T.M.E.P. § 303.01
Date of Receipt

Executive summary:

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303.01 Date of Receipt

Correspondence transmitted through TEAS is considered to have been filed on the date the USPTO receives the transmission, regardless of whether that date is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. 37 C.F.R. 2.195(a)(2).

For paper correspondence, the date of actual receipt in the USPTO is assigned as the filing date of all correspondence. 37 C.F.R. 2.195(a). However, under 37 C.F.R. §§2.195(a)(1) and (3), no correspondence is "received" in the USPTO on Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal holidays within the District of Columbia. See TMEP §308 regarding response periods that end on a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia.

The filing date of an e-mail communication (see TMEP §304 et seq.) or fax transmission (see TMEP §§306 et seq.) is the date the complete transmission is received in the USPTO, unless that date is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia, in which case the filing date is the next succeeding day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. 37 C.F.R. §§2.195(a)(1) and (3). However, if the communication is properly filed using the "certificate of transmission" procedure under 37 C.F.R. 2.197, the USPTO looks to the date on the certificate to determine whether the filing is timely. TMEP §§304.05 and 306.05(c).

Similarly, if a document is mailed to the USPTO using the "certificate of mailing" procedure under 37 C.F.R. 2.197 (see TMEP §§305.02 et seq.), the filing date is the date of receipt in the USPTO, but the USPTO looks to the date on the certificate to determine whether the filing is timely. TMEP §305.02(e).

See TMEP §1904.01(b) regarding the filing date of a request for an extension of protection of an international registration to the United States under §66(a) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1141f(a).