USPTO Patent Center Step by Step: How a Provisional Filing Works

USPTO Patent Center is the official website where inventors file patent applications electronically. For a provisional application the process is shorter than for a utility application, but each screen still matters.

Account and identity verification

You sign in with a USPTO.gov account. Identity verification (for example through ID.me) lets you file as a verified registered user.

New submission

Choose a new utility submission and select provisional. Enter the title, inventor names and residences, correspondence information and entity status.

Upload documents

Upload the specification and drawings as PDF. Patent Center checks the files and flags formatting problems before you continue.

Sign, pay and submit

Documents that require a signature are signed with an electronic signature in the form /First Last/. You then pay the fee and submit. Save the electronic filing receipt: it shows your application number and filing date.

Assisted filing

With GetQuickPatent assisted filing, our assistant completes the Patent Center steps with you over Chrome Remote Desktop and asks only what it does not know. You sign with your own electronic signature and pay USPTO fees directly. We never store your USPTO password.