Do you qualify for USPTO micro-entity status? ($65 fee, 2026 guide)

The USPTO charges $65 to file a provisional patent application if you qualify as a micro-entity, and $320 if you don't. That's an 80% fee reduction — and for every USPTO fee after filing (examination, issue, maintenance) the same ratio applies. Getting your entity status right is the cheapest, highest-leverage thing a solo inventor can do before filing. This post is the 2026 qualification walkthrough.

What micro-entity status gets you

Micro-entity filers pay 80% less than large-entity filers on every USPTO fee. The concrete 2026 numbers for a provisional:

• Micro-entity provisional filing fee: $65
• Small-entity provisional filing fee: $160
• Large-entity provisional filing fee: $320

And if you later convert to a non-provisional and push through examination, the micro-entity discount continues to apply. A typical non-provisional life-cycle (filing + search + examination + issue + 3.5-yr maintenance) runs ~$640 at micro-entity rates vs ~$3,200 at large-entity rates over the patent's life.

The three eligibility requirements

The USPTO sets three conditions at 37 CFR 1.29. You must satisfy all three at the time you file, and you must re-certify at later stages if conditions change.

1. Gross income under the threshold

Your gross income in the calendar year before filing must be less than three times the median household income as published by the IRS. The effective 2026 threshold is approximately $241,830 (the number rises each year with inflation adjustments). If you're filing jointly, you still certify on your own income alone — your spouse's income doesn't count against you.

Most solo inventors qualify easily on this one. The edge cases:

• Founder-engineers with salary + bonus + unrealized RSU — only realized income counts. Un-exercised options and unvested stock don't.
• Cashed-out RSUs or stock sales in the prior year do count toward gross income for that year. Time your filing accordingly.
• Consulting / freelance income counts as gross. No deductions apply at this certification stage.

2. Named on fewer than 4 prior US applications

Over your entire career, you must have been named as an inventor on fewer than 4 previously filed US patent applications. This includes provisionals, non-provisionals, and continuations. It does not include:

• Foreign applications (EP, CN, JP, etc.)
• Applications you filed as part of prior employment where you assigned all rights to the employer and your assignment agreement specifies micro-entity is not affected
• Provisional applications that you let lapse without filing a non-provisional (these still count toward the 4 — the USPTO counts filings not active patents)
• Applications in which you were only named as a co-inventor on a small contribution (you must have been a named inventor under §116; the common case is you were)

Most solo inventors on their first or second filing are well under 4. Serial inventors with multiple previous applications need to count carefully — the USPTO prosecutes false micro-entity claims seriously.

3. No obligation to assign to a non-micro-entity

At the time of filing, you must not be obligated to assign, grant, or convey a license or ownership interest in the invention to any entity that itself doesn't qualify as a micro-entity. Common failure modes:

• Current employment with a non-micro employer. If your W-2 employer has an IP-assignment clause (most tech companies do), and the invention falls within the scope of your employment, you're obligated to assign — and the employer is almost certainly not a micro-entity. Don't claim micro in this case. File as small or large entity depending on the employer's size.
• Consulting agreements with IP clauses. Same analysis. If the invention arose from work you did under a consulting agreement that assigns inventions back to the client, you're obligated.
• Advisor / board arrangements with assignment language. Less common but can apply if the advisor agreement explicitly assigns inventions made during the advisorship.

Inventions you made entirely on your own time, outside the scope of any employment or advisor role, generally don't trigger this — but read your employment agreement carefully. California has some inventor-friendly statutory carve-outs (Lab. Code §2870) that most employment agreements explicitly reference.

How to claim micro-entity status when filing

You file USPTO form SB/15A (“Certification of Micro Entity Status”) as part of your provisional application package. The form asks you to certify that you meet all three conditions above. You and every named co-inventor must sign.

If you use 50search to generate your provisional draft, SB/15A is auto-included in the ZIP output. You fill in your name + check the micro-entity box in the wizard, and the form is ready to sign before filing.

The risk of claiming incorrectly

Under 37 CFR 1.29(i) you must “conduct a diligent investigation” before certifying. Incorrect claims can void your filing date (catastrophic if a competitor files in between), render the eventual patent unenforceable (worse), and in extreme cases expose you to inequitable-conduct allegations.

The practical question isn't “will the USPTO audit me” (they rarely do at filing) — it's “will a competitor discover the false claim in litigation discovery 5 years from now and use it to invalidate my patent.” If you're anywhere near the income threshold or the 4-application boundary, file as small entity ($160 for a provisional) instead. The extra $95 is cheap insurance.

When your status changes mid-case

Life changes. You get a promotion. You join a startup that raises a round. You sell stock that tips you over the income threshold. The rule: recertify at every USPTO fee-paying event. If you no longer qualify, file form SB/15B (“Notification of Loss of Entitlement to Micro Entity Status”) and pay future fees at the small-entity or large-entity rate depending on your new status.

Losing micro-entity status doesn't invalidate anything you've already filed — it just means future fees are higher.

A quick decision tree

1. Is your gross income in the prior year under ~$241,830? If no, don't claim micro.
2. Have you been named on 4 or more prior US patent applications? If yes, don't claim micro.
3. Are you currently obligated to assign this invention to a non-micro-entity (employer, client, investor)? If yes, don't claim micro.
4. All three “no” answers? You qualify. Sign SB/15A and pay $65 instead of $320.

The bottom line

Micro-entity status saves a solo inventor roughly $2,500 over the life of a single patent (provisional → non-provisional → issue → maintenance). It's free to claim if you qualify. The qualification rules are clear and narrow enough that you can self-certify with confidence in most cases. If you're borderline — close to the income threshold or on your 3rd or 4th application — file as small entity and save the $95 vs the risk of a later challenge.

When you're ready, the 50search draft wizard has a micro-entity checkbox in step 4 that auto-prefills SB/15A for you. For the full filing-fee context see the cost breakdown post.