Are you eligible to take the patent bar? Print E-mail

There are three requirements an applicant must establish to be admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the Office):

  1. Good moral character and reputation;
  2. Legal, scientific, and technical qualifications necessary for him or her to render applicants valuable service; and
  3. Competence to advise and assist patent applicants in the presentation and prosecution of their applications before the Office.

When someone is admitted, if she is or later becomes an attorney, she is known as a patent attorney. If an individual is not an attorney, he is known as a patent agent.

Good moral character and reputation is established by filling out the application to be admitted to take the exam, and by having your name published after passing the exam so that anyone with a contrary opinion can address the issue with the Office.

Scientific and technical qualifications

The most common way to meet scientific and technical qualifications requirements is having a Bachelor's degree in an approved major (category A, below). If you do not have a degree in one of these majors, you may also qualify under category B or C, below.

Category A

If you have a Bachelor's degree in one of the follow subjects from an accredited school (or foreign equivalent), you are qualified to take the patent bar!

  • Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Botany
  • Computer Science*
  • Electronics Technology
  • Food Technology
  • General Chemistry
  • Marine Technology
  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Pharmacology
  • Physics
  • Textile Technology
  • Aeronautical Engineering
  • Agricultural Engineering
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Ceramic Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Computer Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Electrochemical Engineering
  • Engineering Physics
  • General Engineering
  • Geological Engineering
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Metallurgical Engineering
  • Mining Engineering
  • Nuclear Engineering
  • Petroleum Engineering

* Acceptable Computer Science degrees must be accredited by the Computer Science Accreditation Commission (CSAC) of the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB), or by the Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC) of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), on or before the date the degree was awarded. Computer science degrees that are accredited may be found here and at http://www.abet.org.

Category B - Bachelor's degree in another subject

An applicant with a Bachelor's degree in a subject other than one of those listed in Category A must establish he possesses scientific and technical training equivalent to that received at an accredited U.S. college or university for a Bachelor's degree in one of the subjects listed in Category A. To establish equivalence, an applicant can satisfy one of the following four options, or have other training or education as described below.

Four Options

  1. 24 semester hours in physics. Only physics courses for physics majors will be accepted.
  2. 32 semester hours in a combination consisting of the following: (Only courses for science or engineering majors will be accepted.)
    • 8 semester hours of chemistry or 8 semester hours of physics (must be obtained in two sequential courses, each course including a lab), and
    • 24 semester hours in biology, botany, microbiology, or molecular biology.
  3. 30 semester hours in chemistry. (Only chemistry courses for chemistry majors will be accepted.)
  4. 40 semester hours in a combination consisting of the following: (Only courses for science or engineering majors will be accepted.)
    • 8 semester hours of chemistry or 8 semester hours of physics (must be obtained in two sequential courses, each course including a lab), and
    • 32 semester hours of chemistry, physics, biology, botany, microbiology, molecular biology, or engineering.

Under Option 4, up to four semester hours will be accepted for courses in design engineering or drafting. Also, under Option 4, computer science courses that stress theoretical foundations, analysis, and design, and include substantial laboratory work, including software development will be accepted. Such courses include the representation and transformation of information structures, the theoretical models for such representations and transformations, basic coverage of algorithms, data structures, software design with a laboratory, programming languages with a laboratory, and computer organization and architecture. Other acceptable courses in computer science include artificial intelligence and robotics, networking, linear circuits, logic circuits, operating systems, and software methodology and engineering. However, the courses may not be substituted for the eight semester hours of chemistry or physics required under Option 4.

Other Training

Other factors will also be considered on a case-by-case basis with respect to scientific and technical training. The OED will consider expertise in scientific and technical training which is equivalent to that of a Bachelor's degree in a subject listed in Category A. An applicant without a degree listed in Category A has the burden of establishing possession of sufficient training and expertise in science or engineering to be equivalent to that of a Bachelor's degree in a subject listed in Category A. Objective evidence demonstrating that training is equivalent to training received in courses accepted under Category A may establish such equivalency.

Other Education

Other education (e.g., foreign education, academic credit for work experience, military education, life experience, etc.) is acceptable to the extent objective evidence demonstrates the education is equivalent to that received at an accredited U. S college or university in one of the subjects listed in Category A. For example, such education may be met by one of the following showings:

  • The specific courses have been accepted for college-level credit in a Category A subject by an accredited U.S. college or university because they would be creditable if the student were to further his or her education at that institution.
  • The academic credit earned in a Category A subject earned through a special credit program, such as the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), and an accredited college or university has awarded credit.
  • If credit has been given for life experience, the college or university must identify the course work area(s) or courses in a Category A subject for which the credit is given. Life experience credit for courses that are not identified in its course catalog as part of a college or university's curriculum is not acceptable, unless the college or university is giving credit for course work in a Category A subject that is a prerequisite for more advanced courses in Category A included in its curriculum.
  • Credit in a Category A subject for home study course work has been granted by a postsecondary institution accredited by the National Home Study Council.
  • An accredited U.S. State college or university reports the degree from another institution as one whose transcript is given full value, and full value is given in a Category A subject applicable to the curricula at the U.S. State college or university.
  • The education completed outside the U.S. has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. The Council on Postsecondary Accreditation may be of some help in providing information on these organizations.
  • Credits from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Graduate School, or other institutions determined to be equivalent for this purpose, are accepted by an accredited institution on the same basis as study in accredited colleges and universities.

Category C

An applicant relying on practical engineering or scientific experience or who does not qualify under Category A or B above may establish the required technical training by demonstrating that he or she has taken and passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) test. The FE test is developed and administered by a State Board of Engineering Examiners in each State or comparable jurisdiction. Neither the USPTO nor any other U.S. Government agency administers the test. Applicants desiring to take the FE test should direct inquiries to the Secretaries of the appropriate State Boards. Official results of the FE test must be submitted to establish qualification under this category. Applicants attempting to qualify under Category C must submit an official original transcript showing the award of a Bachelors degree.

Adapted from the General Requirements Bulletin for Admission to the Examination for Registration to Practice in Patent Cases Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, issued January 2008.