16.1 Procedure for formalities officers 

Where, when examining for compliance with the requirements set out in earlier sections of this chapter, the formalities officer discovers deficiencies that may be corrected, they must give the applicant the opportunity to rectify each such deficiency within a specified period. The most common potential deficiencies at this stage of the procedure and the provisions governing their rectification are:

The formalities officer should raise all formal objections that become evident from a first examination of the application – with the exception of those noted in A‑III, 3.2 – in the appropriate communication. The definitive resolution of certain matters will likely be impossible at this stage, e.g. filing of priority documents for which the filing period has not expired, and further reports may be necessary. If the applicant is required to appoint a representative but has not done so, the formalities officer should deal with only this deficiency in the first report. Any request(s) for correction of other deficiencies will not be sent until a representative has been appointed, and will be sent to that representative.