37 CFR § 1.126 - Numbering of claims.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t37/s1.126"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "37 CFR § 1.126 - Numbering of claims."
title_number: 37
title_name: "Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights"
section_number: "1.126"
section_name: "Numbering of claims."
chapter_name: "UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE"
subchapter_number: "A"
subchapter_name: "GENERAL"
part_number: "1"
part_name: "RULES OF PRACTICE IN PATENT CASES"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "35 U.S.C. 2(b)(2), unless otherwise noted."
regulatory_source: "24 FR 10332, Dec. 22, 1959, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "1"
---


# 1.126 Numbering of claims.

The original numbering of the claims must be preserved throughout the prosecution. When claims are canceled the remaining claims must not be renumbered. When claims are added, they must be numbered by the applicant consecutively beginning with the number next following the highest numbered claim previously presented (whether entered or not). When the application is ready for allowance, the examiner, if necessary, will renumber the claims consecutively in the order in which they appear or in such order as may have been requested by applicant.

[62 FR 53194, Oct. 10, 1997]