Provisional vs non-provisional
Two filings, one decision.
ProvisionalprovisionalA simplified, lower-cost patent application that locks in a filing date for 12 months while the inventor refines or pitches.Read more → applications buy you 12 months of priority for under $5,000. Non-provisionals are the real patent — they get examined, last 20 years, and cost five times more. Most successful inventors file both, in that order.
The short answer
File a provisional first if you can afford it. It locks in your priority date for 12 months at under 10% of a non-provisional's cost. Use that year to refine the invention, pitch investors, gauge market interest, and decide if it's worth the bigger commitment.
Side by side
The eight differences
| Provisional | Non-provisional | |
|---|---|---|
| Becomes a patent? | No, never. It must be converted within 12 months. | Yes, if allowed by the examinerexaminerThe USPTO official who reviews a patent application and decides whether to grant it.Read more →. |
| Filing cost (small entity) | $130 USPTO fee + ~$2K–$5K attorney draft. | $830 USPTO fee + $6K–$15K attorney draft. |
| Claims required? | No — narrative description is enough. | Yes — at least one numbered claimclaimA numbered sentence at the end of a patent that legally defines what the inventor owns. The most important section.Read more →, usually 20+. |
| Examined? | No examination. No office actions. | Examined under §101, §102, §103, §112. |
| Duration | 12 months from filing. Then it expires unless converted. | Up to 20 years from filing (utility) once granted. |
| "Patent pending" status? | Yes, immediately on filing. | Yes, immediately on filing. |
| Establishes priority date? | Yes — for everything fully disclosed in the application. | Yes — and the priority can chain back to a provisionalprovisionalA simplified, lower-cost patent application that locks in a filing date for 12 months while the inventor refines or pitches.Read more → if filed within 12 months. |
| Best for | Locking in a date while raising capital, refining, or testing the market. | Committing to obtain a real patent. |
The 12-month dance
What to do in the year between
- 01
Month 0 — file the provisional.
Submit a detailed technical description and at least one informal drawing. Quality matters here — anything not disclosed cannot get the provisionalprovisionalA simplified, lower-cost patent application that locks in a filing date for 12 months while the inventor refines or pitches.Read more →'s priority datepriority dateThe earliest date used to compare the patent against prior art. Usually equals the filing date.Read more → in the non-provisional.
- 02
Months 1-6 — refine the invention.
Build, test, iterate. Document any new aspects or improvements. If you discover the original disclosure was incomplete, file a second provisionalprovisionalA simplified, lower-cost patent application that locks in a filing date for 12 months while the inventor refines or pitches.Read more → for the new material.
- 03
Months 4-9 — gauge commercial viability.
Pitch investors, talk to potential customers, do a market study. The "patent pending" status now signals seriousness without committing to the $15K non-provisionalprovisionalA simplified, lower-cost patent application that locks in a filing date for 12 months while the inventor refines or pitches.Read more →.
- 04
Month 10 — decide.
Three paths: convert to non-provisionalprovisionalA simplified, lower-cost patent application that locks in a filing date for 12 months while the inventor refines or pitches.Read more →, abandon and lose the priority datepriority dateThe earliest date used to compare the patent against prior art. Usually equals the filing date.Read more →, or pivot. Most patents that ever get granted started here with a decision to convert.
- 05
Month 11 — finalize the non-provisional.
Hire a patent attorney now. The non-provisionalprovisionalA simplified, lower-cost patent application that locks in a filing date for 12 months while the inventor refines or pitches.Read more → must include claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →, formal drawings, and a complete specificationspecificationThe main body of the patent — describes the invention in detail. Used to interpret the claims.Read more →. Filing in the last week is risky.
- 06
Month 12 — non-provisional must be filed.
Hard deadline. After this, you forfeit the provisionalprovisionalA simplified, lower-cost patent application that locks in a filing date for 12 months while the inventor refines or pitches.Read more →'s priority datepriority dateThe earliest date used to compare the patent against prior art. Usually equals the filing date.Read more →. International (PCT) filings have the same 12-month window.
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