Hours of business
Times and days we are open for business
| Table showing our opening hours for different classes of business. The class of business is shown in the first column. Read down this column to find the class relevant to you and across the row to see the opening hours for patents and designs and the opening hours for trade marks. | ||
| Class of business | Opening hours for patents and trade marks | Opening hours for designs |
|---|---|---|
| The filing of new applications NOT claiming priority | All days and at all times | 09:00 Monday to 23:59 Friday 09:00 to 13:00 Saturday |
| The filing of new applications which claim priority | 00:00 Monday to 23:59 Friday | 09:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday |
| Renewal of existing IP rights | 00:00 Monday to 23:59 Friday | 09:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday |
| The filing of all other forms and documents | 00:00 Monday to 23:59 Friday | 09:00 Monday to 23:59 on Friday |
| Any other class of business | 09:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday | 09:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday |
If
documents are filed at times when the Office is deemed to be closed for a particular class of business,
they will receive an official filing date of the next working day.
Official time periods
Any official time period which expires on a weekend or any other day on which the Office is closed is extended to the next working day.
International and European applications
The Office will receive and process European and International patent and trade mark applications filed directly with us under the Patent Co-operation Treaty, European Patent Convention, Madrid Protocol and Community Trade Marks systems.
The hours of business for filing these applications and any associated documents are the same as detailed above for the filing of UK patent and trade mark applications.