UK PCT National Phase Entry: 31-Month Deadline, Form NP1 and Fees
Entering the United Kingdom from a PCT application? Check the 31-month date, Form NP1, English-language documents, and whether a direct UK filing or European regional route best fits your markets.
United Kingdom patent decision guide31-month national phase · NP1 · 2026 UKIPO fees
How does a PCT application enter the United Kingdom national phase?
This page is for direct UKIPO national processing; it compares—not substitutes for—the Euro-PCT regional route.
Direct answer: For a direct UK national phase, UKIPO generally requires a national-processing request within 31 months of the earliest claimed priority date, or the international filing date if no priority is claimed. Its April 2026 schedule lists a £40 national-entry fee; search, examination, translation and professional charges are separate.
Direct answer: UK PCT national phase at a glance
Direct UKIPO entry: who needs it
The UK national phase is the direct United Kingdom route for continuing a PCT international application into UK patent examination. UKIPO states that applicants generally must request national processing within 31 months from the earliest valid priority date, or the international filing date if no priority is claimed. The immediate decision is whether direct UK national processing or an appropriate European patent route is the better fit for the desired protection. Starting with the correct branch avoids paying for overlapping routes without understanding their effects.
National processing versus patent grant
The UKIPO online service and Form NP1 identify the specific national-processing request. A PCT international application does not itself mature into a UK patent without the necessary regional or national procedures. Assemble the PCT number, dates, any priority claims, language of the international publication, applicant information and national claim strategy before submitting the UK entry request.
Calculate the 31-month date from the correct priority baseline and confirm all priority claims, filing-date records and international-bureau data. A filing calendar should show the earliest claimed date, 12-month priority milestone if applicable, PCT filing date, international publication, international search, and UK national-phase deadline. If an asserted priority is invalid or changed, a simplistic calculated date may be unreliable. Use the original PCT and priority filings to resolve discrepancies.
Deadline exception and relief research
Do not rely on the date of the last PCT document, the date the written opinion arrived or the month in which commercialization began. The deadline flows from the treaty timeline. If the apparent date has passed, this page cannot establish that an ordinary late submission will be accepted: obtain specific advice on any legally available exception and evidence requirements, rather than treating restoration as automatic.
UKIPO national phase versus European regional phase
Direct UKIPO route: applicant decision
The choice between direct UK national processing and a European regional-phase route is a territory-and-cost question as well as a procedural question. An applicant may want a stand-alone UK national application, broader European protection, or a combination where it has a defensible commercial rationale. European entry and later national effects involve their own procedural rules, timelines, validation or unitary-patent choices; the UK route should not be described as simply the same filing under a different form.
Euro-PCT regional route and downstream validation
Prepare a two-column decision record showing targeted countries, existing PCT language, expected examinations, translation/agent spending, litigation markets and the planned claims. If the applicant intends only the UK, a direct national entry may be easier to evaluate. If protection is sought in several European countries, compare the regional strategy seriously instead of optimizing only the first UKIPO fee.
Form NP1 and application inputs
Form NP1 details and receipt record
Form NP1 is the UKIPO national-processing form. The official April 2026 version identifies applicant and international application details and the procedural request; it is accompanied by the corresponding fee. The digital route also asks for documentary files in the formats specified by the online service. A well-prepared filing set includes the current PCT application details, title, applicants, priority claims, a language check and a record of any amendments intended for UK prosecution.
Current filing channel and supporting information
UKIPO separately identifies special treatment where international applications or UK designations are deemed withdrawn or refused an international filing date; those situations cannot safely be resolved by assuming the standard NP1 request applies. Counsel must first determine the legal posture and relevant official notice. Any replacement pages, amended claims or translation should be reconciled with the PCT record before submission.
If the international application was not filed or published in English, UKIPO requires an appropriate translation for UK processing. Identify exactly what is required for the particular publication and whether any corrections, sequence listings or amendments affect the translated record. Patent claims are sensitive to small changes in technical meaning; a source-language term that is broader than the English rendering can change prosecution and later enforceability analysis.
Search and examination request are separate steps
Search and substantive examination are separate requests from entry. UKIPO advises applicants to request both to have the application processed. A useful plan shows the trigger for each request, any examination-specific claim or page fees, the international search work already available, and the expected order of later correspondence. The PCT international search may inform strategy but does not substitute for every local procedural step.
Official fees as of April 2026, plus variables
2026 national-processing fee versus separate charges
UKIPO's current online fee schedule, updated for April 2026, lists £40 for entering the UK national phase. The same public schedule lists different search fees depending on whether the application was already searched internationally, and additional amounts for claims beyond the specified threshold; online and postal charges differ for some services. Examination costs and potential excess-page charges also depend on the application. These are official filing fees, not total legal or translation costs.
Fee-date/amount/source verification table
A defensible estimate separates UKIPO fees from legal review, translation, claim amendments, drawings, examiner-report responses and renewal obligations. Include an assumptions column so an apparently precise price is not misleading. Recheck official charges immediately before actual filing, particularly for cases prepared before the April 2026 fee revision.
Wrong route, omitted documents and mismatched names
The pre-entry exception check covers deadline calculation, formal applicant identity, priority entitlement, special PCT status, translation, payment, pending international amendments and the UKIPO service route. Case owners should not assume that merely paying the national fee resolves errors in the underlying chain of title or priority claim. A separate source register should identify the official form version and guidance relied upon.
Deadline-relief issues for professional review
For a file close to the deadline, obtain and preserve confirmation of successful submission and fee payment, not just a saved browser form. File teams should record who completed the entry, when the office acknowledged receipt, which documents were uploaded and whether any further requirements were raised. This is an audit trail for a legally significant procedural step.
The practical sequence is to establish the true PCT dates; decide whether a direct UK national application is commercially justified; assemble NP1 and accompanying materials; verify English-language requirements; calculate fees; submit through the current UKIPO method; and docket all later search, examination and renewal decisions. Each step has an owner and an evidence source.
Source-backed filing readiness decision
Compare the route with existing Canadian and other national-phase entries if the invention will be used across multiple markets. The most helpful output for a client is not a list of countries; it is a UK filing instruction showing applicable deadline, route, form, official fees, translation decisions, follow-on examination and reasons for pursuing the territory.
UK entry route and fee decision
This synthesis is a practical case-review tool, not a substitute for the governing office notices or rules. It separates the evidence to collect from the decision that still requires professional judgment.
Decision
UK national phase
Strategic implication
Timing
Generally 31 months from priority
Docket source date and any exception
Application form
UKIPO Form NP1
Match current applicant and PCT record
National entry fee
£40 in April 2026 schedule
Other search/examination fees are separate
Alternative
European regional-phase route
Compare countries, cost and desired protection
Evidence and deadline verification checklist
The audit trail should connect each procedural decision to a dated primary-source record and named reviewer. These items are practical evidence requests, not a guarantee of filing acceptance, enforceability or grant.
Application identity: Application number, applicant and entitlement, inventor names and current correspondence authority
Chronology: Earliest valid priority, other claimed dates, notice or entry deadline and calculated basis
Technical material: Original claims and description, figures, amendments, prior art and any technical translation
Current office procedure: Official instructions, accepted portal, forms, applicable fees and proof of submission
Legal review: Applicable exceptions, country-specific practice, disclosure support, agent instructions and next deadline
Primary official sources and currency checks
Sources below are first-party procedural references. Fees, portal operations, implementing rules and examination policies can change. Verify the version governing the actual case and document effective-date transitions.
Patent strategy depends on verified United Kingdom rules and meaningful claim scope.
UK protection requires a deliberate choice between direct UK national processing and available European regional procedures, supported by a verified filing calendar.
