After a Notice of Allowance, paying the issue fee feels like a formality. It is also one of the few deadlines in prosecution that cannot be extended.
A deadline with no extensions
The issue fee, and any publication fee, is due three months from the mailing date of the Notice of Allowance (37 CFR 1.311). Extensions of time are not available. Miss it and the application is abandoned.
What the data shows
In 2025 the USPTO decided about 1,900 petitions to revive applications abandoned by its Office of Data Management, the office that handles cases after allowance. In a sample of the most recent decisions, nearly nine in ten had gone abandoned for one reason: the issue fee was not paid after the Notice of Allowance. Most of the rest were a missed Notice to File Corrected Application Papers, usually about drawings.
What reviving the case costs
Reviving under 37 CFR 1.137(a) takes the missed payment itself, the petition fee under 1.17(m) ($2,260 for a large entity), and a statement that the delay was unintentional. If the petition is filed more than a year after the deadline, the fee is $3,000 and the USPTO wants a full explanation of the delay. Even when it all goes smoothly, the patent issues later than it should have.
Two layers of protection
IPPrep Pro's Issue Fee module fills the issue fee transmittal (PTOL-85B) and checks the file before you pay, so the payment that goes in is the right one. And once the due date is set, IPPrep Pro emails reminders a month, two weeks and a week before it, then the day before and on the day itself.
The issue fee should be the easiest step in the case. It only becomes expensive when it is missed.
Figures come from the USPTO Petition Decisions data on the Open Data Portal (decisions through October 2026); fees are the USPTO's large-entity amounts. This article is general information about USPTO practice, not legal advice. Confirm current rules and fees against the MPEP and the USPTO fee schedule for any specific matter.