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Patent maintenance fee & deadline calculator

When are my patent maintenance fees due?

Enter the day your US patent was granted. See every maintenance fee — the amount, the exact due date, and how much time you have — on one schedule, with the next one due front and center.

3.5 / 7.5 / 11.5-year schedule  ·  35 U.S.C. § 41(b)  ·  USPTO fees effective January 19, 2025
Patent grant date
Showing an example schedule. Enter your patent's grant date to see yours.
Preview states
Entity size
Businesses under 500 employees, plus most startups and solo inventors. Small entities pay 60% less, micro entities 80% less.
Patent type
The standard invention patent. Only utility patents owe maintenance fees.
Maintenance fees keep a granted utility patent alive. Miss a fee’s grace period and the patent expires.
A lapsed patent can sometimes be revived, but only by petition showing the delay was unintentional — a costly last resort, not a plan.
How the schedule is built
  • § 41(b)Fees fall due at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years from the grant date.
  • 6-mo windowEach opens 6 months early — pay in the window and owe no surcharge.
  • 37 CFR 1.20(h)A 6-month grace period follows, with a surcharge added.
  • 37 CFR 1.7Due dates on a weekend or holiday roll to the next business day.
Example schedule
Utility patent · Small entity · granted Jun 19, 2023
Window open · no surcharge
3months
1st maintenance fee · due by Dec 21, 2026
Amount due
$860
this fee
The payment window is open. Pay the 1st maintenance fee by Dec 21, 2026 and you owe no surcharge.
granted3.5y7.5y11.5y
1st maintenance fee3.5 yr
Due Dec 21, 2026
window opens Jun 22, 2026 · grace to Jun 21, 2027
$860
due now
2nd maintenance fee7.5 yr
Due Dec 19, 2030
window opens Jun 20, 2030 · grace to Jun 20, 2031
$1,616
upcoming
3rd maintenance fee11.5 yr
Due Dec 19, 2034
window opens Jun 20, 2034 · grace to Jun 20, 2035
$3,312
upcoming
If a fee is ever missed
37 CFR 1.378
A patent that lapses for a missed fee can sometimes be reinstated by petition, with a fee and a showing the delay was unintentional. It is not guaranteed — treat each grace-period date as final.
Amounts are exact USPTO fees for a small entity, effective January 19, 2025, and assume prior fees were paid on time. Due dates roll to the next business day under 37 CFR 1.7. An estimate, not legal advice. Source: USPTO fee schedule.

What every patent owner gets wrong about maintenance fees

One patent, three payments

A granted utility patent is not paid for once. Three maintenance fees keep it alive, due at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years from the grant date. Each has a six-month window that opens before the due date, with no surcharge, and a six-month grace period after it, with a surcharge added. Miss the end of the grace period and the patent expires.

Design and plant patents owe nothing

This trips up a lot of owners. Maintenance fees apply only to utility patents. A design patent stays in force for 15 years from grant, a plant patent for 20 years from filing, and neither one owes a fee along the way. If you hold a design or plant patent, there is nothing due.

Entity size sets the amount

The same fee costs three different amounts, depending on your entity size. A small entity pays 60% less than the standard rate; a micro entity pays 80% less. Most inventors and early startups qualify as small or micro. Status can change over the life of the patent, so confirm it before each payment rather than assume it carries over.

The fees get steeper

The three fees are not equal. The second runs roughly double the first, and the third is steeper still, because the USPTO charges more to keep older, presumably more valuable patents in force. The amounts adjust periodically too. Plan for the increase early, so the 11.5-year fee is not a surprise.

If you miss one

Once the grace period ends without payment, the patent lapses. One narrow path remains: a petition to reinstate under 37 CFR 1.378, filed with a fee and a statement that the delay was unintentional. The USPTO can refuse it, and it costs far more than paying on time would have. Treat every grace-period date as final.

Patent maintenance fee questions

The first maintenance fee is due 3.5 years after your patent’s grant date. You can pay as early as the 3-year mark with no surcharge. Miss 3.5 years, and a six-month grace period runs to the 4-year mark, during which you can still pay with a surcharge added.

You know the schedule. Is the patent still worth it?

Maintaining a patent costs real money for 12 years. Before you pay the next fee, get an honest read on whether the idea is still defensible and the market is still there.

Start a free strategy session
Next · 1st fee · $860
3 months
due Dec 21, 2026