Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Appeals

Forms and Documents

Forms and supporting documents for this ICR

Document	Type	Status	Availability
Form PTO/SB/479b Certification and Petition Under the Standards Participation and Representation Kudos (SPARK) Pilot Program to Expedite an Appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)	Form	Unchanged	Available
Form PTO/SB/32 Request for Oral Hearing Before the PTAB	Form	Modified	Available
Form PTO/AIA/32 Request for Oral Hearing Before the PTAB	Form	Modified	Available
Form PTO/AIA/31 Notice of Appeal from the Examiner to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board	Form and Instruction	Modified	Available
Form PTO/SB/31 Notice of Appeal from the Examiner to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board	Form and Instruction	Modified	Available
0651-0063 Supporting Statement 2026 Final.docx	Supporting Statement A	Uploaded 2026-08-27	Available
The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure.PDF	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2026-08-25	Available
American Inventor's Protection Act of 1999.pdf	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2026-08-25	Available
Leahy-Smith America Invents Act.pdf	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2026-08-25	Available
USPTO Information Quality Guidelines.pdf	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2026-08-25	Available

IC Document Collections

Information collection document groups

IC ID	Collection	Type	Status	Form
280144	SPARK Pilot Program Petition to Make Special	Form	Unchanged	Certification and Petition Under the Standards Participation and Representation Kudos (SPARK) Pilot Program to Expedite an Appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
262070	Statements, Motions, Oppositions, and Replies in preliminary and priority phases of an Interference		Modified
262069	Request for Rehearing Before the PTAB	Form	Modified	Request for Oral Hearing Before the PTAB
262069	Request for Rehearing Before the PTAB	Form	Modified	Request for Oral Hearing Before the PTAB
242197	Notice of Appeal	Form and Instruction	Modified	Notice of Appeal from the Examiner to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
242197	Notice of Appeal	Form and Instruction	Modified	Notice of Appeal from the Examiner to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 0651-0063	ICR Reference No: 202608-0651-004
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202604-0651-001
Agency/Subagency: DOC/PTO	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Appeals
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 08/27/2026

table that charts list comparision

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	10/31/2026
Responses	31,544	22,199
Time Burden (Hours)	337,712	239,049
Cost Burden (Dollars)	24,086,261	18,540,677

---

Abstract: The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) is established by statute under 35 U.S.C. Section 6. This statute directs that PTAB "shall on written appeal of an applicant, review adverse decisions of examiners upon applications for patent and shall determine priority and patentability of invention in interferences." PTAB has the authority, under pre-AIA sections of the Patent Act, i.e. 35 U.S.C. Sections 134, 135, 306, and 315, to decide ex parte and inter partes appeals and interferences. The information in this information collection can be submitted in paper or electronically. In this renewal, the USPTO is adding the Petitions to the Chief Administrative Patent Judge Under 37 CFR 41.3 into the information collection, in addition to adjusting the responses, burden hours, and annual (non-hour) costs. The USPTO expects that businesses or other for-profits and non-profit institutions will mainly respond to this information collection, in addition to individuals or households.

---

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 35 USC 134 and 135 Name of Law: America Invents Act
   US Code: 35 USC 6 Name of Law: American Inventor Protection Act
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

---

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

---

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 20986	04/20/2026
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 55322	08/27/2026
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

---

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 4

table that charts list of burden

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Notice of Appeal	PTO/AIA/31, PTO/SB/31	Notice of Appeal from the Examiner to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,   Notice of Appeal from the Examiner to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
Request for Rehearing Before the PTAB	PTO/AIA/32 , PTO/SB/32	Request for Oral Hearing Before the PTAB ,   Request for Oral Hearing Before the PTAB
SPARK Pilot Program Petition to Make Special	PTO/SB/479b	Certification and Petition Under the Standards Participation and Representation Kudos (SPARK) Pilot Program to Expedite an Appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
Statements, Motions, Oppositions, and Replies in preliminary and priority phases of an Interference

---

ICR Summary of Burden

table that charts list of burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	31,544	22,199	0	0	9,345	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	337,712	239,049	0	0	98,663	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	24,086,261	18,540,677	0	0	5,545,584	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: Estimated Annual Responses and Hourly Burdens due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate: The increase in the number of responses (+9,345) and burden hours (+98,663) is due to the estimated increase in the number of respondents completing the items this information collection. Change in Annual Non-hour Costs due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate: The USPTO estimates an increase (+$5,545,584) for the total annual non-hour costs due to estimated increase in the number of respondents paying filing fees and postage costs.

---

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $299,962

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

---

Common Form ICR:  No

---

On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 08/27/2026

---