After the completed application has been reviewed and approved by each of the inventors, the filing paperwork should be prepared.

For U.S. applications, this paperwork should include at a minimum a Transmittal Sheet that identifies, among other things, the inventors, a title for the invention, and a correspondence address.

More typically, the filing paperwork will also include a Fee Calculation Sheet, a Declaration, a Power of Attorney, a Certificate of Express Mailing, and a self-addressed, stamped postcard describing each item filed. Note that each inventor's signature is required on the Declaration and on the Power of Attorney, which can be combined into a single document.

If the application and its filing paperwork are filed properly via Express Mail, the application will receive the mailing date as its filing date. Otherwise, the USPTO will assign its date of receipt of the application as the filing date.