37 CFR 1.63 requires that an oath or declaration identify the application (e.g., specification and drawings) to which it is directed.

The following combination of information supplied in an oath or declaration filed on the application filing date with a specification are acceptable as minimums for identifying the application and compliance with any one of the items below will be accepted as complying with the identification requirement of 37 CFR 1.63:

1. (A) name of inventor(s), and reference to an attached specification or application which is both attached to the oath or declaration at the time of execution and submitted with the oath or declaration on filing;

1. (B) name of inventor(s), and attorney docket number which was on the specification as filed; or

1. (C) name of inventor(s), and title of the invention which was on the specification as filed.

Filing dates are granted on applications filed without an inventor’s oath or declaration in compliance with 37 CFR 1.63. The following combinations of information supplied in an oath or declaration filed after the filing date of the application are acceptable as minimums for identifying the application and compliance with any one of the items below will be accepted as complying with the identification requirement of 37 CFR 1.63:

1. (A) application number (consisting of the series code and the serial number, e.g., 08/123,456);

1. (B) serial number and filing date;

1. (C) international application number of an international application;
2. (D) international registration number of an international design application;

1. (E) attorney docket number which was on the specification as filed;

1. (F) title of the invention which was on the specification as filed and reference to an attached specification or application which is both attached to the oath or declaration at the time of execution and submitted with the oath or declaration; or

1. (G) title of the invention which was on the specification as filed and accompanied by a cover letter accurately identifying the application for which it was intended by either the application number (consisting of the series code and the serial number, e.g., 08/123,456), or serial number and filing date. Absent any statement(s) to the contrary, it will be presumed that the application filed in the USPTO is the application which the inventor(s) executed by signing the oath or declaration.

Any specification that is filed attached to an oath or declaration on a date later than the application filing date will not be compared with the specification submitted on filing. Absent any statement(s) to the contrary, the "attached" specification will be presumed to be a copy of the specification and any amendments thereto, which were filed in the USPTO in order to obtain a filing date for the application.

Any variance from the above guidelines will only be considered upon the filing of a petition for waiver of the rules under 37 CFR 1.183 accompanied by a petition fee (37 CFR 1.17(f) ).

Further an oath or declaration attached to a cover letter referencing an incorrect application may not become associated with the correct application and, therefore, could result in the abandonment of the correct application.

See MPEP § 1896 for the identification requirements for a declaration filed in a U.S. national stage application filed under 35 U.S.C. 371.