A provisional patent must contain a written description of the invention, any drawings necessary to understand the invention, and the names of all the inventors. A provisional patent must by applied for within one year following the date of first sale, offer for sale, public use, or publication of the invention. The term of a patent does not include the provisional patent period, thus a patent may last 21 years from the time of provisional patent application.

The next page outlines the requirements for a full patent application.