5.2 Late filing of missing drawings or missing parts of the description – without invitation 

Applicants may also file missing parts of the description or missing drawings on their own initiative (without being invited to do so by the EPO) within two months of the original filing date. If the applicant does not do so within this period, all references to the missing parts are deemed deleted. If the applicant is invited by the EPO to file the missing parts, the period under Rule 56(1) takes precedence (see A‑II, 5.1).

If, within two months of the original filing date, applicants notice that parts of the description or drawings are missing in the application as originally filed, they should, on their own initiative, file the missing parts or missing drawings as soon as possible under Rule 56(2) because, in the absence of a communication from the EPO sent under Rule 56(1) and Rule 56a(1), the possibility for applicants to file any missing or correct parts ends two months after the original filing date.

Further processing is ruled out for the time limits referred to in Rule 56 (Rule 135(2)).