Central government · Office of the Controller General of Patents

Lower patent, design and trade mark fees for individuals, startups and small entities IP fee concession

Individuals, startups and small businesses pay much lower official fees to file patents, designs and trade marks in India.

Last updated on 5 November 2026

Cost to apply: Official fees as listed above. A patent agent or attorney charges separately unless a startup uses a government facilitator.
Status: Open
Run by: Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (IP India), DPIIT

Official website (external site)

What you get

Patent application (Form 1) ₹1,600 online instead of ₹8,000 for an individual, startup, small entity or educational institution
Request for examination (Form 18) ₹4,000 instead of ₹20,000, and expedited examination (Form 18A) ₹8,000 instead of ₹60,000
Startups and MSMEs can ask for expedited examination of a patent
Design application ₹1,000 instead of ₹4,000 for individuals, startups and small entities
Trade mark application ₹4,500 per class online, or ₹5,000 on paper, for individuals, startups and small enterprises, against ₹9,000 or ₹10,000 for others
DPIIT recognised startups can use a government panel of facilitators for patents, designs and trade marks, with the government paying the facilitator's fee

Who can apply

Micro, small and medium enterprises.
A claim to be a startup or small enterprise must be backed by a government certificate, such as Udyam Registration or DPIIT recognition
An owner filing in their own name pays the individual rate
Patent fees filed on paper are 10% higher than online
Small entity or startup status is claimed on Form 28 for patents, which has no fee, and on Form 24 for designs

How to apply

Search existing patents, designs or trade marks on the free IP India search sites
File online and claim individual, startup or small entity status
Upload the Udyam or DPIIT certificate as proof
Pay the lower fee

In person, Paper filing at an IP office, the nearest being Guindy, Chennai

In Kerala, File online. The nearest IP office is the Intellectual Property Office at Boudhik Sampada Bhawan, G.S.T. Road, Guindy, Chennai.

Documents to keep ready

Udyam Registration certificate or DPIIT startup certificate, to claim the lower fee
Form 28 for patents or Form 24 for designs, to claim small entity or startup status

Where we found this

An independent guide by The Company of Four, not a government website. Schemes change often, so check every detail on the official website before you apply. Links marked ↗ open external websites that we do not run, and we are not responsible for their content. Seen something out of date? Tell us and we will look into it.