Getting a patent granted is a significant achievement, but it is not the end of the process. A U.S. utility patent requires periodic payments to the USPTO throughout its life to stay in force. Miss one, and your patent can expire years before its 20-year term ends, handing anyone who wants to copy your invention the freedom to do so.
At Goldstein Patent Law, we help inventors and companies stay on top of these obligations and make informed decisions about their patent portfolios. Here is what patent maintenance fees are, when they are due, how much they cost, and what happens if you miss one.
What Are Patent Maintenance Fees?
Patent maintenance fees are mandatory periodic payments required by 35 U.S.C. § 41(b) and 37 CFR 1.20(e)-(g) to keep a granted U.S. utility patent in force. They are paid to the USPTO after the patent is issued, at three fixed points during its life.
The logic behind maintenance fees is deliberate. They encourage patent holders to actively decide whether a patent is worth maintaining as markets and technologies evolve. A patent that no longer has commercial value costs the holder money to keep alive, and if it lapses, the underlying technology enters the public domain.
Which Patents Require Maintenance Fees?
Only utility patents require maintenance fees. Design patents and plant patents do not.
A utility patent, the kind that protects how an invention works, lasts 20 years from its filing date, provided maintenance fees are paid on time. If fees are not paid, the patent expires before that 20-year term is up, regardless of how much time remains.
Design patents last 15 years from the grant date with no maintenance fees required. Plant patents last 20 years from the filing date, also with no maintenance fees. Our post on plant patents covers the full rules for that category.
If you have a reissue patent (a corrected version of a previously granted utility patent), maintenance fees still apply on the same schedule as the original.
The Three Deadlines
Patent maintenance fees are due at three points after the patent grant date:
3.5 years after grant. The first payment window opens at 3 years after grant and closes at 3.5 years. This is the smallest of the three fees.
7.5 years after grant. The second window opens at 7 years and closes at 7.5 years. The fee is approximately double the first.
11.5 years after grant. The third and final window opens at 11 years and closes at 11.5 years. This is the largest fee, and paying it keeps the patent in force until it reaches its full 20-year term from the original filing date.
Fees cannot be paid before their window opens. The USPTO does not accept early payment outside the designated six-month window preceding each deadline.
How Much Do Patent Maintenance Fees Cost?
The current USPTO maintenance fee amounts, per the fee schedule last revised in March 2026, are as follows for large entities:
- 3.5-year fee: $2,150
- 7.5-year fee: $4,040
- 11.5-year fee: $8,280
A patent holder that pays all three fees on time will spend $14,470 in maintenance fees over the life of a large-entity utility patent, in addition to the original filing and prosecution costs. These amounts are subject to annual adjustment under 35 U.S.C. § 41(f), which allows the USPTO to revise fees to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. Always confirm the current amounts on the USPTO fee schedule before payment.
Entity Size and Fee Discounts
The USPTO provides significant discounts to small entities and micro entities. These categories were created to reduce the financial burden on individual inventors, small businesses, and nonprofits.
A small entity, which includes most independent inventors, qualifying small businesses with fewer than 500 employees, and nonprofit organizations, receives a 60% discount on maintenance fees. At current rates, small entity fees are $860 at 3.5 years, $1,616 at 7.5 years, and $3,312 at 11.5 years.
A micro entity, which requires meeting specific income and prior-filing criteria, receives an 80% discount. Micro entity fees are $430 at 3.5 years, $808 at 7.5 years, and $1,656 at 11.5 years.
Claiming the wrong entity status is a serious mistake. If a patent holder incorrectly claims small or micro entity status, the underpayment can be challenged and may affect the patent’s enforceability. If your business has grown or changed since you originally filed, verify your current entity status before each payment.
The Grace Period
If you miss a maintenance fee deadline, your patent does not immediately lapse. The USPTO provides a six-month grace period after each due date during which fees can still be paid, with a surcharge added.
The surcharge for late payment within the grace period is currently $540 for large entities, $216 for small entities, and $108 for micro entities, regardless of which maintenance interval is involved.
The grace period windows are:
- 3.5 to 4 years after grant
- 7.5 to 8 years after grant
- 11.5 to 12 years after grant
Payment within the grace period is treated as timely for most purposes, and the patent remains in force throughout. The surcharge is the only penalty for paying during this window.
What Happens If You Miss a Maintenance Fee?
If neither the maintenance fee nor the surcharge is paid by the end of the grace period, the patent lapses. A lapsed patent is no longer enforceable. Anyone is free to make, use, sell, or import the previously protected invention without permission or payment.
This is one of the most consequential and preventable losses in patent ownership. A patent that cost tens of thousands of dollars to obtain and prosecute through examination can be permanently lost because of a missed administrative deadline. The obligation to track and pay these fees falls on the patent holder, not the USPTO. The office does send courtesy reminders, but it is not legally obligated to do so, and a failure to receive a reminder is not an excuse for missing a deadline.
If your portfolio is growing, or if your patents were originally filed before your current team took over the management, conducting a maintenance fee audit is a prudent first step. Our team at Goldstein Patent Law can help you assess the current status of your portfolio and identify any upcoming obligations.
Can a Lapsed Patent Be Revived?
A patent that lapses due to a missed maintenance fee is not necessarily gone permanently. The USPTO allows a petition for revival under 37 CFR 1.378 if the delay was unintentional.
To revive a lapsed patent, the patent holder must file a petition for revival, pay the outstanding maintenance fee plus the surcharge, and pay a petition fee, currently $2,260 for large entities. The petition must include a statement that the delay in payment was unintentional.
Revival petitions must generally be filed within 24 months of the date of lapse. After that window closes, revival becomes significantly more difficult and may require demonstrating unavoidable delay, a much higher standard.
Revival is not guaranteed, and the process takes time. During the period between lapse and revival, the patent is unenforceable, and third parties who began using the technology in good faith during that period may have accrued intervening rights that limit the revived patent’s reach. Avoiding lapse in the first place is always preferable to pursuing revival.
How to Pay Patent Maintenance Fees
Patent maintenance fees can be paid online through the USPTO’s Patent Center at patentcenter.uspto.gov, using the patent number or application number to identify the correct payment. Payment can also be made by mail, though online payment provides immediate confirmation and is generally faster to process.
Payment can be made by the patent holder directly or by an authorized representative. Many patent attorneys and law firms offer docketing and maintenance fee management services to ensure deadlines are not missed.
If you used the Track One program to accelerate your patent’s examination timeline, remember that your maintenance fee deadlines are calculated from the grant date, not the filing date. A patent that issued quickly under Track One still follows the same maintenance schedule as any other utility patent.
Strategic Decisions: When to Let a Patent Lapse
Not every patent is worth maintaining to its full 20-year term. As technology evolves and markets shift, some patents cover products or processes that are no longer commercially significant. Paying $8,280 to maintain a patent at year 11.5 makes sense for a product that is actively generating revenue or defending market position. It may not make sense for a technology that has been superseded or a product that was discontinued years ago.
Some reasons to consider allowing a patent to lapse intentionally:
The underlying product is no longer in production or active licensing. If the patent generates no revenue and faces no competitive threat, the maintenance fee may exceed its commercial value.
The technology has been superseded. In fast-moving industries, patents covering earlier-generation technology may have limited relevance by the time the 11.5-year fee comes due.
Continuation applications cover the relevant claims. If you filed continuation applications that capture the commercially valuable aspects of the original invention, the parent patent may be expendable. Our post on patenting improvements to existing products covers how continuation and improvement strategies can shape portfolio decisions.
An intentional lapse should be a deliberate decision made after reviewing the portfolio, not a default that happens because a deadline was missed.
Managing Maintenance Fees Across a Portfolio
For companies with multiple patents, maintenance fee management becomes a docketing and strategy exercise. Larger portfolios benefit from systematic tracking of upcoming deadlines, periodic reviews of commercial relevance, and clear internal ownership of the payment obligation.
Working with a patent attorney gives you a structured approach to both the administrative tracking and the strategic evaluation. At Goldstein Patent Law, we help clients maintain the patents worth keeping and make deliberate decisions about the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to pay maintenance fees to keep a design patent in force?
No. Design patents have no maintenance fee requirements. A design patent granted on or after May 13, 2015 lasts 15 years from the grant date without any additional fees. Only utility patents require the three maintenance payments described above.
Can someone else pay my patent maintenance fees?
Yes. Any person or entity authorized by the patent holder can pay maintenance fees on behalf of the owner. Many patent holders use their law firm or a specialized renewal service to manage these payments.
What if I sell my patent? Who is responsible for maintenance fees?
Responsibility follows ownership. If you assign your patent to another party, the new owner takes on the maintenance fee obligation. It is important that any patent assignment or licensing agreement clearly addresses who is responsible for ongoing maintenance fees to avoid a lapse due to a gap in responsibility.
Are maintenance fees due on provisional applications?
No. Provisional applications never become patents on their own and have no maintenance fee requirements. Maintenance fees only apply to granted utility patents. For more on how provisional applications work, see our guide on provisional patent applications.
What if the USPTO sends me a reminder and I still miss the deadline?
Missing the deadline is your responsibility regardless of whether you received a reminder. The USPTO’s reminder notices are a courtesy, not a legal obligation, and courts have consistently held that failure to receive a notice is not a defense for missing a maintenance fee deadline.
Protecting the Investment You Made to Get Here
The patent application process requires significant time, money, and effort. Losing a patent to a missed maintenance fee after all of that work is an avoidable outcome. Setting up proper docketing, understanding your deadlines, and making deliberate strategic decisions about which patents to maintain are the three habits that keep a patent portfolio healthy.
Contact Goldstein Patent Law to schedule a consultation. Whether you need help managing an existing portfolio, are approaching your first maintenance deadline, or want to review which patents are worth keeping, we are here to help you make the right call.
