# One in six designated PTAB decisions is no longer designated.

Of 341 entries on the USPTO’s list of precedential and informative PTAB decisions, 53 have been de-designated: 17 formerly precedential and 36 formerly informative. All 53 now sit in the Office’s archive.

Sources checked October 16, 2026

**53 of 341** entries on the USPTO’s designated list are no longer designated, about 16%.

## Before you read

A decision on the USPTO’s list has been de-designated. Can you still cite it?

- No: it has been overruled
- Yes, as an ordinary Board decision, but not as designated guidance
- Only in ex parte appeals

Yes, as an ordinary Board decision. De-designation removes the status; it doesn’t vacate the decision.

## The list and its archive

The PTAB publishes most decisions without special status. The Office designates a few as precedential, binding the Board within their scope, or informative, showing good practice without binding. Designation can be removed. Our October 2026 inventory of the USPTO’s list counts 341 entries. USPTO list

## Check before you cite

## The takeaway

Check a decision’s status on the day you cite it.

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## Sources

- S88. USPTO, Precedential and informative decisions (PTAB), as checked Oct. 16, 2026, and PostGrantProceeding's inventory of the list (341 entries, Oct. 2026). https://www.uspto.gov/patents/ptab/precedential-informative-decisions

Precedential decisions bind the Board within their designated scope. Informative decisions show the Office’s reasoning but do not bind the Board. Court opinions are cited for what they decided; later history was checked on the date shown above.

General information about published decisions, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.