Information About the Patent Registration Examination
Qualifies you to be a Patent Agent or Patent Attorney
- Science or engineering degree or equivalent required
- If you’re an attorney, become a Patent Attorney
- If you’re not an attorney, become a Patent Agent
- Same exam for either one
- Patent Agent becomes Patent Attorney after bar admission
100 Questions in 6 hours
- 3 hours for the first 50 questions
- 1 hour timed break
- 3 hours for the last 50 questions
- New random exam generated every day
70% required to pass
- Preliminary pass/fail given as soon as exam ends
- Official results mailed several weeks later
- Only failing students are told their grade
10 Beta questions
- Questions being checked for future exams
- Not counted in your score
- 63 of 90 (70%) real questions needed to pass
- You won’t know which questions are the beta questions
Exam given electronically year-round
- 90-day window to take exam after application accepted
- Window can be extended an unlimited number of times for $115
- Exam given most days at Prometric testing centers
- Make an appointment several weeks in advance
- Testing centers located throughout the country
Based on the MPEP
- Some old (2003 and earlier) prior exams available
- Current students must sign non-disclosure agreement
- Additional notices also tested
Costs $502 to take the exam
- $110 non-refundable registration fee
- $210 exam fee, returned if you don’t qualify
- $182 paid to the testing center when making appointment
Overall pass rate
In general the overall pass rate of the exam is around 50%. However, the exam changes from day to day. The exam today may be much harder (or easier) than the exam tomorrow.
Over the years we have received many hundreds of positive testimonials from our students who said the PatBar® program was key to their success. Many of these are posted on our Testimonials page.
Passing the patent registration examination is much like passing certain law school courses; for example, constitutional law. A 70% score on the patent bar is a passing grade and equivalent to a C– grade on a law school exam. In other words, you don’t need a perfect score to pass the exam.
How well you prepare will determine your success on the exam. When you purchase a review course, the program must:
- Review all of the material tested on the exam;
- Provide a system for memorizing the many details involved (this involves outlines); and
- Provide a way to practically use the MPEP/Notices during the exam (to a large degree this involves mastering exam questions).
The Patbar® program provides all of the above and much more. When you use the course persistently and as directed, your probability of success will be much higher than the overall average.