Although our system may still be working the day of your deadline, you might not be able to access a specific form or pay your fee online. Use this page to learn how to file your trademark documents and pay your fee if you can’t do so online and today is your deadline.
If you need help determining if any of these situations apply to you, contact the Trademark Assistance Center. For patent submissions, see their filing documents during an outage page.
If you can access the Petition to Director online
You can complete the Petition to Director form and submit your documents electronically. You must include:
- A verified statement, which is included in the petition, about why you couldn’t electronically file using the appropriate form before your deadline
- Evidence showing the appropriate form to submit your filing was unavailable, for example, a screenshot of the error message you’re receiving
- The documents you are trying to file
- An electronic petition filing fee, along with any other fees needed for your documents. In your filing, you may request a refund of the petition fee if you couldn’t file electronically due to a USPTO system error.
We’ll email a filing receipt to you when we receive your documents.
If you cannot access the Petition to Director online
You can submit documents to us by mail or fax in limited circumstances, depending on the status of our systems. If our systems status and availability page shows there is:
- Planned maintenance or a USPTO system outage, you must mail your petition and documents to us.
- An unexpected widespread USPTO outage, you can only fax your documents to us if we posted instructions on our systems status and availability page, or if USPTO staff has instructed you to do so. You don't need to pay a petition fee in this situation. (This option doesn't include personal technical issues.)
If you’re experiencing a widespread disastrous event, you must mail your petition and documents to us.
If you aren’t sure whether to submit documents to us by mail or fax because you can’t access any part of our system and the systems status and availability page doesn’t show an unexpected outage, email our support team for help.
We don’t provide a filing receipt if you mail, fax, or hand-deliver your submission. Keep a copy of all documents you sent to us for your records. This includes your paper cover sheet (if you mailed your documents), the date-stamped receipt (if you hand-delivered your documents), or your fax cover sheet (if you faxed your documents).
You can use the Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) system to confirm when we receive your filing. However, if you sent something to us through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), by hand delivery, or by fax, there may be a delay before you see the filing in our system.
Mailing or hand delivering your documents
If your filing deadline is today and you cannot submit your filing online, you have two options for sending your petition and paper submission to us:
- Mail us your documents.
- If you use the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), your filing date will be the day you sign the certificate of mailing on the paper cover sheet and mail your submission, not the date we receive it.
- If you use FedEx, UPS, or another non-USPS service, your filing date will be the day we receive your documents, not the date you sign your cover sheet and mail your submission.
- Hand deliver or have a courier deliver your documents to us.
- Your filing date will be the day we receive your submission.
Use our cover sheet, which includes a checklist of what you need to submit and information on how to pay your fees. Be sure to:
- Pay the paper petition filing fee, along with any other paper filing fees needed for your documents.
- In your submission, you may include a request for a refund of the petition fee if you couldn’t file electronically due to a widespread USPTO system error or a widespread disastrous event.
- Go to our form previews page to download and complete your trademark documents, including the Petition to Director form. You can complete your forms by hand or type your answers. Don’t forget to sign your forms.
| If you file using: | Then send your submission to: |
|---|---|
| USPS | Commissioner for Trademarks P.O. Box 1451 Alexandria, VA 22313-1451 |
| Hand delivery or courier service | Trademark Assistance Center We accept documents between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. However, these hours may change during local emergencies or government closures that affect our office. If you’re hand-delivering trademark correspondence after hours, see TMEP section 307. |
Faxing your documents
You can only fax your documents to us if:
- You can't access the Petition to Director form online AND a USPTO employee has told you to do so
OR
- Our systems status and availability page shows an unexpected USPTO system outage
- You haven't verified your identity and your filing deadline is today
Use a fax machine, online fax service, or mobile fax app to fax your submission to the Petitions Office at 571-273-8950. Use our fax cover sheet, which includes a checklist of what you need to submit and information on how to pay your fees. Be sure to:
- Pay for all fees related to your documents.
- You will pay the electronic filing fee amount, not the paper filing fee amount.
- Go to our form previews page to download and complete your documents. You can complete your forms by hand or type your answers. Don’t forget to sign your trademark forms and fax cover sheet.
Contact us for help
System issues
Our team can help with identifying and solving system-related issues. If you’re unsure whether the reason you’re unable to submit is because of a problem on your end or ours, email our support team. Include the following with your message:
- Your name
- Your telephone number
- Your application serial number or registration number
- A description of your issue, including the name of the trademarks form you are having problems with, for example, a Response to Office Action Form, Request for Extension of Time to File a Statement of Use, etc.
- A screenshot of any error message you are receiving
If today is your filing deadline, include “Filing deadline today” in the subject line of your email.
USPTO.gov account issues
If you have case-specific, password reset, or MyUSPTO questions, contact the contact the Trademark Assistance Center at 800-786-9199 (press 1) from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday (excluding federal holidays). For more information, see our MyUSPTO and USPTO.gov account FAQs page.