For a China invention patent application, docket the substantive-examination request separately from filing or PCT national-phase entry. The ordinary request period is three years from the filing date—or the priority date where priority is claimed. The request and any applicable examination fee both need attention. Entering China does not restart this clock. Patent Law, Article 35, Implementing Regulations, Rules 12 and 113 and WIPO’s China national-phase guide, CN.04 support these distinctions.

This guide concerns invention applications in mainland China. Sources were checked on October 14, 2026. It provides a coordination checklist for businesses and patent counsel; it does not calculate a particular application’s final legal deadline.

Four events to keep separate

  • Filing or China national-phase entry: establishes the application’s route and record. For a PCT application, China entry and a substantive-examination request are different procedural tasks.

  • Publication: makes the invention application public. A publication number is not proof that substantive examination was validly requested or that a patent was granted.

  • Substantive-examination request: asks the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) to examine the invention application. Verify the request and applicable fee status rather than relying on a filing invoice.

  • Grant announcement: follows a favorable examination outcome and the required grant formalities. Requesting examination does not guarantee grant or a particular completion date.

The CNIPA service answer on the next step after filing acceptance explains the request/payment distinction. The ordinary examination and grant framework appears in Patent Law, Articles 34–39.

Which date starts the three-year clock?

Start with the official filing and priority record. Where no priority is claimed, use the applicable filing date. Where priority is claimed, the priority date matters under Rule 12. Multiple priorities, corrections, withdrawn claims or disputed records need file-specific review; do not select a later date simply because it gives more time.

For a PCT invention application, do not substitute the China entry date for the examination-request clock. WIPO’s China chapter, valid from October 1, 2026, expressly separates national-phase entry from the three-year examination request and fee requirement. That guide date identifies its current version; it is not the enactment date of a new Chinese law.

Hypothetical example: a later China entry leaves less time

Assume a single claimed priority dated March 18, 2024. A later direct China application or PCT application is filed on March 18, 2025. If the PCT application enters China on September 18, 2026, the nominal three-year examination-request date remains March 18, 2027, measured from the stated priority—not September 18, 2029.

The PCT example leaves about six months after entry. These dates are invented for illustration, not a client matter. Counsel must confirm the actual record, priority treatment and applicable time-computation rules, including holidays, before recording the final deadline. The direct and PCT routes are alternatives in this example.

A practical handoff checklist for the applicant and counsel

The following is a recommended coordination record, not a list of attachments legally required in every application.

  1. Identify the file. Record the China application number, applicant name, filing route, filing date and all claimed priority dates. Link the record to the correct PCT application where applicable.

  2. Assign the deadline. Ask China counsel to confirm the examination-request due date and the basis used to calculate it. Name one deadline owner and a backup; set internal approval dates comfortably before the legal deadline.

  3. Give a clear instruction. State whether to request substantive examination now. Do not assume that “enter the China national phase” or “pay filing costs” includes that instruction unless the agreed scope says so.

  4. Check the applicable fee. Obtain confirmation of the amount payable and any file-specific exemption or reduction. Keep official fees distinct from service, translation, search and later response costs; this article gives no package price.

  5. Retain evidence. Keep the filed request, submission acknowledgement, payment or exemption evidence and counsel’s confirmation of the official status. A sent email or internal purchase order alone does not establish a completed procedural step.

  6. Plan the next stage. Confirm who receives CNIPA notices, forwards them to the decision-maker, approves amendments and instructs responses. Record notice-specific response dates when they arrive.

For a new filing, use the China invention patent service page to frame the work. For a PCT handoff, see the separate China national-phase checklist.

Prepare for examination, not just the request

Use the handoff to flag public prior-art references and available foreign search or examination results. Article 36 addresses reference materials and permits CNIPA to require foreign search/examination materials in relevant cases. It does not make every foreign document a universal national-phase entry attachment.

Check the Chinese text against the intended technical meaning before taking an examination-stage decision. An English-to-Chinese patent translation review can identify issues to discuss with counsel; translation changes cannot create support absent from the original application.

Rule 57 permits voluntary amendments when requesting substantive examination and within three months after receipt of the notice of entry into substantive examination. This is a different trigger from filing acceptance or publication. Amendments remain subject to the original-disclosure boundary in Article 33. When an office action arrives, use its actual notice and designated response period to plan the China patent office-action response.

Common questions

Does a PCT China entry automatically complete the examination request?

Do not assume it does. Confirm whether counsel filed the request, addressed any applicable fee and verified the status for the identified China invention application. The two steps can be coordinated, but the entry date does not create a fresh three-year period.

Does a published application mean a granted patent?

No. Publication and grant are separate stages. Read the official status and grant announcement rather than inferring grant from a publication number or a searchable document.

Should I wait for CNIPA to remind me?

Use an independently checked docket. The statutory clock should not depend on an expected reminder, a foreign allowance or an internal budget meeting. Arrange request and payment confirmation before the due date.

What if the deadline may already have passed?

Obtain urgent file-specific advice. Preserve the official notices, service dates, priority record, request/payment evidence and the reason for the delay. Restoration rules are conditional and time-sensitive; do not treat them as an automatic grace period or assume a fresh request cures the problem.

Discuss the next step without disclosing an unpublished invention

Contact China IP Pro with a public application number, or a nonconfidential description if the application is not public, plus your China objective, known filing/priority dates, budget and intended timetable. Do not send full unpublished technical material through the initial inquiry. First agree on conflict checks, confidentiality arrangements and the appropriate secure channel.

General information only; individual deadlines, procedural options and patentability require review of the actual file. No grant or completion date is promised.

Official sources