PCT national phase fees in India are set by the First Schedule to the Patents Rules. For a standard entry (one priority, up to 30 sheets and 10 claims, no sequence listing), Form 1 costs ₹1,600 where every applicant is a natural person, startup, small entity or educational institution, and ₹8,000 otherwise. With the ordinary request for examination, the budget is ₹5,600 or ₹28,000.
This guide covers India’s PCT national phase fees: the official e-filing charges for a PCT international application entering the national phase in India, and the extension fees that can follow. The figures exclude professional and translation fees.
Quick answer: Each extra priority, each sheet over 30, each claim over 10 and each sequence listing page adds to the Form 1 fee. The ordinary request for examination costs ₹4,000 or ₹20,000. Expedited examination on Form 18A costs ₹8,000 or ₹60,000 instead and needs a qualifying ground; filed at entry, it must be accompanied by a Form 9 publication request (₹2,500 or ₹12,500).
Which fee category applies to you
India charges two scales of fees. The reduced fee applies to natural persons, startups, small entities and educational institutions; the full fee applies to every other applicant. If any applicant on the filing pays the full fee, the whole filing pays it. Nationality does not decide the category.
A foreign natural person pays the reduced fee. A foreign company can qualify as a small entity under the investment limits in Indian MSME law, or as a startup if it meets the Startup India turnover and incorporation criteria and files a declaration to that effect.
A startup, small entity or educational institution must file Form 28 with every document that carries a fee [Rule 7(1)]. File it with documents that support the claimed status; the form asks for proof, and a foreign entity can file any document that shows it. Form 28 itself carries no fee.
If the application is later transferred, in whole or in part, to a full-fee applicant, the new applicant pays the difference with the request for transfer. The difference is not payable where a startup or small entity, having filed, stops qualifying because its recognition period lapses or its turnover crosses the notified threshold. Filing on paper costs about ten per cent more [Rule 7(1)], and Form 18A and sequence listing pages can only be filed electronically.
Official PCT national phase fees in India
The table lists the official e-filing fees a foreign applicant meets at and after national phase entry in India. Fees are per item unless the row says otherwise. The reduced fee column applies to natural persons, startups, small entities and educational institutions.
| Fee item (e-filing) | Reduced fee (₹) | Full fee (₹) |
| Form 1, national phase application (per priority claimed) | 1,600 | 8,000 |
| Each sheet over 30 | 160 | 800 |
| Each claim over 10 | 320 | 1,600 |
| Each page of sequence listing (capped at 24,000 or 120,000) | 160 | 800 |
| Form 18, request for examination | 4,000 | 20,000 |
| Form 18, express request before 31 months [Rule 20(4)(ii)] | 5,600 | 28,000 |
| Form 18A, expedited examination | 8,000 | 60,000 |
| Form 18A, converting a Form 18 request | 4,000 | 40,000 |
| Form 9, request for early publication | 2,500 | 12,500 |
| Form 13, amendment before grant | 800 | 4,000 |
| Form 13, amendment after grant | 1,600 | 8,000 |
| Form 4, extension after the first examination report, ordinary track (per month) [Rule 24B(6)] | 1,000 | 4,000 |
| Form 4, extension after the first examination report, expedited track (per month) [Rule 24C(11)] | 2,000 | 10,000 |
| Form 4, extension or condonation under Rule 138 (per month) | 10,000 | 50,000 |
| Forms 3, 5, 26, 28 and 29 | No fee | No fee |
Verified as of October 2026: official e-filing fees checked on 27 October 2026 against the First Schedule published on IP India’s forms and fees page (file dated 31 July 2026). Sequence listing pages are not counted as excess sheets.
The Form 1 fee is charged once for each priority claimed, so a two-priority application pays it twice. Form 3, the Section 8 statement on foreign filings, is free; our guide to the statement and undertaking under Section 8 explains when it is due.
You can claim back part of the examination fee if you withdraw in time. Withdraw the application on Form 29 after filing the request for examination but before the first examination report issues, and you can claim back 90 per cent of the fee paid for the request for examination or expedited examination [Rule 7(4A)]. Otherwise fees once paid are not ordinarily refunded.
What increases the national phase filing fee
The filing fee depends on priorities, chargeable sheets, claims and sequence listings. Each priority repeats the full Form 1 fee. Each sheet over 30, each claim over 10 and each sequence listing page adds a fixed amount, and sequence pages are capped at ₹24,000 or ₹120,000.
Take a full-fee applicant with two priorities, 35 sheets and 15 claims. Form 1 costs ₹16,000 (two priorities), the five extra sheets ₹4,000 and the five extra claims ₹8,000. With Form 18 at ₹20,000, the budget is ₹48,000. The same application at the reduced fee costs ₹9,600.
You can delete claims when you file the national phase application in India, following the Rule 14 formalities for amended pages; the Manual adds that no other change is allowed by that route, apart from consequent changes in claim dependency. As we understand current e-filing practice, the Form 1 fee follows the claims you file, so deleting claims at entry would lower the fee paid on filing; no IP India document we hold says so. The Manual and WIPO’s India chapter count the claims in the international application as they stand at entry, and WIPO treats a claims fee not paid in full in time as leaving the application deemed not filed, so budget for a balance and pay it before month 31. Decide the claim set before filing: the deletion is a scope decision, not only a fee saving.
Pay the claims fee in full at entry. Under the Act, a document whose fee is not paid within the prescribed time is deemed not to have been filed.
Choosing the examination route
Form 18 at ₹4,000 or ₹20,000 is the ordinary route. An express request before month 31 costs ₹5,600 or ₹28,000 instead. The Form 18A fee for expedited examination is ₹8,000 or ₹60,000, and the request needs a qualifying ground. Converting a Form 18 request costs ₹4,000 or ₹40,000, so the total matches filing Form 18A directly.
Any application now within its 31-month entry period has an international filing date after 15 March 2024, so its request for examination is due within 31 months from the earliest priority date, or from the international filing date where no priority is claimed. That is the entry deadline: file Form 18 with the entry papers. Our guide to PCT national phase entry in India sets out every deadline at and after entry.
Form 18A is filed within the request-for-examination period, which for a national phase application ends at month 31, so for an entry at or near month 31 decide on expedited examination at entry [Rule 24C(1)]. For PCT applicants the specific qualifying ground is that India was the International Searching Authority or was elected as the International Preliminary Examining Authority; others include a startup or small entity applicant.
Expedited requests are referred to examiners in the order they are filed, and the Controller may limit how many are received in a year, so the fee buys a place in a faster queue, not a fixed date. Our guides to choosing India as your search authority and to expedited examination in India cover the grounds.
Filed at entry, Form 18A must be accompanied by a Form 9 request for publication, at ₹2,500 or ₹12,500, because a national phase application is not yet published in India and no Form 9 is on file [Rule 24C(3)]. The national phase e-filing page lets you file it at the same time as the entry papers.
The express request and expedited examination are separate requests under separate rules. The express Form 18 under Rule 20(4)(ii), at ₹5,600 or ₹28,000, lets the office start processing before month 31, which is otherwise barred; the application then follows the ordinary examination order, so it is worth paying for only if you enter well before month 31.
Form 18A under Rule 24C puts the application in the expedited stream if you have a qualifying ground. To have expedited examination start before month 31, file both and pay both fees: ₹13,600 or ₹88,000 in all, plus Form 9.
Fees to extend the time after the first examination report
The time to put the application in order for grant is six months from the date the first statement of objections issues. A Form 4 request can extend it by up to three months. The fee is per month: ₹1,000 or ₹4,000 on the ordinary track, and ₹2,000 or ₹10,000 on the expedited track.
Three months at the full fee cost ₹12,000 on the ordinary track and ₹30,000 on the expedited track. On the rule’s 2024 wording the request can be made until the extended period ends, but file it within the six months. Our guide to the first examination report in India covers the reply itself.
Rule 138 is a separate, general power. Since 15 March 2024 it lets the Controller extend a time limit set by the Rules, or condone a delay, by up to six months from the end of that time limit, on a Form 4 request made within those six months; it lists no exclusions. Each request is decided at the Controller’s discretion. It costs ₹10,000 or ₹50,000 a month, so six months at the full fee reach ₹300,000, against ₹4,000 a month (ordinary track) or ₹10,000 a month (expedited track) for the three-month extension.
If month 31 is missed, do not count on fees to fix it
National phase entry is due within 31 months from the earliest priority date. If the entry requirements are not met in time, the application is deemed withdrawn for India. India does not apply reinstatement of rights under PCT Rule 49.6, and the office’s separate correction power excludes the entry deadline.
The 2024 Rule 138 lets the Controller extend a time limit by up to six months and lists no exclusions, but we know of no reported decision applying it to a missed entry date. Do not plan on it; docket month 31 as the last day. WIPO’s India chapter still describes the older one-month version of Rule 138; do not rely on that passage.
Our analysis of late PCT national phase entry in India sets out the case law and the narrow excuse for delay caused by war, natural calamity or a similar event. If month 31 has passed, take advice at once.
Fee mistakes that cost foreign applicants money
Check these six points before filing and at each later fee step, because each one changes what the office charges or whether a fee buys what you expect. Each one names the fee or the rule it affects.
- Leaving out Form 28 or its proof. A startup, small entity or educational institution files it with every fee-bearing document, including Form 1 and Form 18.
- Budgeting one priority. Each extra priority adds ₹1,600 or ₹8,000.
- Underpaying excess sheets or claims. Eight extra claims add ₹2,560 or ₹12,800, and a fee not paid within the prescribed time means the document is treated as not filed.
- Paying for an express request you do not need. It costs ₹1,600 or ₹8,000 more than Form 18 and matters only if you want processing before month 31.
- Filing Form 18A without checking the qualifying ground. A request that does not meet Rule 24C is processed as an ordinary request for examination, so the higher fee does not buy expedited examination.
- Paying Rule 138 rates for an extension the three-month Form 4 route covers. The difference is ₹46,000 a month on the ordinary track at the full fee.
Worked totals for common entries
These totals add the Form 1 fee, any excess sheets, claims and priorities, and the examination request. The Form 18A row includes the Form 9 that must go with it at entry; the totals exclude extensions, amendments, professional fees and translation. Use them to check a quote, then confirm the counts against the international application.
| Entry scenario | Reduced fee (₹) | Full fee (₹) |
| One priority, up to 30 sheets and 10 claims, Form 18 | 5,600 | 28,000 |
| Two priorities, otherwise standard, Form 18 | 7,200 | 36,000 |
| One priority, 18 claims, Form 18 | 8,160 | 40,800 |
| Two priorities, 35 sheets, 15 claims, Form 18 | 9,600 | 48,000 |
| One priority, standard counts, Form 18A with Form 9 instead of Form 18 | 12,100 | 80,500 |
Official e-filing fees checked on 27 October 2026 against the First Schedule.
The Form 18A row assumes a valid qualifying ground. For a family with several entries, our patent fee guide for India covers the domestic fees, and our patent renewal guide covers the annual renewal fees, which run from the third year counted from the international filing date; any that fall due before grant are paid within three months of the patent being recorded in the register.
Costs outside the First Schedule
Indian law does not require a foreign applicant to appoint a patent agent, but it does require an address for service in India, with a postal address and an email address. If you appoint an agent, the authorisation on Form 26 carries no official fee. Professional fees, translation and any document costs are separate from the figures above.
If the international application was not filed in English or not published in English, you file an English translation at entry. You, or a person you authorise, verify that it is correct and complete; a translator’s certificate is not what the rule asks for. Where you apply by virtue of an assignment, proof of the right to apply is due within six months of the actual date of filing in India. Our guide to PCT national phase entry in India covers these steps in detail.
Before entry, confirm the fee category, counts and route
Before entry, confirm the applicant category and, for a startup, small entity or educational institution, prepare the status declaration with its proof. Count priorities, sheets over 30, claims over 10 and any sequence listing pages from the international application as it stands at entry.
Then choose the examination route, add Form 9 with Form 18A unless the application is already published in India or a Form 9 is already on file, and diarise the six-month reply period after the first examination report with its three-month extension.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, for an ordinary request: ₹4,000 at the reduced fee and ₹20,000 at the full fee on e-filing. A national phase application can also make an express request before 31 months under Rule 20(4)(ii), at ₹5,600 or ₹28,000. That express route is open only to national phase applications, under the Indian Rules, and it does not move the application into the expedited stream.
Form 18A costs ₹8,000 or ₹60,000, against ₹4,000 or ₹20,000 for Form 18; converting costs ₹4,000 or ₹40,000, the same total. It needs a Rule 24C qualifying ground; a new request is due by month 31. Filed at entry, it must be accompanied by Form 9 (₹2,500 or ₹12,500) (Rule 24C(3)).
The three-month Form 4 extension costs ₹1,000 or ₹4,000 a month on the ordinary track and ₹2,000 or ₹10,000 on the expedited track. Rule 138 costs ₹10,000 or ₹50,000 a month, for up to six months from the end of the time limit, and each request is discretionary. Use the three-month route first where it applies.
Only if it fails to qualify. It can qualify as a small entity if its investment is within the Indian MSME limits, or as a startup if it meets the Startup India turnover and incorporation criteria with a declaration (Rule 2(fa), 2(fb)). It then files Form 28, with proof, with each fee-bearing document. One full-fee co-applicant moves the filing up.
Form 13 costs ₹800 or ₹4,000 before grant and ₹1,600 or ₹8,000 after grant. A name, address, nationality or service-address change costs ₹320 or ₹1,600. Section 59 of the Act limits amendments to disclaimer, correction or explanation, made to incorporate actual fact, with no new matter and every claim within the scope of a claim before amendment.
It may. The Rules allow deletion at entry under the Rule 14 formalities, and in current e-filing practice the national phase Form 1 computes the excess-claims fee (₹320 or ₹1,600 for each claim over 10) on the claims filed, though no IP India document we hold says so. The Manual and WIPO count the fee on the international application’s claims as they stand at entry, so budget for a balance and pay it before month 31.
This article explains the official fees for PCT national phase entry in India as at November 2026 and is for general information only. It is not legal advice. Government fees, forms and procedures change; confirm current figures with the Indian Patent Office before you file. For advice on your specific application, consult a registered patent agent.
Sources
- The Patents Act 1970, as amended to 1 August 2024, IP India.
- The Patents Rules 2003, consolidated, IP India, and the First Schedule of fees published on the forms and official fees page, checked on 27 October 2026.
- Patents (Amendment) Rules 2024, G.S.R. 211(E), 15 March 2024, Gazette of India.
- Manual of Patent Office Practice and Procedure, 2019, office guidance (paragraphs 07.03.02 and 09.01.01), Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks.
- PCT Applicant’s Guide, National Phase, India chapter (paragraphs IN.05, IN.07 and IN.13, and the national phase summary), WIPO, updated September 2026.