# Provisional application

A simplified, lower-cost patent application that establishes a priority date and allows an inventor to claim "patent pending" status for 12 months. A provisional is never examined and never becomes a patent on its own. The inventor must file a non-provisional application within 12 months or lose the priority date entirely. Provisionals are commonly used to lock in a date while refining the invention or seeking funding.

**Full entry:** https://patentbrief.org/glossary/provisional-application

**All patent terms:** https://patentbrief.org/glossary

---

_Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. A plain-English glossary of US patent terms._