Application Assistance Unit

The staff in the Application Assistance Unit (AAU) provides assistance with a broad range of questions and issues pertaining to pre-examination processing of patent applications by the Office of Patent Application Processing (OPAP) and the post-examination processing of patent applications by the Office of Data Management (ODM).  

Assistance is available Monday through Friday (except federal holidays) from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

We can assist with questions about:

  • Status of an application that is in the pre-examination or the post-examination phase of processing
  • Filing receipts
  • Formality Notices (e.g. Missing Parts)
  • Publication Notices
  • Pre-examination and the post-examination abandonment notices
  • Express abandonments
  • Change of address
  • Power of attorney
  • Inventor Oath and Declaration
  • Listing a patent for sale in the official gazette