The United States Patent & Trademark Office requires an inventor to apply for a patent within 12 months after an invention is first disclosed to the public in order for the patent to be eligible for registration.
The inventor may submit either a provisional or a non-provisional patent application.
A provisional patent application gives the inventor 12 months to submit a non-provisional, i.e., full, application if that inventor not ready to file one and establishes a filing or priority date for that patent. An inventor can apply for a United States patent either in paper by mail or electronically. However, paper filings are much more expensive while electronic filings are processed at a much lower fee schedule.