A patent application is a request filed before a patent office in which an applicant applies for a patent. As a matter of public policy, the text contained in a patent application form is required to sufficiently reveal how an invention works to justify the grant of the patent. In most countries, the first to file a patent application form for the invention is presumed to be the owner of the rights to the invention.

Content of Patent Application Form
Regulations require strict adherence to patent application form when drafting a patent application. Among other requirements, patent application form must be on acceptable paper (correct size, color, shape, texture), have correct page numbering, margins, spacing, and typing in an acceptable font and language. A national patent application form must usually be submitted in the native language, or be accompanied by an accurate translation into an acceptable language.

A "complete" patent application form must include (as minimum) the required specification, drawing, and at least one claim. An acceptable specification must include a clear and concise description of the invention and how to make and use it. A drawing (which must also be put into standardized patent application form) should facilitate understanding of the invention or its operation. Finally, at least one claim must clearly identify the inventive elements for which the inventor asserts protection.

Each section of the patent application form specification should have an uppercase heading. The preferred arrangement of the required sections in a specification of a US patent application form is:

• the title,
• cross references,
• government license rights (if any),
• background (field of invention and prior state of the art),
• a summary of the invention,
• description of the drawings,
• detailed description of the invention,
• claims, and
• an abstract of the disclosure.

The specific contents and sequence of sections in design and plant patent application forms are rather different. A provisional patent application form should follow a similar format, but is not required to be of any particular form. Some provisional patent application forms are little more than an engineering specification with a cover sheet and power of attorney.

Withholding information intentionally when filing a patent application form may make it nearly impossible to add new information about the invention to a patent application once it has been initially filed. If the missing information is later deemed essential to the disclosure, the omission from the original may have far-reaching legal implications; beyond the ultimate dismissal of the application.

All provisional, national and international patent application forms are filed in the USPTO and are reviewed for issues of national security and a secrecy order may be imposed, prohibiting publication, allowance, or international transmittal.