US patent maintenance fees are due three times: 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years after the grant date. Each has a 6-month on-time window and a 6-month grace period. Miss the grace period and the patent expires.
Dates measured from the grant date (the patent issue date), not the filing date.
| Fee | On-time window | Grace period (with surcharge) | Patent expires after |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st (3.5 year) | 3.0–3.5 years after grant | 3.5–4.0 years after grant | 4.0 years after grant |
| 2nd (7.5 year) | 7.0–7.5 years after grant | 7.5–8.0 years after grant | 8.0 years after grant |
| 3rd (11.5 year) | 11.0–11.5 years after grant | 11.5–12.0 years after grant | 12.0 years after grant |
Source: 37 CFR § 1.362, MPEP 2506. Schedule applies to utility and reissue utility patents granted on applications filed on or after December 12, 1980. Design patents have no maintenance fees.
Set a reminder 6 months before each window opens. Build buffer into a 12-year obligation.
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Take the grant date and add the year offsets. For a patent issued on June 15, 2026, the three maintenance fee windows fall on these dates.
The USPTO does not accept maintenance fee payments before the on-time window opens. If you try to pay at 2 years and 11 months, the system rejects the payment. The statutory windows in 37 CFR 1.362 set the earliest acceptable date at exactly 3, 7, and 11 years after grant.
That makes the schedule unforgiving in both directions. You cannot get ahead of it, and the late side costs you a surcharge or, eventually, the patent itself. The only flexibility is in your own preparation. Setting a reminder 6 months before each window opens gives you time to confirm entity status, secure payment authorization, and decide whether continued maintenance still makes commercial sense.
A single reminder for each fee is not enough — too much time passes between them, and a single email can be missed. Build a ladder: a 6-month-out heads-up to plan, a 30-day warning before the window opens, and a follow-up if the fee is still unpaid.
Confirm the patent owner of record, verify entity status (small/micro can change with growth), and budget the fee.
Window has either just opened or is about to. Pay the fee through the USPTO Patent Maintenance Fees Storefront.
If you don't mark the reminder complete, BoldRemind keeps reminding. The fee never silently falls off the calendar.
The dates above are fixed by statute. The hard part is remembering them across a decade-plus span where nothing else about the patent demands your attention. See the full guide on patent maintenance fee reminders, or read about how much each fee costs by entity size to plan your budget for each window.
Three times during the patent's term: at 3.5 years, 7.5 years, and 11.5 years after the grant date. Once the 11.5-year fee is paid, no further maintenance fees are due for the remainder of the 20-year patent term.
No. You cannot pay before the on-time window opens (3 years, 7 years, or 11 years after grant, respectively). If you try to pay early, the USPTO will reject the payment. The earliest accepted date for the first fee is exactly 3 years after the patent issue date.
The window is the 6-month period when you can pay the fee without a surcharge — for example, 3 to 3.5 years after grant. The grace period is the 6 months after the deadline (3.5 to 4 years) when you can still pay, but with a late surcharge added. After the grace period ends, the patent expires.
Exactly 7 years after the patent grant date. It closes at 7.5 years. After that, you have until 8 years (a 6-month grace period) to pay with a surcharge before the patent expires.
Set reminders 6 months before each window opens — so 2.5 years, 6.5 years, and 10.5 years after the grant date. That gives you time to confirm entity status, gather payment information, and budget the fee well before the on-time window opens.
No. Design patents do not require maintenance fees. The 3.5/7.5/11.5-year schedule applies only to utility and reissue utility patents granted on applications filed on or after December 12, 1980, per 37 CFR 1.362.
Add the patent grant date and BoldRemind sends you an email 6 months and 30 days before each maintenance fee window. Free, no account, no app.
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