with the technical field are a sensible investment.
What Happens After Entry
Once national stage entry is complete, the USPTO assigns the application to an examiner in the relevant technology group. The examiner evaluates the claims against the statutory requirements: eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101, novelty under Section 102, non-obviousness under Section 103, and adequate written description and enablement under Section 112.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 35 USC 101 – Inventions Patentable
One point that catches domestic-practice applicants off guard: national stage applications under 371 use the PCT’s unity of invention standard under PCT Rule 13.1 for restriction, not the “independent and distinct” analysis used for regular U.S. applications. If the examiner finds a lack of unity, the applicant elects which invention to pursue and can file divisionals for the rest. The examiner can raise a unity objection at the U.S. stage even if none was raised during the international phase.13United States Patent and Trademark Office. National Stage (U.S. National Application Filed Under 35 USC 371)
If You Miss the Deadline
Abandonment is not always the end. Under 37 CFR 1.137, an applicant can petition to revive an application by showing that the entire delay was unintentional. The petition must include a statement that the entire delay was unintentional, the reply or documents that were originally due, and the petition fee.14eCFR. 37 CFR 1.137 – Revival of Abandoned Application
The fee depends on how long the application has been abandoned:
- Delay of two years or less: $2,260 large, $904 small, $452 micro.
- Delay of more than two years: $3,000 large, $1,200 small, $600 micro.15USPTO – United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Fee Schedule
The “unintentional” standard sounds forgiving, but the USPTO can require a detailed explanation, and a competitor may later challenge the resulting patent’s enforceability if the delay looks deliberate. Filing the petition promptly after discovering the missed deadline is the strongest way to support the unintentional-delay showing.