Payment Information

Credit Card Information:

The USPTO accepts VISA®, MasterCard®, Discover®, and American Express®.

The USPTO is sensitive to your concerns regarding the security of using your credit cards to perform transactions over the Internet. Therefore, we use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which encrypts your credit card data while it is being transferred. This makes it very difficult for someone to steal your credit card information.

Encryption means that all of your information, including your credit card number, is scrambled and locked with a mathematical key during transfer. Most browsers have an icon such as a key or a lock to represent an encrypted mode or session. A broken key , open lock , or no lock indicates that the session or mode is not encrypted.

SSL works with Netscape Navigator® (versions 2.0 and above), Microsoft Internet Explorer® (versions 3.0 and above), and AOL® (versions 3.0 and above), so that unauthorized parties cannot read the information that you send.

NOTE: Regularly Scheduled Outage: The USPTO will NOT process payments from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Sundays only. Therefore, e-TEAS applications cannot be transmitted during these hours.

Deposit Account Information:

The USPTO will offer an automated deposit account transaction. A deposit account is a pre-established account that is maintained with the USPTO, from which fees are to be charged. Unlike the previously-existing deposit account transaction, where processing occurred manually after filing the application, the automated deposit account transaction will be performed in "real time;" i.e., the USPTO now verifies once you complete the application that sufficient funds exist in the deposit account to cover the application fee(s). If sufficient funds are not available, a serial number will not be assigned. NOTE: Deposit account users must now also enter, along with the six-digit deposit account number, a four-digit access code. An access code was assigned to each USPTO deposit account in conjunction with the establishment of the Automated Voice Response System for deposit account information back in 1997. This access code was sent out to the Point of Contact at your company/firm at that time. The access code is required to authorize USPTO to process this payment request. If you do not know the access code for your deposit account and you are an authorized user of the account, you may contact the Office of Finance Deposit Account Branch at 703-305-4631 or by e-mail daadmin@uspto.gov to obtain the access code for your account. Please note that the Office of Finance Deposit Account Branch cannot give out the access code to anyone not on the authorized user list for the deposit account.

NOTE: Regularly Scheduled Outage: The USPTO will NOT process payments from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Sundays only. Therefore, e-TEAS applications cannot be transmitted during these hours.

Electronic Funds Transfer:

The Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payment method allows you to send the PTO a payment over the Internet as easily as writing a check. In general, the Automated Clearing House performs EFT transactions through the Federal Reserve system. To read more about the Automated Clearing House, click here. To read more about the Federal Reserve system and their involvement with the Automated Clearing House, click here. NOTE: The EFT payment method can only to be used by customers with U.S. affiliated bank accounts (those banks who are a member of the American Banking Association (ABA) network).

To pay through EFT, all you will need is a check (not deposit slip). You must be authorized to sign checks on this account to use this payment method. To help identify the information that will be requested off of your check, please review this diagram:



In order to use the USPTO's EFT payment mechanism, you must establish a UserID and Password. To create a UserID and Password, click "Pay by EFT" on the screen that appears after clicking on the PAY/SUBMIT button at the bottom of the Validation Page (which comes up after you have completed the application and successfully validated the form). Then, click on "Create User Account." Once you have entered the "EFT User Profile" page, you will be asked for the following information, most of which appears on the check:


1. UserID - a unique ID that you will choose, 4-8 characters long. If the ID you choose is already taken, you will receive an error message, and will be asked to choose another.
2. UserName - The name of the holder of the account.
3. Street Address 1 - Street Address of residence, business, or firm - line 1.
4. Street Address 2 - Street Address of your residence, business, or firm- line 2.
5. City - City of residence, business, or firm.
6. State - State of your residence, business, or firm.
7. Zip or Postal Code- Zip or Postal Code of residence, business or firm.
8. Country - Country of residence, business or firm.
9. Institution Name - the Name of the payer bank - this field should match the name of the bank as it appears on the check.
10. Routing & Transit Number - the nine-digit number located at the bottom of the check (see example above).
11. Account Number - the number located at the bottom of the check (see example above).
12. Contact Phone Number - A valid U.S. contact phone number.
13. Contact Email Address - A valid contact email address.
14. Account Type - For most EFT users, the account type will be "Checking". However, some institutions will allow you to perform EFT transactions with Savings Accounts.
15. Password - a combination of letters and/or digits, 6-8 characters long.
After entering this information, you will have a UserID and Password that you may use to perform EFT transactions within TEAS, or any other USPTO website offering this payment option.

NOTE: Regularly Scheduled Outage: The USPTO will NOT process payments from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Sundays only. Therefore, e-TEAS applications cannot be transmitted during these hours.

Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS)
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
For comments and questions, please contact TEAS@uspto.gov.