Verified account required for EFS-Web and Private PAIR

Practitioners and independent inventors need a verified USPTO.gov account to access EFS-Web for registered eFilers and Private PAIR. Support staff, who are working on behalf of a practitioner, need to be sponsored to obtain access.

New customers, or customers who did not migrate by the migration deadline, can obtain a verified USPTO.gov account using the new verification process. See the USPTO website for more information.

If you have questions, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) at ebc@uspto.gov or 866-217-9197.

PKI Outage for EFS-Web and Private PAIR

The USPTO will have a series of upcoming outages to begin the phased termination of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificates for Electronic Filing System-Web (EFS-Web) and Private Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR). This will not affect users accessing EFS-Web and Private PAIR with a verified USPTO.gov account.

The first PKI outage will be on May 22, starting at 12:01 AM and ending at 11:59 PM ET. Additional outages will be scheduled. Please see the USPTO System Status and Availability page for more information.

During the PKI outage, users will be unable to use PKI certificates to authenticate. However, authentication via verified USPTO.gov accounts to access EFS-Web and Private PAIR will be available. Please ensure that you migrated the proper PKI to the correct USPTO.gov account prior to the outage. If you have not migrated or need to sponsor support staff, please visit the Authentication Change webpage for guidance.

If you need to file a new application during this outage, please access EFS-Web with your verified USPTO.gov account, use EFS-Web for Unregistered eFilers, or use EFS-Web Contingency. If you need to file a follow-on submission and do not have a verified USPTO.gov account, please use an alternative filing method.

If you have questions or need to reverse an incorrectly migrated account, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center (EBC) at ebc@uspto.gov or 866-217-9197.

PKI sign-in discontinued as of Feb. 15

As of February 15, EFS-Web and Private PAIR users will no longer be able to authenticate using PKI certificates. There is now a simpler and safer login method. Go to your USPTO.gov account (or create one) and opt in to two-step authentication. Next, use the Migration Tool (which will no longer be available as of March 1) to link your existing PKI certificate to your USPTO.gov account. Registered practitioners should use the Sponsorship Tool to sponsor their support staff to work on their behalf.

New users, or users who did not migrate prior to March 1, must obtain a verified USPTO.gov account to access EFS-Web and PAIR using the new verification process, which requires a notarized Patent Electronic System Verification Form. Prior to March 1, you can recover your PKI using your self-recovery codes.

For more information, visit Authentication Change for EFS-Web and PAIR or register for an information session.

Additional information

• Contact Center (UCC): Contact center for assistance creating your USPTO.gov account
• Patent Electronic Business Center: Contact center assistance with migration, sponsorship, verifying your USPTO.gov account, or signing into EFS-Web and PAIR
• EFS-Web Sign-In Link: EFS-Web when signing in with your USPTO.gov account
• Private PAIR Sign-In Link: Private PAIR when signing in with your USPTO.gov account
• Patent Electronic System Access Document: Additional information on authentication, sponsorship, and verification for accessing patent electronic systems
• Migration Guide: Instructions on how to migrate your PKI certificate
• Sponsorship Guide: Instructions on how to migrate your PKI certificate
• Patent Electronic System Verification Form: Form for new users to verify their USPTO.gov accounts to access EFS-Web and Private PAIR

Changes to authentication into EFS-Web and Private PAIR

Starting January 18, new users can obtain a verified USPTO.gov account to access EFS-Web and PAIR using the new verification process. Certificate Action Forms for new PKIs and EBC-assisted PKI recoveries postmarked prior to January 28 will be processed. Users will need to migrate new PKIs before March 1. If you have your self-recovery codes and need to recover your PKI, please do so prior to March 1. Otherwise, use the new verification process.

We invite you to register for an upcoming information session related to the new verification process, along with the other changes to authentication into EFS-Web and Private PAIR.

Use these new URLs for EFS-Web and Private PAIR when signing in with your USPTO.gov account. You will need to update any bookmarks you may have:

• EFS-Web: https://efs-my.uspto.gov/EFSWebUIRegistered/EFSWebRegistered
• Private PAIR: https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair

More information

For more information, visit Authentication Change for EFS-Web and PAIR or register for an information session.

Please review the Patent Electronic System Access Document for additional information on authentication, sponsorship, and verification for accessing patent electronic systems.

If you need assistance creating your USPTO.gov account, please call the USPTO Contact Center (UCC) at usptoinfo@uspto.gov or 800-786-9199. For assistance with migration, sponsorship, or signing into EFS-Web and PAIR, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center at ebc@uspto.gov or 866-217-9197.

EFS-Web and Private PAIR authentication change: Sponsorship tool

EFS-Web and Private PAIR users now have a new, safer, and simpler login. In November, a new sponsorship tool will be available for registered practitioners to sponsor their support staff, who work on their behalf. We will no longer support the existing public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates for two-factor authentication because the PKI authentication software vendor will no longer support the product after 2018. 

Creating an account

If you or your support staff do not already have USPTO.gov accounts, you will need to create one and opt-in for two-step authentication. 

Migrating an existing account

If you are a registered practitioner or independent inventor with an existing PKI digital certificate, use our migration tool with these step-by-step instructions to link your new USPTO.gov account to your current PKI digital certificate.

Using your new account

There are new URLs for EFS-Web and Private PAIR when signing in using your USPTO.gov account. You will need to update any bookmarks you may have:

• EFS-Web
• Private PAIR

More Information

Please review the Patent Electronic System Access Document for additional information on authentication, sponsorship, and verification for accessing patent electronic systems.

We invite you to register for multiple information sessions related to this authentication change, because new information will be added as it becomes available. 

For more information, visit Authentication Change for EFS-Web and PAIR.

If you need assistance creating your USPTO.gov account, please call the USPTO Contact Center (UCC) at 800-786-9199. For assistance with migration, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center at ebc@uspto.gov or 866-217-9197.

Authentication change for EFS-Web and Private PAIR: Migration tool now available

EFS-Web and Private PAIR users now have a new, safer, and simpler login. The new method grants access to multiple USPTO systems with one consolidated sign-in and eliminates shared credentials by providing practitioners and their support staff with their own USPTO.gov accounts.

The Migration Tool is now available for existing PKI digital certificate holders (registered practitioners and independent inventors) to link their USPTO.gov accounts to their current PKI digital certificates. (To successfully migrate, users must already have a USPTO.gov account. If you do not already have one, create a USPTO.gov account and opt in for two-step authentication.) Please follow the step-by-step instructions to migrate and allow 1–2 business days after you finish the migration steps for the process to complete; you can then use your USPTO.gov account to sign in to EFS-Web and Private PAIR. Customer Numbers associated with the PKI certificate will be migrated to the linked USPTO.gov account. PKI certificates can still be used to sign in to EFS-Web and Private PAIR as well.

Please note that there are new URLs for EFS-Web and Private PAIR for signing in using your USPTO.gov account. You will need to update any bookmarks to the new URLs below:

• EFS-Web: https://efs-my.uspto.gov/EFSWebUIRegistered/EFSWebRegistered  
• Private PAIR: https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair  

The USPTO has expanded information sessions related to this authentication change. We welcome attendees to register for multiple sessions, because new information will be added as it becomes available. Register for one of the sessions.

For additional information, visit Authentication Change for EFS-Web and PAIR.

If you need assistance creating your USPTO.gov account, please call the USPTO Contact Center (UCC) at 800-786-9199. For assistance with migration, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center at ebc@uspto.gov or 866-217-9197.

Authentication change coming for EFS-Web and PAIR

EFS-Web and Private PAIR users will need to use a new, safer, and simpler login beginning this October. The new method will save time by granting access to multiple USPTO systems with one consolidated sign-in and will eliminate shared credentials by providing practitioner and support staff with their own USPTO.gov accounts.

Getting a USPTO.gov account is quick and easy. If you don’t already have a USPTO.gov account, follow these steps:

1. Visit the Create an account page.
2. Enter the email address you will use to sign in, as well as other necessary account information, and follow the prompts.
3. Opt-in to two-step authentication.
4. Once the tools are available, set up migration and sponsorship.

If you use Financial Manager, you already have a USPTO.gov account:

1. Just opt-in to two-step authentication.
2. Once the tools are available, set up migration and sponsorship.

For additional information, please visit Authentication Change for EFS-Web and PAIR.

If you need assistance creating your USPTO.gov account, please call the USPTO Contact Center (UCC) at 800-786-9199. For assistance with migration and sponsorship when the tools are available, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center at ebc@uspto.gov or 866-217-9197.

Patent Quality Chat

The USPTO’s Patent Quality Chat webinar continues its 2018 series on Feb. 13, from noon – 1 p.m. ET, with an “eMod Update: Patent Center and Structured Text.”

The USPTO’s eCommerce Modernization (eMod) team will discuss:

• new structured text features
• file structured text via the electronic filing system (EFS-Web) 
• access structured text submissions, structured text office actions, and XML downloads using the Private Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system  

Additionally, the eMod team will share information about the upcoming Patent Center Beta Release for participants to use the new Patent Center tool (to replace EFS-Web and PAIR), and provide feedback for further improvements. Please send your input and questions to patentquality@uspto.gov before and during the event.

The Patent Quality Chat webinar series is presented as a part of the USPTO’s continuous efforts to improve patent quality.  

No registration is necessary.  More information, and how to join, is available on our event page.

New Features for EFS-Web and Private PAIR

Effective Sept. 10, all EFS-Web-registered and Private PAIR users have access to new features, including the ability to file structured text via EFS-Web and access structured text submissions, structured text Office actions, and XML downloads via Private PAIR. 

For more information, please see the associated Quick Start Guides:

Text Intake in EFS-Web 
New Private PAIR Enhancements 

If you have questions or need assistance filing via EFS-Web or PAIR, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center at 1-866-217-9197 or ebc@uspto.gov.

USPTO Systems Maintenance on February 26, 2017

Due to maintenance, EFS-Web, EFS-Web Contingency, and Private and Public PAIR will be unavailable on Sunday, February 26, 2017 from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. ET.

When systems are available, notification will be posted on the USPTO Systems Status and Availability at http://www.uspto.gov/blog/ebiz/

EFS-Web Applicants

If you need to file patent applications or submissions during the maintenance period, please use an alternative filing method.

If you have questions, please contact the Patent EBC at 1-866-217-9197 or ebc@uspto.gov.

New PAIR Enhancements

Global Dossier access for Public and Private PAIR

Beginning June 26, users can access Global Dossier through Public and Private PAIR via a Global Dossier hyperlink--only available when a user is viewing a publicly available utility application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) and publicly available national stage applications submitted under 35 U.S.C. 371.

For additional information, please visit the Global Dossier Initiative page.

New Download Features in Private PAIR

As of June 26, there are new download features within Private PAIR under the IFW tab, the View Outgoing Correspondence Search, and View e-Office Action Notifications. 

These new download features are part of the eMod Project. The first new download features are two buttons labeled XML and DOCX.  At this time, the XML and DOCX buttons are inactive until these files types become available to eMod Text Pilot Program participants. The additional new download feature is a PDF hyperlink, which is available to all Private PAIR users.

For additional information about the eMod Project and how to join the eMod Text Pilot Program, please visit the eMod page.