Question 1

How long do I have to file a non-provisional after a provisional?

Accepted Answer

Exactly 12 months from your provisional's filing date. Under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), a non-provisional (utility) application must be filed within that year to claim the provisional's earlier filing date. If the 12-month date falls on a weekend or a federal holiday, it rolls to the next business day. Miss the window and, absent a narrow restoration petition, you lose the provisional's priority date.

Question 2

Is the provisional deadline exactly 12 months?

Accepted Answer

Yes. It is the 12-month anniversary of the filing date, not a rolling 365-day count, so a provisional filed on March 15 is due the following March 15. The only adjustment is the business-day roll: if that anniversary is a Saturday, Sunday, or a Washington, DC federal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day (37 CFR 1.7).

Question 3

Can the 12-month provisional deadline be extended?

Accepted Answer

Not in the ordinary way. The 12-month benefit period is statutory and cannot be extended with the routine "extension of time" fees that apply to many other USPTO deadlines (37 CFR 1.78(k)). The only relief is a narrow petition to restore the benefit, filed within about two months of the deadline, showing the delay was unintentional and paying a fee. It can be refused.

Question 4

What happens if I miss my provisional patent deadline?

Accepted Answer

The provisional is abandoned at 12 months and cannot be revived, and a non-provisional filed after the window generally cannot claim its priority date. One narrow path remains: within about two months you may petition under 37 CFR 1.78(b) to restore the benefit if the delay was unintentional, with a fee. Because it can be refused, it is a last resort, not a plan.

Question 5

Is the foreign filing deadline the same as the US deadline?

Accepted Answer

It falls on the same calendar day but is a separate legal right. Filing the provisional also starts a 12-month Paris Convention clock for filing abroad, or a PCT application, that claims the provisional's date (Paris Convention Article 4). Missing the US deadline does not waive the foreign one, or vice versa. Restoring a late foreign or PCT claim is governed by each country's own rules and is not guaranteed the way US restoration is.

Question 6

What if my provisional deadline falls on a weekend or holiday?

Accepted Answer

It rolls forward. Under 37 CFR 1.7, when the 12-month date lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or a federal holiday in Washington, DC, the deadline moves to the next business day. This calculator applies that roll automatically and shows you the adjusted date, so your real deadline can be a day or two later than the plain anniversary.

Your spark
to a real
business.

Your spark
to a real
business.

When is my non-provisional patent due?

What the 12-month deadline really means

The one-year bar is absolute

Your foreign filing deadline runs in parallel

What happens if you miss it

Weekends and holidays can move your date

A provisional never becomes a patent on its own

Provisional deadline questions

You know the date. Now make it count.