Filing a patent application in India puts it in a queue, but not the examination queue. Nothing is examined until a request for examination is filed, and if none is filed in time the application is simply treated as withdrawn. It is the most avoidable way to lose a patent, and the deadline changed in 2024.
Quick reference
| Form | Form 18 (ordinary) or Form 18A (expedited) |
| Deadline — filed on or after 15 March 2024 | 31 months from the earliest priority date, or the filing date if none |
| Deadline — filed before 15 March 2024 | 48 months |
| Missed | Application deemed withdrawn |
| Fee (ordinary) | ₹4,000 for individuals, startups, small entities and educational institutions; ₹20,000 for others |
| Fee (expedited) | ₹8,000 / ₹60,000 |
| Who can request | The applicant, or any other person interested |
Why the request exists
The Indian system separates filing from examination so that applicants can decide, some way into the process, whether the invention is worth the cost of prosecution. Publication happens on its own at eighteen months. Examination does not: the file sits until a request is filed, and examiners take up applications in the order the requests arrive.
The deadline
For applications filed on or after 15 March 2024, the request must be filed within thirty-one months of the earliest priority date — or of the filing date, where no priority is claimed.
For applications filed before that date, the earlier limit of forty-eight months still applies. The change was not made retrospective, so for several more years there are two deadlines in play depending on when the application was filed, and any checklist that gives one figure without asking that question is wrong for half the files.
Where a PCT application is entering the national phase, the thirty-one months is the same period as the national phase deadline itself. In practice the two are now done together.
If no request is filed in time, the application is treated as withdrawn. There is no examination, no grant, and no route back at the Patent Office.
A late request. The Controller’s general power to extend deadlines was widened in 2024 to cover up to six further months, on a request made before those six months run out and on payment of a monthly fee that is steep — ₹50,000 a month for most applicants. It is a safety net for a missed diary entry, not a planning tool.
Who can file it
The applicant, obviously — but also any other person interested. A competitor who wants an early decision on a published application can file the request and pay the fee, and the applicant then has to prosecute or lose it. The applicant is told when this happens.
The expedited route
Since 2016 certain applicants have been able to ask for expedited examination on Form 18A, and the list has grown. It is now open to:
- startups recognised under the Government of India’s startup scheme, Indian or foreign
- small entities, on a declaration of status
- natural persons who are female, or applications where at least one of the applicants is
- government departments, government companies and institutions wholly or substantially financed by government
- applicants who chose India as the International Searching or Preliminary Examining Authority in the corresponding PCT application
- applicants from countries with which India has a notified arrangement for accelerated prosecution
- educational institutions, added in 2021
The application must already be published, or a request for early publication must go in with the request.
What it buys is a place at the front of the queue and a tight timetable: the application is referred to an examiner promptly, and the examination report is due ordinarily within one month and not later than two from the reference. Grant within a year of the request is realistic on this track; on the ordinary track it is not.
An ordinary request already filed can be converted to an expedited one on Form 18A by paying the difference — ₹4,000 for the lower fee tier, ₹40,000 for others.
What to file with it
The request itself is short. What matters is that the application is in a fit state to be examined when the examiner reaches it: the statement of foreign applications up to date, proof of the applicant’s right to apply on file, the power of attorney in, and — if the applicant is claiming the reduced fee — the declaration of startup, small entity or educational-institution status.
Frequently asked questions
What is the deadline for filing a request for examination in India? Thirty-one months from the earliest priority date, or the filing date if no priority is claimed, for applications filed on or after 15 March 2024. Applications filed before that date keep the previous forty-eight month deadline.
What happens if I do not file a request for examination? The application is treated as withdrawn. It is never examined and cannot be granted.
Can the request-for-examination deadline be extended? The Controller can allow up to six further months on a request made before those six months expire, on payment of a monthly fee — ₹10,000 a month for individuals, startups, small entities and educational institutions, ₹50,000 a month for others. It should not be planned around.
Who is eligible for expedited examination in India? Startups, small entities, female applicants, government bodies and government-financed institutions, applicants who chose India as ISA or IPEA in their PCT application, applicants under a notified bilateral arrangement, and educational institutions.
How fast is expedited examination? The examination report is due ordinarily within one month, and not later than two, from the application being referred to the examiner. Grant within a year of the request is achievable if the application is in order.
Can someone else request examination of my application? Yes. Any person interested can file the request and pay the fee, after which the application proceeds to examination whether or not the applicant wanted it yet.
Useful official resources
- IP India — patents — Forms 18 and 18A and the fee schedule
- InPASS — patent search — check whether a request has been filed on any published application
See our related notes on every stage from filing to grant and what happens once examination begins.
Not sure which deadline applies to a file, or whether it qualifies for the expedited track? Talk to us.