USPTO Statement on Patent Correspondence Delivery

On March 3, 2005, the USPTO issued a single comprehensive statement on its "centralized delivery" policy. This notice replaces all prior Office notices specifying a specific fax number or hand carry address for certain patent related correspondence.

The centralized delivery policy requires most patent related correspondence to be:

1. faxed to the central facsimile number ((703) 872-9306),
2. hand carried or delivered to the Customer Service Window (now located at the Randolph Building, 401 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 22314), or
3. mailed to the mailing address set forth in 37 CFR 1.1 (e.g., P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450).

Exceptions to the general policy generally involve situations where special handling of the patent related correspondence is available and are listed in this notice. Correspondence which is not related to a specific patent or patent application, such as a question on policy, on employment, or other general inquiry, is not covered by this notice.