641 status signal
Historic USPTO wording: “Non-final action — Mailed.” Useful for identifying a mailed-event cohort.
Office Action Guide
What Is a Nonfinal Trademark Office Action?
A nonfinal Office Action raises a legal problem about a trademark application for the first time. It can contain refusals, requirements or both, and the applicant must address the issues required by the action for the application to continue.
Office Action review
- 1Official examiner notice
- 2Applicant response + dates
- 3Current case status
Data company workflowNormalize / qualify / verify / deliver
On this page
Direct answer
A nonfinal action is the first formal examination round for the identified issue
USPTO explains that a nonfinal Office Action raises a legal problem for the first time. If a complete response resolves the issues and introduces no new problems, the application can proceed. If issues remain, the examining attorney may issue a final Office Action.
Current response timing
As verified against the USPTO on September 28, 2026, most non-Madrid applications must respond within three months of the Office Action issue date, with an optional paid three-month extension. Section 66(a) Madrid applications use a six-month response period and do not use that extension option. Always read the actual Office Action and current USPTO instructions for the specific case.
As verified against the USPTO on September 28, 2026, most non-Madrid applications must respond within three months of the Office Action issue date, with an optional paid three-month extension. Section 66(a) Madrid applications use a six-month response period and do not use that extension option. Always read the actual Office Action and current USPTO instructions for the specific case.
Status code vs document
Office Action document
Contains the actual refusals, requirements, legal bases and response instructions for the application.
Professional data product
Can use the status event for discovery and qualification, but issue-level classification requires document-level evidence.
What a nonfinal Office Action can contain
A nonfinal action can combine more than one refusal or procedural requirement. The document itself is the authoritative place to identify the issues for that application.
Substantive refusals
Issues such as likelihood of confusion or descriptiveness can be raised when supported by the examination record.
Learn more →Specimen or use issues
The action can address whether submitted evidence of use supports the application as filed.
Learn more →Identification / classification requirements
The examining attorney can require clearer goods/services wording or other application corrections.
Learn more →Applicant / procedural requirements
The document can include requirements concerning information needed to continue examination.
Learn more →What happens after a nonfinal action?
A nonfinal action is part of an ongoing examination sequence rather than a final business outcome. The next record can reflect a response, examiner communication, another action, progress toward publication, or another lifecycle event depending on what occurs in the case.
For data research, this is why an event date should be paired with a later verification point. A record that matched a nonfinal-action cohort on one date can have a different current status later. Commercial datasets should distinguish the historical event being targeted from the current state observed at verification.
Research a nonfinal-action record without over-interpreting one code
Bind the correct application
Use the serial number and mark so the event is attached to the intended USPTO record.
Confirm the current record
Check TSDR for the current status and event history rather than assuming the mailed event is still the current posture.
Read the actual action
Use the Office Action document to identify the refusals or requirements; a status signal does not contain that issue-level detail.
Record the verification point
For bulk data, retain the event date, verification timestamp and any qualification rules used to include the record.
Nonfinal Office Action questions
Is every nonfinal Office Action represented by one simple issue?
No. One action can contain multiple refusals and requirements, so document-level review is needed for issue classification.
Does a mailed nonfinal action describe the application’s permanent outcome?
No. It identifies a point in examination. Later responses and USPTO events can change the current status.
Why use status 641 in a data workflow?
Its historic wording identifies a mailed nonfinal-action event. It can be useful as an event signal when combined with current verification and the business filters required by the dataset.
Can a lead file infer the refusal reason from 641 alone?
No. The code does not reliably classify the substantive contents of the Office Action; that requires document-level evidence.
Researching nonfinal Office Action cohorts?
Our 641 lead product focuses on the mailed nonfinal-action event and can add supported qualification filters.