Preparing a PCT application for China starts with a coordinated handoff: a verified deadline, the correct application record, a Chinese translation plan, and clear filing instructions. For U.S. companies and patent counsel, agreeing on those inputs early makes the work easier to scope and review. A PCT application does not itself deliver a Chinese patent; the national office decides whether protection will be granted during the national phase.
This checklist concerns entry before China's National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) for mainland China. It is a preparation guide, not a substitute for reviewing a particular application or calculating its deadlines.
Confirm the controlling date for China entry
WIPO's current time-limit table lists China's ordinary national-phase entry deadline as 30 months from the priority date. Entry at up to 32 months is available with the additional late-entry fee. Required entry formalities and payments still need to be completed within the applicable period. Treat that additional period as a contingency requiring prompt advice, rather than the planned filing date.
For calculating PCT time limits, Article 2(xi) uses the earliest claimed priority date where there are multiple priority claims. If there is no priority claim, it uses the international filing date. The international publication date and your commercial launch date are not interchangeable with that starting point.
Ask counsel to confirm the actual deadline from the application record. Put the confirmed date, the person responsible for it, and the internal instruction date in one shared record. If 30 months has already passed, flag the matter as urgent immediately; do not assume that an extension or later remedy applies without review.
Confirm the route and who will act
CNIPA's national-phase FAQ, published July 23, 2026, explains that the applicant chooses an invention patent or a utility model for the entry declaration. The choice should follow a review of the subject matter and intended protection.
The same FAQ requires foreign applicants without a habitual residence or business office in China to use a legally established patent agency. A U.S. applicant should resolve representation and the instruction chain early. When U.S. counsel coordinates the matter, identify who may approve filing decisions, who handles technical questions, and who receives formal reports.
Assemble one authoritative application record
Prepare a clearly labeled folder for the agreed review channel after conflict and confidentiality arrangements are complete. A useful handoff can include:
The PCT application and publication numbers, filing date, and all claimed priority dates.
The original application documents and the international publication, kept separately and clearly labeled.
Any Article 19 or Article 34 amendments, with the relevant accompanying statements or reports.
Current applicant and inventor information, plus notices recording any changes.
The international search report, written opinion, and available preliminary examination material.
A short instruction note identifying the proposed China route, business objective, budget, and decisions still awaiting approval.
This is an organizational checklist for counsel, not a statement that every item must be filed at entry. Flag missing documents instead of silently replacing them with a later draft.
Under the WIPO China national chapter, translation requirements cover the relevant application components in Chinese. When international-phase amendments are intended to form the basis of proceedings, the original and applicable amended texts need attention. Send both versions and ask China counsel to confirm the required translation and filing set.
Give the translation team a versioned brief
For a foreign-language application, CNIPA's FAQ identifies Chinese translations of the original description, claims, and abstract, together with the relevant drawing materials and translated drawing text. Translation should be planned as part of the filing preparation.
Before work begins, agree on a document inventory and a version label for every file. Provide an existing technical glossary if one is available, and identify an inventor or technical contact who can answer terminology questions. Ask the reviewer to check that recurring components, reference numbers, units, and claim dependencies are handled consistently.
Keep translation questions and proposed changes in separate lists. A wording preference, a translation correction, and a proposed claim amendment are different instructions. Record who approves each decision, and retain the final approved source and Chinese files together. These are practical coordination measures, not a guarantee of claim scope or allowance.
Ask for a quote that states what happens next
Give the provider enough information to quote the actual assignment: document length, claim count, language, known amendments, filing route, deadline, and any requested additional review.
Ask the written proposal to separate:
Official fees, including any applicable late-entry or additional fees.
Professional work for checking the record and preparing the entry.
Translation, technical review, and drawing preparation.
Work after entry, including examination requests, office-action responses, and later maintenance.
Confirm what is included, what requires a separate instruction, and who authorizes extra work. Agree on the communication channel, technical reviewer, approval contact, and reporting format before treating the matter as ready to file. A price for entry should not be read as an unlimited commitment to all later prosecution work.
Close the handoff with evidence and a deadline owner
After filing, request the submitted document set, the relevant filing and payment records, and a written report of the next actions. A useful report should distinguish completed steps from items still awaiting an official notice or further instruction.
Entry does not end deadline management. For invention applications, the WIPO China national chapter, section CN.04 states that the substantive-examination request and any applicable examination fee are due within three years from the priority date. Have counsel confirm how the rule applies to the file and who will act; do not assume the entry instruction automatically covers every later step.
What to send in the first inquiry
Start with a public PCT publication number or link if available, nonconfidential identifying information, the known priority date and deadline, your China business objective, and an approximate budget. State whether you are the applicant or coordinating U.S. counsel, and whether the matter is urgent.
Use our PCT national-phase service page to discuss an entry, or our foreign-associate service to coordinate a client instruction. Share complete unpublished inventions, confidential technical files, and sensitive case documents only after the appropriate conflict and confidentiality steps through an agreed channel.
Sources verified September 10, 2026. This article provides general information, not legal advice for a specific matter. An inquiry does not create an engagement. Filing requirements depend on the application record; no patent grant or other outcome is guaranteed.