13.1 Payment of fees 

The applicant is required to pay a filing fee and, subject to the exception mentioned below (see the note to point (iii) below), a search fee. The filing and search fees must be paid within the following periods:

(i)where neither (ii) nor (iii) applies, within one month of filing the European patent application 

(ii)for European divisional applications or European patent applications filed according to Art. 61(1)(b), within one month of filing the divisional or Art. 61(1)(b) application

(iii)for Euro-PCT applications, within 31 months of the filing date or, where applicable, from the earliest claimed priority date*. 

*Note that when a supplementary European search report is dispensed with by the EPO (see B‑II, 4.3), no search fee is required for the Euro-PCT application (Rule 159(1)(e)).

With regard to applications of types (i) and (ii), the EPO will check that these fees have been paid. If either fee is not paid on time, the application is deemed withdrawn. The applicant will be notified by the EPO as to the loss of rights according to Rule 112(1) and can respond by requesting further processing according to Art. 121 and Rule 135.

Under Art. 2(1) RFees as amended by Administrative Council decision of 13 December 2017 (OJ EPO 2018, A4), the filing fee amount depends on the method and format used for filing the European patent application or its translation, if applicable. However, where a fee level relates to a means of electronic communication or a particular electronic document format, that level only applies when the means or format, as referred to in Art. 2(1) RFees, is made available. The date on which such fee level applies is to be specified by the EPO President (see Art. 2(4) RFees as adopted by Administrative Council decision of 12 December 2018, OJ EPO 2019, A3, and the notice from the EPO dated 24 January 2019, OJ EPO 2019, A6). At present, for European patent applications, the fee levels of the filing fee and of the fee for grant for filing in character-coded format (DOCX) are not applied. The latest information on the applicable fee levels and amounts can be found on the EPO website (see also A‑X, 1).

With regard to Euro-PCT applications (type (iii)), see E‑IX, 2.1.4.

For the reduction of the filing fee under the language arrangements, see A‑X, 9.2.1 and A-X, 9.2.2.