T.M.E.P. § 717
Remailing of Office Action

Executive summary:

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717 Remailing of Office Action

Sometimes an Office action must be remailed because the action has been returned by the United States Postal Service as undeliverable and/or because the applicant notifies the USPTO that the applicant did not receive the Office action. In these situations, the USPTO will not give the remailed correspondence a new mailing date unless the Office action was sent to the wrong address due to an Office error. If there was an Office error, the USPTO will remail the Office action with a new mailing date, and stamp it "Remailed." If there was no Office error, the USPTO will send a copy of the action to the applicant, but will not remail the action with a new mailing date.

An "Office error in sending the Office action to the wrong address" means that the USPTO either entered the correspondence address incorrectly or failed to enter a proper notice of change of address filed before the mailing date of the action. The transmittal of a response on letterhead bearing a new address is not a proper notice of change of address. The applicant or applicant's attorney must specifically instruct the USPTO to change the correspondence address. See TMEP §603.02(a).