To change the correspondence address on a USPTO filing, patent applicants use Form PTO/AIA/122 or the equivalent update tool in Patent Center, and trademark applicants use the Change of Address or Representation (CAR) form through TEAS. Neither filing carries a fee. Only the applicant, the practitioner of record, or a practitioner acting in a representative capacity may sign the change; a third party cannot redirect correspondence on someone else’s file.
Who Is Allowed to Sign the Change
For patent applications, 37 CFR 1.33 limits the change to three people: a patent practitioner of record, a patent practitioner acting in a representative capacity before a power of attorney is on file, or the applicant.1eCFR. 37 CFR 1.33 If you filed pro se, you sign. If a firm handles prosecution, the practitioner of record signs.
For trademarks, 37 CFR 2.18 requires the applicant or registrant to keep the correspondence address current and to file changes promptly.2eCFR. 37 CFR 2.18 – Correspondence, With Whom Held When an attorney represents the owner, the attorney’s email is the correspondence address. If the attorney is revoked or withdraws with no replacement, correspondence shifts to the owner’s email.3United States Patent and Trademark Office. Correspondence and Attorney/Domestic Representative Forms Submissions from anyone outside these categories are rejected.
Changing the Address on a Patent Application
The fastest route is Patent Center. Sign in, open the Application Data tab for the application you need to update, and use the “Update application address” feature.4United States Patent and Trademark Office. Patent Center The system prompts you through the new address details and applies a digital signature.
If you prefer the standalone form, download PTO/AIA/122 from the USPTO website.5United States Patent and Trademark Office. Forms for Patent Applications Fill in:
- The eight-digit application number.
- The filing date.
- The first named inventor, art unit, and examiner name if you have them, so the form is routed to the right file.
- The full new address: name of the individual or firm, street address, city, state, five- or nine-digit zip code, country, phone number, and email address.6United States Patent and Trademark Office. Change of Correspondence Address
Upload the completed form through Patent Center as a follow-on submission, or mail it to Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.7United States Patent and Trademark Office. Mailing and Hand Carry Addresses There is no filing fee. Paper takes longer to process than electronic filing, so plan on extra time before the new address shows up in the record.
Portfolios: Update Once with a Customer Number
Practitioners and firms with multiple applications should not file PTO/AIA/122 for each one. The USPTO’s Customer Number system ties a single address to every application linked to that number, so changing the address on the Customer Number updates every file at once.8United States Patent and Trademark Office. MPEP Section 403 – Correspondence — With Whom Held; Customer Number Practice Sign into Patent Center and use the Manage tab, or file Form PTO/SB/124 (Request for Customer Number Data Change) with the Customer Number, the new address, and the signature of a registered practitioner associated with that number.9United States Patent and Trademark Office. Request for Customer Number Data Change Only a practitioner already associated with the number, or the person who originally requested it, can authorize the change.
Changing the Address on a Trademark Application
Trademark filers use the Change of Address or Representation (CAR) form through TEAS.10United States Patent and Trademark Office. Using the TEAS Attorney Withdrawal Form and the TEAS Change Address or Representation Form With limited exceptions, the USPTO requires trademark submissions to be filed electronically; paper and fax are no longer accepted for most matters.11United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Rule Makes Electronic Filing Mandatory for Trademark Submissions
One CAR filing can handle several updates at once:12United System Patent and Trademark Office. Correspondence and Attorney/Domestic Representative Forms
- Owner’s address change, which becomes the correspondence address when the owner has no attorney.
- Attorney’s address change, which is the correspondence address when an attorney is appointed.
- Attorney bar information update.
- Appointment or revocation of an attorney or domestic representative.
Work through each page and complete every field marked with a red asterisk. To change the primary correspondence email, enter it in the Attorney Information section when an attorney is appointed, or in the Owner Information section when none is. A separate correspondence email is not allowed; the system uses the attorney’s or owner’s email.13United States Patent and Trademark Office. TEAS Change Address or Representation Form Choose a signature method, submit, and save the confirmation. A filing receipt is sent to the primary correspondence email.
Correspondence Address Is Not Your Domicile Address
Trademark filers should not confuse the two. Every trademark applicant and registrant must provide and keep current a domicile address, meaning the physical location where an individual lives or where an entity is headquartered. A P.O. Box does not qualify.14United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Rule Requires Domicile Address for All Filers and Also Requires Foreign-Domiciled Applicants and Registrants to Have a U.S.-Licensed Attorney The correspondence address is simply where the USPTO sends official communications, and that can be a P.O. Box, a law firm, or an email inbox. Updating one through the CAR form does not update the other. If both need to change, do them in the same filing.
Foreign-Domiciled Filers
If your domicile is outside the United States or its territories, a U.S.-licensed attorney must represent you for all trademark matters at the USPTO. This applies to individuals abroad and to entities headquartered outside the U.S.14United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Rule Requires Domicile Address for All Filers and Also Requires Foreign-Domiciled Applicants and Registrants to Have a U.S.-Licensed Attorney Correspondence flows through that attorney, so an address change for a foreign-domiciled trademark filer runs through the attorney’s record on the CAR form.
S-Signature Formatting
Whether you file through Patent Center or upload a PDF, the USPTO accepts electronic signatures in a specific format called an S-signature. The rules are rigid, and a misformatted signature can delay the filing.15United States Patent and Trademark Office. Signatures 37 CFR 1.4
- Place your name between two forward slashes, for example
/Jane Doe/. - Use only letters, numbers, spaces, commas, periods, apostrophes, and hyphens.
- Type your printed name immediately next to the S-signature (above, below, or beside) so you can be identified.
- You must type the signature yourself. A paralegal, secretary, or colleague cannot insert it for you.
- Registered patent practitioners include their registration number as part of or adjacent to the signature, for example
/John Attorney Reg. #99999/.
Inside Patent Center’s electronic system, a graphic image of your signature is also accepted as an alternative to the text-based S-signature.
Confirming the Change Took Effect
Electronic submissions through Patent Center or TEAS produce an immediate confirmation page and filing receipt. Save both.6United States Patent and Trademark Office. Change of Correspondence Address The receipt is your proof of filing if a dispute ever arises about what address the USPTO had.
Verify the update in the record itself. For patents, look up the application in Patent Center and review the correspondence details. For trademarks, use the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system, enter the serial or registration number, and confirm the address on file.16United States Patent and Trademark Office. Checking the Status of a Trademark Application or Registration If the old address is still showing after a couple of weeks, call the Trademark Assistance Center at 1-800-786-9199 or write TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov for trademark issues.17United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Assistance Center For patent questions, the USPTO’s main line is 1-800-786-9199.
What It Costs If You Skip the Update
An outdated correspondence address is where a free filing turns into an expensive one. If the USPTO sends an office action to an old address and you never see it, the application goes abandoned once the response deadline passes. The form warns of exactly this: failure to keep contact information current “may result in termination of proceedings, abandonment of the application, and/or expiration of the patent.”6United States Patent and Trademark Office. Change of Correspondence Address
Reviving an abandoned patent application takes a petition under 37 CFR 1.137 and a fee that scales with how long the application has been abandoned:
- Two years or less: $2,260 (small entity $904, micro entity $452).
- More than two years: $3,000 (small entity $1,200, micro entity $600).18United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Fee Schedule – Current
For an abandoned trademark application, a petition to revive costs $250 electronically or $350 on paper.19United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Fee Schedule In either case, you still have to respond to the missed office action and show the delay was unintentional, and the USPTO can deny the petition. Filing the address change is free; the alternative is not.