Here are the real numbers. The official IPO fees to get a UK patent granted start at around £405. A patent attorney to handle the same work typically costs several thousand pounds. The gap is the money you keep by doing the groundwork yourself.
The IPO fees, step by step
The £405 minimum is split across three official fees:
- Application fee — filed with Patents Form 1 (with a small discount for filing electronically).
- Search fee — Patents Form 9A. There’s an extra £20 per claim over 25, so keep your claims tight.
- Substantive examination fee — Patents Form 10. There’s an extra £10 per page of description over 35.
Filing your search and examination requests electronically saves £20 each. Always check the current amounts on the IPO’s patent forms and fees page — they change.
Keeping it alive: renewal fees
Once granted, a patent lasts up to 20 years — but only if you pay annual renewal fees from the fifth year onward. They start small and rise each year, so you only keep paying for a patent that’s still earning its keep.
Where the money really goes — and where to save
The fees are the small part. With an attorney, most of the bill is their time — drafting the specification and claims, handling the searches, and responding to examination reports. That’s exactly the work you can take on yourself.
A smart, money-saving route many DIY applicants take:
- Do the prior-art search yourself (free).
- Write the first draft of the description and claims yourself.
- Then, if it matters, pay for a one-off professional review of the claims before examination — the single highest-value place to spend.
You stay in control of your invention and your budget — spending only where it counts. That’s the whole point: do the groundwork yourself, and stay in control.
Last reviewed: June 2026 · For use in England & Wales. eLitigant is a Community Interest Company (No. 16566612), not a law firm and not a firm of patent attorneys, and does not give legal advice. A patent is a serious, technical undertaking — the IPO itself advises that getting one is complicated. Use these guides to do the groundwork yourself, and consider a one-off professional check before you commit. Always confirm current forms and fees on gov.uk.