The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has pushed back the retirement of its legacy Web Filing service for patents, and confirmed that from 9 November 2026 patent renewals will be handled through customers’ IP accounts rather than the current GOV.UK renewal page, in an update published on 27 October 2026.
The changes affect UK startups, university spin-outs and the patent attorneys who file and renew on their behalf. Our guides cover patent basics for UK deep tech startups and data and IP ownership in AI startups.
Web Filing stays open for now
The IPO launched its new patents service on 1 April 2026 and had said it intended to retire its legacy patents services this autumn, originally by decommissioning Web Filing and the Forms@ipo.gov.uk service together. After customer feedback and work with the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA), it is now taking a phased approach.
Web Filing will not be retired on 8 November 2026 as planned. The IPO says it will confirm a precise date soon but expects it to be early in December. The forms@ipo.gov.uk email address will remain available after Web Filing closes.
Before then, the office says it will provide a contingency document upload service within the next few weeks, as a back-up for anyone unable to use the new patents service. It is also rolling out a “submission receipt” feature, expected from Thursday 29 October 2026, which shows applicants the details of what they submitted immediately, instead of making them wait for a security check.
Renewals move into the IP account
From 9 November 2026, patents must be renewed from an IP account rather than the current GOV.UK site. The IPO says the service will work in almost exactly the same way: owners can still pay by card or deposit account and renew up to 1,500 patents in a single transaction. The main change is access, as users will need to sign up for an account and log in.
Trade marks and registered designs are not affected for now and can still be renewed from the existing page without an account. However, it will no longer be possible to renew patents, trade marks and designs together in one transaction. The IPO says trade mark and design renewals will eventually move to the same platform as part of its digital transformation.
Accounts can be linked to an organisation, which lets users view patents that the organisation owns or manages, but linking is not required to renew a patent.
What to watch next: the confirmed retirement date for Web Filing, expected in early December, and the launch of the contingency upload service. The IPO takes questions at information@ipo.gov.uk.