What if our online filing services are down?

In the unlikely event that the other EPO filing tools are not available, or it is not possible to create, or sign-in to an EPO account for making use of the EPO filing tools, the EPO Contingency Upload Service replaces fax as an alternative method to submit documents to the EPO. However, this service is only offered as a contingency. Applicants are strongly encouraged to use the normal EPO online services and filing tools whenever possible to benefit from the business validations and the accelerated processing of submissions that originate from these tools.

See also Notice from the European Patent Office dated 22 October 2020 concerning the procedures and safeguards which apply under the EPC and the PCT in the event of outages of means of electronic filing and other online services, OJ EPO 2020, A120.

Open the Contingency Upload Service

Getting access

Please read our Get access page.

You can access the EPO Contingency Upload Service using either your EPO account with two-step verification or an EPO smart card.

In the event that you are unable to sign-in, or cannot create an EPO account, you also have the option to make use of the EPO Contingency Upload Service by providing a valid email address.

Getting started

Simply use the button above to open the EPO Contingency Upload Service.
For more information, please read the frequently asked questions (FAQs) about this service:
FAQs - EPO Contingency Upload Service

Limitations of the EPO Contingency Upload Service

This service should only be used in the unlikely event that the applicant must submit documents to the EPO urgently and the standard EPO filing tools or EPO account are not available.

Only very basic validations on the meta-data of your upload are performed. As a result, by making use of this service you will not benefit from the business validations and structured meta-data offered by the standard EPO online services and filing tools. Also it will take longer for your documents to be treated before becoming visible in MyEPO Portfolio.

Further information