Guide, September 2026
Track One Prioritized Examination in 2026: Cost, Eligibility, and Timeline
Track One buys you a place near the front of the examiner's docket. Here is what it costs, who qualifies, what the claim limits do to your drafting, and when the speed is worth paying for.
What Track One is
Track One is the USPTO's prioritized examination program under 37 CFR 1.102(e), administered per MPEP 708.02(b). You pay a request fee, the application is given special status, and it is examined ahead of the ordinary queue. The USPTO's stated aim is a final disposition, on average, within about twelve months of prioritized status being granted. Final disposition means allowance, final rejection, abandonment, or a notice of appeal. It does not mean an issued patent in twelve months.
Who qualifies, and the claim limits
Original utility or plant nonprovisional applications, with the request filed at the time of filing, under 37 CFR 1.102(e)(1). Or utility and plant applications with a request for continued examination, under 37 CFR 1.102(e)(2), where only a single request on that basis may be granted. Filing must be through the USPTO patent electronic filing system, with all required fees paid.
The claim limits are the drafting constraint: no more than four independent claims, no more than thirty total claims, and no multiple dependent claim, at filing or by amendment. You cannot file broad and prune later, because an amendment that breaks the limits ends prioritized status. Decide the claim architecture before you file.
The government fee
The prioritized examination request fee is $4,515 undiscounted, $1,806 for a small entity, and $903 for a micro entity. Those are fee codes 1817, 2817, and 3817 on the USPTO fee schedule effective January 19, 2025, last revised August 14, 2026. A processing fee and the publication fee apply separately, and the ordinary filing, search, and examination fees are unchanged. Which tier you sit in is worked through in the micro entity status guide. Attorney fees are separate and are published in the patent prosecution cost guide.
The annual cap
The USPTO accepts a limited number of prioritized examination requests each fiscal year. Effective July 8, 2025 the limit rose from 15,000 to 20,000 requests per fiscal year. A request filed late in a fiscal year competes against a cap that is already partly consumed, so if Track One is part of the plan, file early in the year rather than late.
If you are an individual inventor or a small company
At the micro entity rate the request fee is $903, which is a real number but often smaller than the cost of waiting. Track One is worth it when a filing date alone is not enough and you need a granted claim, or a firm answer that you will not get one, inside a fundraising or launch window. If you only need priority, a provisional and an ordinary nonprovisional cost less. The honest test is whether a decision twelve months earlier changes what you do. The sequence is laid out in the patent process guide.
If you run a corporate patent program
Track One is a budget line to allocate, not a default. Pick the cases where the date drives value: a product shipping this year, a competitor filing in the same space, a licensing conversation that needs an issued claim, or a family where you want an early examiner read before committing to continuations. Because the claim limits are tight, pair a Track One parent with a normal continuation carrying the wider claim set. That gets a fast answer without capping the family. For AI cases, the specification side is covered in the AI invention filing guide.
Sources
Common questions
What does USPTO Track One cost in 2026?
The prioritized examination request fee is $4,515 undiscounted, $1,806 for a small entity, and $903 for a micro entity, per the USPTO fee schedule effective January 19, 2025, last revised August 14, 2026 (fee codes 1817, 2817, 3817). A processing fee and the publication fee are separate, and so are attorney fees.
How long does Track One take to reach a decision?
The USPTO's stated aim is a final disposition, on average, within about twelve months of prioritized status being granted. That is a goal for the program, not a promise on any one application. Final disposition includes allowance, a final rejection, abandonment, or the filing of a notice of appeal.
How many claims can a Track One application have?
Under 37 CFR 1.102(e), an application under prioritized examination may not contain, or be amended to contain, more than four independent claims, more than thirty total claims, or any multiple dependent claim. Going over any of those limits ends prioritized status.
Can you request Track One with a request for continued examination?
Yes. 37 CFR 1.102(e)(2) allows a request for prioritized examination filed with or after an RCE in a utility or plant application. Only a single such request may be granted in an application on the RCE basis.
Is there a limit on how many Track One requests the USPTO accepts?
Yes. The USPTO raised the annual limit from 15,000 to 20,000 accepted prioritized examination requests per fiscal year, effective July 8, 2025. The cap is a real constraint late in a fiscal year, so filing early in the year carries less scheduling risk.
Does Track One make an application more likely to be allowed?
Track One changes the order and pace of examination. It does not change the standard the examiner applies. I would not file Track One expecting a friendlier examination. I file it when the date of the decision matters to the business.
What kinds of applications are eligible for Track One?
Original utility and plant nonprovisional applications, and utility or plant applications in which an RCE has been filed. Design applications, reissues, and provisional applications are not on this track. The request must be filed with the application, and the application must be filed through the USPTO patent electronic filing system.
What happens if prioritized status is lost mid-prosecution?
The application returns to the normal examination queue and is taken up in turn. The request fee is not refunded on that basis. The two common ways to lose it are exceeding the claim limits and filing a petition for an extension of time to reply.
USPTO fees quoted above were taken from the USPTO fee schedule on September 4, 2026 and change without much notice. This is a practitioner's explainer, not legal advice for any particular application. Questions about a specific filing belong on a call with the firm.