The USPTO Patent Maintenance Fees Storefront is the official lookup tool. Enter the patent number and you can see the payment status for all three maintenance fees, including dates, entity status, and any surcharges paid.
A 90-second check that confirms whether the patent is in force.
Just confirmed your fee was paid? Set the reminder for the next window now, while the dates are in front of you.
Done in seconds. No sign-up required.
The Storefront is the primary tool, but two other systems also display maintenance fee information for the same patent.
The USPTO's modern application portal. Look up by application number and view the file history, including maintenance fee payments. Replaced the legacy Public PAIR system in 2022.
For research or portfolio analysis across many patents at once, the USPTO publishes maintenance fee event data in bulk downloads. Useful for IP analysts, not for individual fee checks.
The moment of confirmation is the most efficient time to schedule the next reminder. You have the patent number, the grant date, and the entity status all in front of you. Adding a reminder for the next maintenance window — 4 years away for the first or second fee — takes 30 seconds and saves you the work of looking everything up again later.
If you do not set the reminder now, you will rely on remembering to do it later. By the time the next window approaches, the only signal you will have is the USPTO's own Maintenance Fee Reminder, which arrives only after the grace period has begun. That is too late to be a safety net.
Looking up the current status answers the immediate question. The bigger question is whether the next fee will be paid on time. See the patent maintenance fee reminder guide for the full setup, or read the complete fee schedule to know which window comes next.
Visit the USPTO Patent Maintenance Fees Storefront and enter the patent number. The system shows the payment status for all three maintenance fees, including dates and entity status used for each payment. You can also view fee status through Patent Center using the application number.
The Patent Maintenance Fees Storefront is the USPTO's online tool for looking up and paying maintenance fees, accessible from uspto.gov. As of September 2024, you must have a uspto.gov account to log in and view payment history or process new payments.
It means the patent's maintenance fee deadline has passed and was not paid within the grace period, so the patent is no longer in force. To restore it, you would need to file a petition to revive under 37 CFR 1.378 — there is no automatic reinstatement from expired status.
Yes. The Patent Maintenance Fees Storefront accepts any US patent number and returns its public payment status, regardless of who owns the patent. Anyone can verify whether a competitor's patent is currently in force.
Payments are typically reflected immediately upon successful submission. A receipt is available right after payment. If a payment was made by mail or check, processing can take several weeks. Always download and save the receipt as documentation.
Save the receipt to your patent file, then set a reminder for the next maintenance window — 4 years away for the first two fees. The moment of confirmation is the easiest time to schedule the next reminder, while the patent details and dates are already in front of you.
The hardest fee to remember is the one that's 4 years away. Set the reminder while the patent details are still in front of you.
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