MPEP 700: Examination of Applications

Answer in brief

MPEP Chapter 700 sets out how an application is examined: office actions, applicant replies, interviews, final rejections and continued examination. It is the second most tested chapter on the patent bar, at roughly 21% by Wysebridge's estimate.

What it covers

The order and content of examination.
Office actions and the time to reply.
Final rejections and what can follow them.
Requests for continued examination.

Read it

MPEP 700 in full, free.

Sources for this entry

Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) USPTO
The examination manual the patent bar is tested on; open book during the exam.
Wysebridge MPEP Center Wysebridge (publisher of this site)
The full MPEP (9th Ed., Rev. 01.2024) free to read, with Wysebridge's estimated patent bar weight for each chapter.

Practical guidance is original editorial content. Company-published figures are the company's own claims and are labeled as such.

Continue this reading path

MPEP 2100: Patentability MPEP 600: Parts, Form, and Content of Application MPEP chapters

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MPEP.net. “MPEP 700: Examination of Applications.” Wysebridge Reference. Content reviewed 9 November 2026.
https://mpep.net/mpep-700-examination/