Which patent fees are due, when does the surcharge start, and what will the portfolio cost?
Paste your US patents with their grant dates and entity size. The planner returns the window, due date, surcharge deadline and expiry date for the next maintenance fee on each patent, a multi-year fee budget, and what you would save by letting chosen patents go. It runs privately in your browser and uploads nothing.
Your portfolio
Utility patents granted on or after 1980-12-12 only; design and plant patents have no maintenance fees. Weekend deadlines roll to Monday; federal holidays are not modelled. Entity status is your responsibility to determine.
Deadlines and budget
Patents entered
Fee window open now
Already in the surcharge period
Surcharges already incurred
Fees to budget over the horizon (kept patents)
Fees avoided by the patents marked drop
Next fee on each patent
Patent
Fee
Status
Window opens
Due, no surcharge
Surcharge ends
Amount
Budget by year
Planned at each no-surcharge due date, kept patents only
Year
Fees
Common questions
When is a US patent maintenance fee due?
Utility patents need three fees after grant: due 3 years 6 months, 7 years 6 months and 11 years 6 months after the grant date. Each can be paid without surcharge during the six months before its due date (the window opens at 3, 7 and 11 years). If you miss the due date there is a further six-month grace period in which the fee is payable with a surcharge. Design and plant patents have no maintenance fees.
What happens if I miss a patent maintenance fee?
After the grace period the patent expires, effective at the end of the 4th, 8th or 12th anniversary of grant, depending on which fee was missed. The USPTO can accept a late payment only on a petition showing the delay was unintentional, which has its own fee and no guarantee. This tool shows the exact expiry date for each unpaid fee so it is visible before it arrives.
What if the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday?
A payment due on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday can be made on the next business day. The planner moves weekend deadlines to the following Monday. It does not know federal holidays, so if a deadline lands on one, add a day yourself or pay early; paying early is always safe.
How does entity size change the fee?
Large entities pay the full fee. Small entities (including most universities and nonprofits, and businesses under the size limit) and micro entities pay a reduced fee, with the surcharge reduced the same way. Entity status is a legal determination about the patent owner; the planner just applies the fee row you assign to each patent, and you should confirm the status before paying.
Where do the fee amounts come from, and can I change them?
The default fee table is the USPTO schedule effective 19 January 2025 as understood by the author. Fee schedules are revised from time to time and this page cannot check them, so the table is an editable box: confirm the amounts against the current USPTO fee schedule and overwrite any that differ. Every total on the page recalculates from that table.
Is my patent list uploaded anywhere?
No. The planner runs entirely in your browser. The share link stores your patent list and fee table in the link itself, so anyone you send it to sees them, and the optional usage counter records only which features were used and the day.