405.01    Credit Cards  

Under 37 C.F.R. §2.207, the USPTO accepts payment of fees by credit card, subject to actual collection of the fee.

Any payment of a fee by credit card must be in writing.  37 C.F.R. §2.191.  A form for authorizing charges to a credit card can be accessed through TEAS for all filings for which a filing fee is required.  Parties who file on paper can download a Credit Card Payment Form (PTO-2038) from the USPTO’s website at http://www.uspto.gov/.  The USPTO does not put the Credit Card Payment Form in application or registration records.

A party is not required to use the USPTO’s Credit Card Payment Form when paying a fee by credit card.  However, if a party provides a credit card charge authorization in another form or document (e.g., in the body of an application, cover letter, response to an Office action, or other correspondence relating to a trademark application or registration), the credit card information becomes part of the public record.  37 C.F.R. §2.207(b).

All credit card authorizations must include:  (1) a valid credit card number; (2) a valid expiration date; (3) the name of the cardholder with the cardholder’s signature and the date; (4) a billing address, including zip code; (5) a description and purpose of the payment; and (6) a specific payment amount.  See TMEP §§611.01 et seq. regarding signature of documents.

If a Credit Card Payment Form or other document authorizing the USPTO to charge a fee to a credit card does not contain the information necessary to charge the fee to the credit card, the form will be returned and the fee will not be processed.  USPTO employees will not accept oral instructions to complete the Credit Card Payment Form or otherwise charge a fee to a credit card.

The USPTO will only accept an authorization to charge a fee in a specific dollar amount to a credit card.

The USPTO currently accepts charges to the following credit cards:  AMERICAN EXPRESS®, DISCOVER®, MASTER CARD®, and VISA®.

Any refund of a fee paid by credit card will be by a credit to the credit card account to which the fee was charged.  37 C.F.R. §2.209(a).

See notice at 65 Fed. Reg. 33452 (May 24, 2000) and 1235 TMOG 38 (June 13, 2000).

See TMEP §405.06 regarding credit card authorizations that are refused or charged back by a financial institution.