How to get set up to file a patent application at the USPTO

Short version

To file electronically through Patent Center, inventors and practitioners need a personal USPTO.gov account and Patent Center registration, using ID.me verification and self-enrollment or the USPTO's paper verification process. A company is named on the application, not given its own login, and a company applicant has to work through a registered patent practitioner. Check small or micro entity status before you pay any fee.

Can my company have its own USPTO account?

No. A USPTO.gov account always belongs to one person and can't be shared, and each person may have only one registered Patent Center account. The company is named as the applicant or owner on the application itself, and a person files with their own account. (USPTO: Getting started)

What do I need before I can file in Patent Center?

A USPTO.gov account with multi-factor authentication and Patent Center registration, completed either through ID.me verification followed by self-enrollment as an independent inventor or registered practitioner, or through the USPTO's paper verification and enrollment process. Practitioners enter their registration or recognition number during self-enrollment. Support staff use their own accounts through practitioner sponsorship; the sponsor verifies their identity. Independent inventors cannot sponsor users. Since September 11, 2025, every Patent Center user must be identity-verified; guest filing is no longer available. (USPTO: Patent Center; Practitioner self-enrollment guide; Legal Framework)

How does identity verification work?

From your USPTO.gov account, choose "Verify with ID.me." You can use self-service (a selfie matched to a government photo ID) or a live video call with an agent. The USPTO receives only your name from ID.me. Alternatively, mail the original, notarized Patent Electronic Systems Verification form to the USPTO. (USPTO: Getting started)

What is a customer number, and how do I get one?

A customer number links your correspondence address to your applications, so updates go to one place. Registered users request a customer number under Manage in Patent Center. The paper Customer Number Request form is submitted by fax or mail; its instructions say registered users should use the online process. (Request for Customer Number, PTO/SB/125)

Can I or my company file without a patent attorney or agent?

An inventor-applicant domiciled in the U.S. or its territories may generally represent themselves. Representation by a registered patent practitioner is required if any applicant, including a sole applicant, is foreign-domiciled. A company, such as an LLC or corporation, must be represented by a registered patent practitioner even when it is the applicant. Applicant status and ownership are distinct; naming an applicant does not itself transfer ownership. (37 CFR 1.31; USPTO: U.S. Counsel Rule FAQs; MPEP 605.01)

Do I qualify for small or micro entity fees?

Small entity status cuts most patent fees by 60% and is available to a person, a small business (including affiliates, with 500 or fewer employees), or a nonprofit. Eligibility generally also requires that no rights have been transferred or licensed, or are required to be transferred or licensed, to a party that does not qualify as a small entity. Micro entity status cuts most fees by 80%. Both micro entity routes also require small entity eligibility without relying on the government use license exception in §1.27(a)(4). Under the gross-income basis for micro entity status, no inventor or individual applicant may have been named as an inventor or joint inventor on more than four counted earlier applications, subject to the exclusions in § 1.29(a)(2) and (b), and provisionals do not count. Each applicant, inventor, and party holding or entitled to receive rights must have had gross income in the preceding calendar year no greater than the limit effective when the fee is paid ($262,380 as of September 15, 2026; for a U.S. company, its total income on its tax return). A separate higher-education basis is available to applicants who meet its specific requirements. Small entity status must be asserted. Micro entity status requires a signed certification in each application before or with the first discounted payment, such as SB/15A or SB/15B. Check the limits on each payment date, because the income cap changes every year. If micro eligibility is lost, file notice before or with the next fee payment; paying a higher amount alone is insufficient. (USPTO: Save on fees; USPTO: Micro entity status; 37 CFR 1.27; 37 CFR 1.29; MPEP 509.04)

I'm a registered practitioner changing firms. Do I need a new account?

No. Keep your one account. For an ID.me-verified account, contact the Patent Electronic Business Center to change the email; the ID.me indicator is removed, and the USPTO strongly recommends re-verification. Paper-verified users submit an updated verification form to the Patent Electronic Business Center. Update your contact details with the Office of Enrollment and Discipline within 30 days (37 CFR 11.11(a)(1)). Review and update customer-number associations. Continuing representation of a client who appointed the old firm's customer-number practitioners requires a new power of attorney. Remove sponsorships when the sponsoring relationship ends, and sponsor support staff at the new firm as needed. (USPTO: Getting started; 37 CFR 11.11; MPEP 403; Legal Framework)