How to choose a speed lane for examination
Most applications wait in line, and the ways to move faster depend on paying, on work done elsewhere, or on personal status.
Lesson 2 of 12 · 4 min
After you file, your application waits in line for an examiner. Two clocks are worth knowing. First-action pendency is the time until the examiner first responds on the merits. Total pendency runs until the case is finally disposed of, and it is longer because older cases reach disposition later (USPTO pendency deck). The current numbers are in the Current section, and you should check them again before you rely on them (USPTO pendency dashboard).
Three ways to move faster
Think of the options as three kinds of lane.
You pay. Track One is the USPTO's prioritized examination program. It costs an added fee, and the rule limits how many claims you may have (37 CFR 1.102).
You borrow work from another office. The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) lets a claim found patentable at one office get accelerated examination at another (JPO PPH page). So it only helps if another office has already looked at your claims.
You qualify personally. A petition to make special, which asks the Office to take a case out of turn, remains available without a fee on age or health grounds (37 CFR 1.102).
Speed interacts with drafting
In our judgment, you should plan your claim set before requesting any lane that limits claims. A cap that seems harmless at filing can force you to drop claims you wanted, and a fast lane moves you sooner into the rejection and response cycle covered in the next lesson. Ask what the extra speed is for. A pending investor conversation or a rival's product launch may justify the fee. Impatience alone may not.
Treat program names as perishable
Speed programs come and go, and several well-known ones have ended (90 FR 24324). An older article may describe a lane that no longer exists, so confirm any program on a current USPTO page before you plan around it.
Be careful comparing countries too. Pendency figures from other offices start from different events. Japan's runs from the examination request, not from filing (JPO Status Report 2026), so a shorter number there does not mean the same thing.
Timeless wisdom
A petition to make special based on age or health remains available without a fee (37 CFR 1.102). In our judgment, the durable principle is that speed interacts with drafting: plan the claim set before you request any lane with claim limits, because the limits shape what you can protect. Programs have changed often, but the underlying choice has not. You are deciding whether earlier certainty is worth its price in fees, in fewer claims, and in less time to refine your position.
What's current
As of October 21, 2026
At FY2026 end, average first-action pendency was 20.5 months, down from 22.6 at FY2025 end. Total pendency was 28.8 months in September 2026 (USPTO deck, Oct. 21, 2026).
Track One, the only general paid lane, costs $4,515/$1,806/$903 (undiscounted/small/micro) plus a $150/$60/$30 processing fee (fee schedule). It allows 4 independent and 30 total claims, with no multiple dependents (37 CFR 1.102), is capped at 20,000 per fiscal year (90 FR 29990), and targets final disposition within about twelve months (USPTO).
PPH remains active, but its USPTO target moved from 3 to 6 months on Jan. 1, 2026 (USPTO). SPARK is open to eligible standards participants until June 3, 2027 or 200 grants (91 FR 33155). PIER, through April 9, 2027, is not a speed lane (91 FR 17949).
Ended: Accelerated Examination, the Streamlined Claim Set Pilot (no petitions after Oct. 27, 2026), ASAP!, Full First Action Interview and First-Time Filer.
Key takeaways
- First-action and total pendency measure different things.
- Lanes differ by what they require: money, work from another office, or personal status.
- Plan your claims before requesting a lane with claim limits.
- Confirm any speed program on a current USPTO page, because many have ended.
Check your understanding
Sources
- USPTO FY2026 pendency deck
- USPTO pendency dashboard
- 37 CFR 1.102, advancement of examination
- JPO Patent Prosecution Highway page
- 90 FR 24324, discontinuation of Accelerated Examination
- JPO Status Report 2026
- USPTO fee schedule
- 90 FR 29990, Track One annual limit
- USPTO Patent Prosecution Highway page
- 91 FR 33155, SPARK pilot program
- USPTO prioritized examination page
- 91 FR 17949, PIER pilot program
- USPTO Streamlined Claim Set Pilot page
- USPTO Automated Search Pilot page
- USPTO Full First Action Interview Pilot page
- USPTO First-Time Filer program page
The Academy is general education, not legal advice, and reading it doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. Patent law and fees change, so check the linked sources and have a registered patent attorney or agent review your situation before you file. Obsidyan sells patent software, including AI drafting tools, so weigh what these lessons say about AI tools with that in mind.