General Requirements Bulletin - U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

filing of a petition to the USPTO Director, payment of the fee set forth in 37 CFR § 1.21
(a)(5)(ii), and must be filed within 30 days of the final decision of the OED Director. Any
petition submitted after 30 days may be dismissed as untimely.
E. METHODS FOR TIMELY REPLYING TO NOTICE OF INCOMPLETENESS OR
DISAPPROVAL;
AND FOR TIMELY FILING A PETITION:
Three methods for timely filing a reply or petition are presented below. An applicant should refer
to the applicable rules and portions of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) for
more detailed information on filing at the USPTO.
i. First Class Mail or Hand-Delivery: A reply to a notice of incompleteness or disapproval, or a
petition sent by first class mail or hand carried is stamped as received by the USPTO on the date
of receipt. See 37 CFR § 1.6. Therefore, replies or petitions should be mailed sufficiently in
advance to be received on or before the deadline. Hand carried mail to OED will be received
only during public hours (8:30 AM to 5:00 PM). For hand-delivery or delivery by courier, an
applicant may obtain the street address for OED by calling 571-272-4097.
ii. Certificate of Mailing Procedure under 37 CFR § 1.8: A reply to a notice of
incompleteness or disapproval may be filed using the certificate of mailing procedure set forth in
37 CFR § 1.8. Because facsimile transmission of registration applications is not accepted, a
certificate of transmission may not be used. See 37 CFR §§ 1.4(e) and 1.6(d)(1). The
information or documentation will be considered as being timely using the certificate of mailing
procedure if all requirements of 37 CFR § 1.8 are satisfied. A sample certificate of mailing is
included in the back portion of this General Requirements Bulletin.
iii. Express Mail: 37 CFR § 1.10 provides that express mail may be used to file papers with the
USPTO. The date of deposit, shown by the "date-in" on the Express Mail mailing label, is the
effective date. Therefore, an applicant using Express Mail must have a "date-in" recorded by a
U.S. Postal Service employee on the Express Mail mailing label that is on or before the filing
deadline.
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