Patent Intelligence · Process
Filing to grant
How long does USPTO examination actually take? Average and median prosecution timelines by technology domain — with inter-quartile ranges and a year-by-year trend from 2010 to present.
Overall avg
37.7 mo
Median
33.0 mo
Patents sampled
1,237
Fastest domain
Mechanical Engineering 34.5 mo avg
Slowest domain
Gene Editing 46.9 mo avg
By Technology Domain
Average months from filing to grant — sorted fastest to slowest. Bar = avg, tick = median. Shaded band = 25th–75th percentile range.
Mechanical Engineering
avg 34.5 mo
med 30.3 mo
n=324
Automotive
avg 34.6 mo
med 33.5 mo
n=114
Semiconductors
avg 35.3 mo
med 30.9 mo
n=209
Consumer Electronics
avg 36.1 mo
med 31.7 mo
n=678
Telecommunications
avg 37.0 mo
med 31.4 mo
n=484
AI & Machine Learning
avg 37.2 mo
med 35.5 mo
n=241
Software
avg 37.9 mo
med 33.5 mo
n=522
Clean Energy
avg 38.2 mo
med 34.8 mo
n=102
Biotechnology
avg 42.9 mo
med 35.8 mo
n=245
Pharmaceuticals
avg 43.9 mo
med 36.3 mo
n=166
E-Commerce
avg 45.1 mo
med 38.1 mo
n=102
Gene Editing
avg 46.9 mo
med 51.3 mo
n=31
Prosecution Time Trend (2010–present)
Overall average months from filing to grant, by grant year.
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Full Breakdown
| Domain | Avg (mo) | Median | P25 | P75 | Range | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical Engineering | 34.5 mo | 30.3 mo | 22.1 mo | 42.6 mo | 2.8 mo–203.6 mo | 324 |
| Automotive | 34.6 mo | 33.5 mo | 21.5 mo | 42.6 mo | 4.4 mo–106.1 mo | 114 |
| Semiconductors | 35.3 mo | 30.9 mo | 22.3 mo | 42.9 mo | 4.7 mo–199.3 mo | 209 |
| Consumer Electronics | 36.1 mo | 31.7 mo | 21.8 mo | 45.3 mo | 2.5 mo–203.6 mo | 678 |
| Telecommunications | 37.0 mo | 31.4 mo | 22.0 mo | 46.0 mo | 2.5 mo–200.0 mo | 484 |
| AI & Machine Learning | 37.2 mo | 35.5 mo | 23.4 mo | 48.4 mo | 2.5 mo–106.7 mo | 241 |
| Software | 37.9 mo | 33.5 mo | 22.7 mo | 47.5 mo | 2.5 mo–200.0 mo | 522 |
| Clean Energy | 38.2 mo | 34.8 mo | 23.9 mo | 44.9 mo | 2.8 mo–234.8 mo | 102 |
| Biotechnology | 42.9 mo | 35.8 mo | 23.5 mo | 55.9 mo | 4.3 mo–234.8 mo | 245 |
| Pharmaceuticals | 43.9 mo | 36.3 mo | 23.3 mo | 58.3 mo | 4.3 mo–152.4 mo | 166 |
| E-Commerce | 45.1 mo | 38.1 mo | 28.1 mo | 57.0 mo | 8.6 mo–179.3 mo | 102 |
| Gene Editing | 46.9 mo | 51.3 mo | 29.3 mo | 60.7 mo | 6.0 mo–86.7 mo | 31 |
Methodology
Prosecution time is computed as the number of calendar days between filing date and grant date, converted to months (30.44 days/month). Patents with a gap outside 60–7,300 days (~2 months – 20 years) are excluded as likely data errors. Continuations and divisionals are counted independently. Domain assignment is based on our AI-generated industry_tags enrichment field — a patent may count toward multiple domains. Sample requires n≥5 per domain. All data is from public USPTO records.