How to patent an idea as a solo inventor on a budget
Search first, file a provisional, then decide within 12 months. As a micro entity, USPTO fees are $65 for the provisional and about $1,070 through grant for a typical case.
With us, a $300 prior art search report, then Solo at $4,000 for the provisional and the nonprovisional, plus $1,000 per office action response, so plan for $5,000 or more in professional fees before allowance.
An idea becomes an invention when you can say how
A patent covers a concrete way of doing something, not the wish for it. Before you spend money, write one page: the problem, what exists today and why it falls short, how your solution works step by step, what parts or software it needs, and what is new.
If you cannot yet explain how it works, that is the next thing to work on, not a filing. Tao AI walks you through these questions for free and writes them up as an invention disclosure in about 10 minutes.
Check micro entity status
A micro entity pays 80% less than a large entity on most USPTO fees.
You qualify if your gross income last year was at or under $262,380, the limit since 15 September 2026; you are named on no more than four earlier applications, not counting provisionals; and you have not assigned or licensed the invention to anyone above that limit, and are not obligated to.
You certify it on a USPTO form and recheck it each time you pay a fee.
Search before you file
A search shows whether the core of your idea already exists, before you pay for drafting. You can start on your own in free databases such as the USPTO’s Patent Public Search and Google Patents.
Our prior art search report is $300: US and worldwide patents, published applications and technical literature, written up with an overlap map within 2 business days, and you can order it on its own.
File a provisional first
A provisional costs $65 in USPTO fees as a micro entity, needs no claims, is never examined, and lets you say patent pending for 12 months. It only secures a date for what it describes, so put in every version and detail you have.
Use the 12 months to test the market, talk to buyers or licensees, and raise money for the next step.
The 12 month clock
By month 12 you file the nonprovisional or let the provisional lapse. Letting it lapse costs nothing more, but you lose that filing date, and anything public since then, including your own launch, can count against a later application.
A public disclosure more than a year before you file bars a US patent. If you plan to file abroad, the same 12 months is the usual deadline to claim the provisional’s date there.
A realistic total
USPTO fees as a micro entity: $65 for the provisional, $400 to file, search and examine the nonprovisional online, and $258 at issue, about $1,070 to grant for a typical case that includes one request for continued examination and a one month extension.
Professional fees on Solo: $1,000 at start for the provisional, $3,000 when the nonprovisional is filed, and $1,000 for each office action response, only when you approve the step.
Expect at least one office action, so plan for $5,000 or more in professional fees, plus the $300 search if you order it.
Who Solo is for
One inventor, or a student, paying out of pocket for one application, with no company behind the filing. If a company pays for the work or will own the patent, the startup prices apply.
Solo has the same attorney and the same portal as every plan, but no guarantee: no refund and no free refile. Your attorney confirms eligibility before the engagement letter.
Free help, and where to start
If money is the barrier, the USPTO’s Patent Pro Bono Program matches inventors whose household income is generally under three times the federal poverty guidelines with volunteer patent attorneys and agents.
Otherwise, get started with Tao AI for free, or book a call with our team to talk through the Solo plan and the $300 search.
