Requests for continued examination (RCEs) are on the rise again, with applicants filing nearly 150,000 in the 12 months ending August 2026 — a 13% increase over the prior year. That reverses a five-year downward trend, but the main driver is not a sudden shift in applicant strategy. Instead, the USPTO has been mailing more final rejections, which is the trigger for an RCE.
The final rejection rate rose to 55 per 100 disposals, up from 50. Part of that increase stems from the Office's queue management: after pulling continuations forward in 2022, it pushed them back in 2025, meaning examiners are spending more time on original applications, which are more likely to receive final rejections. The author notes this explains only part of the rise and offers no further explanation.
Two other factors played smaller roles. The end of the free After Final Consideration Pilot (AFCP 2.0) in December 2024 pushed some applicants who would have tried an amendment straight to an RCE. And while the 2025 fee rule raised first RCE fees by 10% and subsequent RCE fees by 43%, filing rates increased for both categories, suggesting the higher costs did not meaningfully deter applicants.