Online provisional patent application services

Choose the service by what it actually does.

Online services can help organize, draft, review, or file a provisional patent application—but those are different jobs. Compare the depth, deliverable, review, filing responsibility, and legal boundaries before you buy.

Updated July 22, 2026 · Attorney review pending · No vendor rankings

Drafting depth before convenience
Filing support must be explicit
Attorney triggers stay visible

Service evaluation · 10 checks

Before checkout
01Invention-specific questions
02Alternatives and embodiments
03Drawings and figures
04Revision process
05Deliverable format
06Attorney review
07Filing responsibility
08Price transparency
09Privacy and data use
10Escalation triggers
Convenience is useful. Disclosure depth, clear responsibility, and honest boundaries matter more.
The short answer

Match the support to the invention and the risk.

A simple form may be enough to organize an already complete disclosure. Guided drafting may fit when you need invention-specific questions and an editable draft. Attorney-led work is the safer path when ownership, disclosure timing, foreign rights, deadlines, or major commercial stakes create legal risk.

The USPTO does not examine provisional applications. Draft preparation and USPTO submission are separate jobs unless a service explicitly includes filing support.

Ten questions before checkout

Evaluate the work—not just the portal.

A useful service should make its drafting depth, deliverables, data policy, review boundaries, and filing responsibility easy to understand.

01

Invention-specific questions

Does the service adapt its follow-up questions to how your invention works, or only collect standard form fields?

02

Alternatives and embodiments

Does it probe other components, arrangements, methods, materials, or implementations beyond one prototype?

03

Drawings and figures

Does it help identify, organize, and integrate the figures needed to understand the invention?

04

Revision process

Can you review, edit, and revise individual sections without restarting the entire draft?

05

Deliverable format

Do you receive an editable document, filing-ready PDFs, drawing files, and a clear record of what changed?

06

Attorney review

Is review available, who provides it, how much time is included, and what questions remain outside the engagement?

07

Filing responsibility

Who prepares the final submission, enters inventor data, pays government fees, and saves the USPTO receipt?

08

Price transparency

Is the advertised price complete for the support level, and are government fees or add-ons clearly separated?

09

Privacy and data use

Does the policy explain vendors, retention, security safeguards, and whether invention content is used for model training?

10

Escalation triggers

Does the service tell you when ownership, disclosure, foreign rights, deadlines, or commercial stakes call for counsel?

Compare service models

Four ways online preparation is commonly packaged.

Comparison of online provisional patent application service models
Service modelOften fitsDrafting depthLegal reviewFilingMain limitation
Static form or templateYou already have a detailed technical disclosureLow; structure without deep follow-upUsually noneInventorA completed form can still omit important technical detail
Questionnaire document serviceYou want administrative structureVaries with the questionnaireVariesUsually inventorStandard prompts may not probe invention-specific alternatives
AI-assisted drafting platformYou need adaptive follow-up and an editable draftCan be high when the workflow is invention-specificOptional by provider or planVariesAI output needs factual review; legal judgment remains human
Attorney-led preparationThe matter is complex, urgent, disputed, international, or high-stakesHigh and strategy-specificDirect registered-practitioner involvementDefined by the engagementHigher investment and more collaboration
Match the service to the situation

There is no honest one-size-fits-all recommendation.

If you are deciding whether software-first preparation fits at all, start with our DIY decision guide.

01

A template or document service may be proportionate

You already have a complete disclosure

Use the service to organize material you have already developed—not as proof that the disclosure is complete.

02

Choose invention-specific guided drafting

You need help developing a structured first draft

Look for adaptive follow-up questions, support for alternatives, editable sections, and clear deliverables.

03

Choose a defined attorney-review plan

You want legal feedback but will file yourself

Confirm the call length, review time, reviewer credentials, deliverable, and whether a separate attorney engagement applies.

04

Confirm exactly who submits what

You want filing support

Identify who prepares PDFs, verifies inventor data, pays government fees, submits through Patent Center, and preserves the receipt.

05

Work directly with registered counsel

The facts create legal or strategic risk

Software-first drafting is not the right default for disputed ownership, imminent disclosures, foreign rights, urgent deadlines, or major commercial stakes.

Where Patent Pending Made Simple fits

Between a blank template and a full traditional engagement.

Patent Pending Made Simple uses an invention-specific sequential workflow to create an editable provisional application draft. You choose whether to review and file it yourself, add licensed attorney feedback, or include filing support.

The software does not determine patentability, inventorship, legal strategy, or legal sufficiency. You remain responsible for verifying technical facts and final filing information.

Review, export, and support

You decide where human help enters.

The same eight-agent workflow creates the draft in every inventor plan. Choose whether you review and file it yourself, add attorney feedback, or have filing support included.

01

Self-Serve

AI drafts · You file

$599

  • Review, edit, and regenerate individual sections
  • Export an editable, USPTO-ready Word document
  • Follow step-by-step filing video tutorials

02

AI + Attorney Review

Attorney reviews · You file

$1,399

  • Everything in Self-Serve
  • 45-minute strategy call with a licensed patent attorney
  • One hour of attorney feedback on the draft

03

White Glove

Attorney reviews · We file

$1,599

  • Everything in AI + Attorney Review
  • Paralegal filing support with the USPTO
  • A guided path from draft review through submission

Government filing fees are paid separately to the USPTO and vary by entity status. “Patent pending” begins after the application is filed, not when the draft is generated.

Compare Plans →
When software-first is not the right choice

Bring in counsel when the facts create risk.

The USPTO permits pro se filing, but recommends registered counsel because patent preparation involves complex law, procedure, and technical disclosure.

01

Commercial stakes

The invention is central to financing, licensing, an acquisition, or a valuable company.

02

Disclosure timing

A launch, sale, publication, demonstration, or other public disclosure happened or is imminent.

03

People and ownership

Founders, employees, contractors, employers, or disputed contributors may affect inventorship or ownership.

04

International plans

Foreign filing matters or timing across countries may change the strategy.

05

Later-stage strategy

You need nonprovisional claims, patentability advice, licensing, enforcement, or litigation guidance.

06

Urgency

A filing deadline is close or the facts need individualized legal analysis now.

Filing is a separate checkpoint

Patent pending begins after filing—not after drafting.

The USPTO accepts provisional application documents through Patent Center. Government fees are separate unless a plan expressly says otherwise.

01

Finalize

Review every technical statement, inventor detail, date, figure, and document.

02

Submit

File through USPTO Patent Center or use the filing support expressly included in your plan.

03

Preserve

Save the exact submitted PDFs, payment record, and official filing receipt.

04

Plan

Prepare the next filing decision well before the ordinary 12-month provisional period ends.

Frequently asked

Online provisional application services, answered plainly.

Can an online service file a provisional patent application for me?+

Some services provide only a draft and filing tutorials; others include filing support. Confirm who prepares the final documents, enters submission data, pays government fees, files through Patent Center, and saves the receipt before you purchase.

Does the USPTO review a provisional application?+

No. A provisional application is not examined. A successful submission does not mean an examiner confirmed that the disclosure is complete or legally sufficient for a later claim.

Should an online service include patent drawings?+

The USPTO says drawings necessary to understand the invention should be included. Evaluate whether the service helps identify and integrate useful figures, and verify every figure before filing.

Is AI-assisted patent drafting legal advice?+

No. AI can help gather, organize, and draft invention information. It does not replace individualized legal judgment about patentability, inventorship, ownership, filing strategy, or legal sufficiency.

What should I receive at the end of an online drafting service?+

Know whether you receive an editable document, filing-ready PDFs, drawing files, filing instructions, and a record of revisions. A polished portal is not a substitute for a usable deliverable.

How much does Patent Pending Made Simple cost?+

Inventor plans are priced per application: Self-Serve is $599, AI + Attorney Review is $1,399, and White Glove is $1,599. Government filing fees are separate.

Your idea deserves a serious first draft.

Start protecting it while the details are fresh.

Build a structured provisional patent application draft now, then bring in counsel when the timing and stakes justify it.

See Pricing

This guide provides general educational information and is not legal advice. Service features and policies may change; verify current terms before purchase. Attorney review is pending, and this page is not indexed.