Budget and Financial Information

Congressional Budget justifications

Fiscal year 2026 USPTO Budget

The USPTO’s fiscal year (FY) 2026 Budget (Budget) estimates agency fee collections of $4,996 million, consisting of $4,326 million in patent fees and $670 million in trademark fees. The USPTO also expects to collect $76 million in other income (i.e., reimbursements). Estimated spending is $4,680 million (including the $2.45 million requested as a transfer to the Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General)—consisting of $4,080 million for the Patent Program and $601 million for the Trademark Program—which supports 15,363 positions (14,451 FTE). During FY 2026, the USPTO will add $761 million to the combined operating reserves (ORs). The USPTO projects $369 million to accrue in the PTFRF. Subject to reprogramming guidelines, these funds will be transferred to the operating reserves, resulting in a net increase of $602 million in the patent OR and $159 million in the trademark OR. The agency requests appropriation authority to spend the full fee collection estimate of $4,996 million to offset budgetary requirements (estimated spending and OR deposits). Under this request, the USPTO’s FY 2026 net appropriation is $0.

The patent and trademark fee collection estimates included in this Budget reflect current fee rates which were implemented on January 19, 2025, and January 18, 2025, respectively. Aggregate fee collections will meet budgetary requirements and address the current pendency emergency, driven by an unexamined patent application inventory exceeding 800,000 applications. The Budget supports using collections to fund additional examination capacity, including through a targeted expansion of the patent examiner corps (plans to hire 1,500 patent examiners, which is partially offset by an estimated 655 attritions in FY 2026), and supports using collections to fund production incentives. The USPTO expects improving examination capacity will reduce the unexamined inventory and improve year-over-year pendency. Fee collections will also allow the USPTO to continue to implement its trademark pendency reduction plan, increase trademark examination capacity (plans to hire 75 trademark examiners, which is partially offset by an estimated 48 attritions in FY 2026), and maintain focus on reducing pendency to achieve its first action pendency goal of 4.5 months by FY 2028. Additionally, this Budget will provide funding for the USPTO to modernize and streamline examination processes; identify and prevent fraudulent and abusive practices; cultivate evidence-based information; promote the use of artificial intelligence; and implement technological innovations to promote automation, innovation, and resource administration and other mission-critical agency priorities.

The USPTO is committed to fiscal responsibility and makes prudent decisions to align spending priorities with projected fee collections while meeting workload requirements and maintaining sufficient OR levels. Fee setting authority, included in the 2011 Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) (Pub. L. 112-29) and extended in the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success (SUCCESS) Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-273), enables the USPTO to set and adjust fees to align with costs. The AIA also created a successful framework to provide the USPTO full access to all fee collections. This authority to adjust both patent and trademark user fees via the regulatory rulemaking process enables the USPTO to set fees at an appropriate level to recover the aggregate costs of its operations, including investments in strategic agency goals, and to respond to changing legislative requirements and market needs. Absent congressional action, the agency’s AIA fee setting authority will expire on September 15, 2026.

Download the USPTO FY 2026 President's Budget Request [PDF]

Prior year Budgets

Other USPTO Financial Information and Reports

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