For a PCT application seeking patent protection in Iran, the ordinary national-phase deadline is 30 months from the relevant priority date. Iran applies the same 30-month period whether national phase entry takes place under PCT Article 22 or following Chapter II under Article 39.
Where that deadline has been missed, however, the position is more nuanced than an automatic loss of rights. The current WIPO PCT Applicant’s Guide for Iran confirms that the Iranian Intellectual Property Center permits reinstatement under PCT Rule 49.6, applying the due-care criterion.
This article examines how the 30-month deadline is calculated, what the current reinstatement framework requires, and the practical issues foreign patent counsel should consider when an Iranian national-phase deadline is approaching or may already have been missed.
By Mojgan Honarmand Javan — Founder & Managing Attorney, JavanLex Legal Solutions
Last reviewed: October 2026
Iran PCT Deadline and Reinstatement — At a Glance
| Issue | Current position |
|---|---|
| National-phase deadline | 30 months from the relevant priority date |
| PCT Article 22 / Chapter I | 30 months |
| PCT Article 39 / Chapter II | 30 months |
| No priority claim | 30 months from the international filing date |
| Does Chapter II provide 31 months? | No |
| Reinstatement after a missed deadline | Potentially available |
| Applicable mechanism | PCT Rule 49.6 |
| Standard applied by Iran | Due care |
| Time limit for reinstatement request | Earlier of two months from removal of the cause of failure or 12 months from expiry of the national-phase deadline |
| Automatic grace period | No |
The current WIPO Iran national chapter, applicable from 1 January 2026, expressly records a 30-month period under both Article 22(1) and Article 39(1)(a) and confirms that Iran permits Rule 49.6 reinstatement under the due-care criterion. PCT Legal
In this Article:
What Is the PCT National Phase Deadline in Iran?
Iran applies a 30-month deadline from the priority date for entry into the national phase.
The same period applies under both principal PCT routes:
- under Article 22(1), where the application enters the national phase following the ordinary international phase; and
- under Article 39(1)(a), where the applicant has made use of Chapter II and international preliminary examination.
Accordingly, requesting international preliminary examination does not extend the Iranian deadline to 31 months.
This distinction is important in international portfolio management because national-phase deadlines differ between jurisdictions. A docketing system that uses 31 months for another designated or elected Office should not automatically apply the same deadline to Iran.
JavanLex’s current source-controlled PCT reference adopts the same 30-month rule for both Chapter I and Chapter II cases. JavanLex_PCT_National_Phase_Ira…
How is the priority date determined?
For national-phase timing, “priority date” has the meaning used by the PCT.
Where the international application claims priority from an earlier application, the relevant period is ordinarily measured from the filing date of the earliest application whose priority is claimed.
Where no priority is claimed, the international filing date itself serves as the priority date for this purpose. WIPO’s general National Phase guidance confirms this approach. PCT Legal
In practical terms:
- a PCT application with one priority claim is normally due in Iran 30 months from that priority date;
- where several priorities are claimed, the earliest relevant priority ordinarily controls; and
- where there is no priority claim, the period runs from the international filing date.
The deadline should nevertheless be verified from the official PCT bibliographic record before filing. Particular attention is appropriate where the international record involves restored priority, corrected bibliographic data or another procedural event affecting the application’s chronology.
What Must Be Done Within the National-Phase Time Limit?
The 30-month deadline is not merely a deadline for sending an instruction email to Iranian counsel.
The current WIPO Iran chapter requires the applicable national fee and the required Farsi translation within the national-phase time limit. For an Article 22 entry, the translation includes the description, claims, text matter in the drawings and abstract, with specific requirements where Article 19 amendments have been filed. Under Article 39, amended material contained in the annexes to the international preliminary examination report must also be addressed. PCT Legal
Other national requirements may also arise, including inventor information, evidence relating to entitlement or applicant changes, appointment of a local agent and the instrument appointing that agent.
Importantly, the current WIPO chapter distinguishes some of these special formalities from the core acts required for national-phase entry. Where certain requirements have not already been satisfied, the Iranian Office may invite the applicant to comply within a stated 60-day period. PCT Legal
This distinction matters.
A post-filing opportunity to cure a specified formality should not be treated as a general extension of the 30-month national-phase deadline.
Practical distinction: a timely national-phase filing with a curable supporting deficiency is not the same situation as failure to enter the national phase within the applicable PCT time limit.
What Happens If the 30-Month Deadline Is Missed?
Failure to complete the required national-phase acts within the applicable time limit can cause the effect of the international application to cease in the designated State.
For Iran, however, that does not necessarily mean that the loss of rights is immediately irreversible.
The current WIPO Iran chapter confirms that the Iranian Intellectual Property Center permits reinstatement of rights under PCT Rule 49.6, applying the due-care criterion. PCT Legal
Rule 49.6 establishes a mechanism under which rights may be reinstated where the relevant national-phase deadline was missed and the applicable standard is satisfied. The Rule allows designated Offices to apply either an “unintentional” standard or, at the Office’s option, a “due care” standard. Iran has chosen due care. WIPO
The remedy should therefore not be described as a grace period.
It is a remedial procedure that requires both procedural compliance and a satisfactory explanation of the missed deadline.
What Does Iran Require for Reinstatement under PCT Rule 49.6?
The current Iran chapter states that reinstatement may be requested where the applicant failed to perform the relevant national-phase acts despite the due care required by the circumstances having been taken.
A request for reinstatement must be presented in writing. Within the applicable reinstatement period, the omitted action must also be completed and the reinstatement fee paid. PCT Legal
Rule 49.6 further requires the request to state the reasons for the failure to comply with the national-phase deadline. National law may also require a supporting declaration or other evidence. WIPO
This makes the underlying chronology of the missed deadline central to the request.
A case should therefore be analyzed not simply by asking whether the deadline was missed, but by asking:
- what system was in place to monitor the deadline;
- what event caused the failure;
- when that event ceased to prevent timely action;
- when the problem was discovered;
- what action was taken after discovery; and
- what contemporaneous records support that account.
JavanLex’s internal PCT reference similarly identifies docketing systems, instructions, communication history, responsible personnel, exceptional events and corrective action as potentially relevant to a due-care analysis. JavanLex_PCT_National_Phase_Ira…
The strength of a reinstatement request will therefore depend on the facts and evidence of the individual matter.
What Is the Time Limit for Requesting Reinstatement?
Rule 49.6 contains two alternative time periods, and the earlier-expiring period controls.
The request must be made within:
two months from removal of the cause of the failure, or
12 months from expiration of the applicable national-phase deadline,
whichever expires earlier. PCT Legal
This point is easy to misunderstand.
The 12-month period is not an automatic additional year available to every applicant.
If the cause of the failure is removed considerably earlier—for example, because the missed deadline is discovered and the obstacle preventing action no longer exists—the two-month period may become the controlling deadline.
Conversely, the 12-month period functions as an outer limit under the standard Rule 49.6 framework.
Practical consequence for foreign counsel
Once a possible missed Iranian deadline is identified, the matter should be investigated immediately.
Waiting while assuming that “12 months remain” can itself put the reinstatement request at risk if the earlier two-month period has begun to run.
The date on which the cause of failure was removed can also be fact-sensitive. It should therefore be established from the actual chronology rather than assumed.
What Does “Due Care” Mean in Practice?
Neither the PCT nor the Iran national chapter reduces due care to a single checklist that will automatically determine the result.
The inquiry is inherently dependent on circumstances.
For professional applicants and representatives, relevant evidence may include the systems and safeguards ordinarily used to prevent deadline failures and the specific reason those safeguards did not prevent the missed deadline in the particular case.
Depending on the facts, the evidentiary record may therefore include:
- docketing and reminder records;
- written filing instructions;
- internal approvals;
- correspondence between applicant and counsel;
- records identifying who was responsible for the matter;
- evidence of supervision or cross-checking procedures;
- documentation of an exceptional event; and
- evidence showing the steps taken promptly after discovery.
The purpose is not simply to show that the failure was unintended.
Iran applies the due-care standard, so the request should demonstrate why the failure occurred notwithstanding the care that had been taken in the circumstances.
This is a materially different inquiry from a jurisdiction applying only an unintentional standard.
Reinstatement Is Not the Same as Deficiency Cure
Near-deadline Iranian filings can involve two very different procedural concepts.
The first is a deficiency or formality cure following timely national-phase entry. Certain special requirements may be supplied after an invitation from the Iranian Office within the applicable cure period. WIPO’s current national chapter identifies such an invitation procedure for several special requirements. PCT Legal
The second is reinstatement under Rule 49.6, which addresses failure to complete the acts required for national-phase entry within the applicable time limit.
The distinction can be summarized as follows:
| Situation | Relevant concept |
|---|---|
| National phase entered on time, but a curable supporting requirement remains outstanding | Deficiency / formality cure |
| Required national-phase acts were not completed within the 30-month period | Rule 49.6 reinstatement may need to be considered |
Keeping these procedures separate is particularly important when advising on an urgent filing.
Reinstatement Is Also Different from Restoration of Priority
A second distinction concerns restoration of the right of priority.
Rule 49.6 reinstatement concerns failure to enter the national phase on time.
Priority restoration concerns a different problem: the international application itself was filed after expiry of the ordinary 12-month priority period but within the additional period contemplated by the PCT restoration framework.
Iran accepts requests for restoration of priority and applies the due-care criterion. The current Iran chapter states that a request made before the Iranian Office under PCT Rule 49ter.2 must be filed within one month from national-phase entry. PCT Legal
The two remedies therefore involve different procedural failures, different deadlines and different analyses.
What Should Foreign Counsel Do If an Iran PCT Deadline May Have Been Missed?
The first task is to reconstruct the relevant record accurately.
Counsel should identify:
- the PCT application and WO publication numbers;
- international filing date;
- earliest relevant priority date;
- ordinary Iranian national-phase deadline;
- date on which the missed deadline was first discovered;
- circumstances that caused the failure;
- date on which those circumstances ceased to prevent action;
- existing docketing and reminder records;
- relevant correspondence and filing instructions; and
- the national-phase documents available for immediate filing.
The objective is to determine quickly whether Rule 49.6 remains procedurally available and, if so, to prepare both the omitted national-phase acts and the evidentiary basis for the due-care request.
Because the reinstatement timetable may be driven by the earlier two-month period rather than the 12-month outer limit, delay after discovery can materially affect the position.
FAQ
Is Iran’s PCT national-phase deadline 30 or 31 months?
30 months. Iran currently applies 30 months from the priority date under both PCT Article 22(1) and Article 39(1)(a). PCT Legal
Does Chapter II extend the Iranian national-phase deadline?
No. The same 30-month deadline applies.
What happens if no priority is claimed?
For PCT timing purposes, the international filing date serves as the relevant priority date. PCT Legal
Can a missed Iran PCT deadline be reinstated?
Potentially. Iran permits reinstatement under PCT Rule 49.6 and applies the due-care criterion. PCT Legal
Is there an automatic 12-month grace period?
No. The request must be made within the earlier of two months from removal of the cause of failure or 12 months from expiry of the national-phase deadline.
Is reinstatement guaranteed if the request is filed in time?
No. Timely filing is only part of the requirement. The applicant must also satisfy the applicable due-care standard.
Need an Iran PCT Deadline Review?
Where an Iranian national-phase deadline is approaching, uncertain or may already have been missed, foreign patent counsel may send JavanLex the PCT/WO number, relevant priority information, applicant name and chronology for an initial procedural review.
For the wider national-phase process, see:
PCT National Phase Entry in Iran: A Practical Guide (2026) →
For active national-phase filing instructions:
PCT National Phase Entry in Iran →
Request an Iran PCT Deadline Review →
Legal Basis and Review Note
This article was last reviewed in October 2026 against the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the PCT Regulations and the WIPO PCT Applicant’s Guide for Iran applicable from 1 January 2026.
The current Iran chapter confirms the 30-month period under both Article 22 and Article 39, Iran’s acceptance of Rule 49.6 reinstatement and application of the due-care standard. PCT Legal
Rule 49.6 provides the underlying reinstatement framework, including the requirement to state the reasons for failure and the earlier-of-two-months-or-12-months timing rule. WIPO
Procedural requirements, Office practice and fees should be confirmed for the individual application before action is taken.
