TAKEAWAY: The USPTO launches a new pilot program that notifies utility patent applicants of the estimated duration by which a U.S. patent application will be docketed for substantive examination.
In a May 2026 news bulletin, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced the launch of its ‘Pre-Docketing Notice’ pilot program, designed to provide utility patent applicants with greater insight into their application’s examination timeline, along with tips to help streamline prosecution.
From the first filing to the first office action on the merits (e.g., the beginning of substantive examination), applicants of utility patent applications can expect to wait for twelve (12) to twenty-four (24) months, with the average application skewing toward the latter at about 22.6 months, before substantive examination begins. While the USPTO has communicated its ongoing commitment to reducing this latency period and even recently touted gains in this area, applicants have been largely unable to predict when substantive examination of their U.S. patent applications will begin.
The ‘Pre-Docketing Notice’ pilot program includes an informational notice sent to the applicant approximately three (3) months prior to the date that the application is expected to be docketed to an examiner for substantive examination. The notice sent under this pilot program will also include helpful steps applicants may take to further streamline prosecution, such as filing a preliminary amendment, filing an information disclosure statement, and updating inventorship or ownership information of the pending application. Further, the notice reminds applicants that refunds are available for search and excess claim fees should the applicant elect to expressly abandon an application before an action has been counted in the USPTO records, so long as certain conditions under 37 CFR 1.138(d) are satisfied.
Although the notice sent under the ‘Pre-Docketing Notice’ pilot program suggests numerous courses of action, no action or response is required of the applicant by the notice itself. The USPTO seeks to evaluate how this advanced informational notice may assist in promoting efficient examination practice for U.S. patent applications moving forward.