3.3.1 General considerations 

Where a European application does not derive from an earlier international application, the applicant is not allowed to amend the claims before receiving the European search report (Rule 137(1)). This means that the search is carried out on the basis of the claims in the European application as originally filed or of any set of claims filed under Rule 57(c) or Rule 58.

Search and examination will be based on the filing date and the application documents established during the procedure under Rule 56 or Rule 56a. These documents are considered the documents as originally filed within the meaning of Art. 123(2). If they the application documents used for the search contain missing parts of the description and/or missing drawings filed under Rule 56(3), the application including the missing parts will form the basis for the search. In cases where erroneously filed documents and correct documents are both part of the application as filed (i.e. in cases under Rule 56a(4) of corrections without a change in the filing date), the search will be performed as usual, and the procedures under Rule 63 or Rule 64 applied where appropriate. or correct application documents or parts filed under Rule 56a(4) (see H‑IV, 2.2.3) and If the EPO has already begun to draw up the search report when correct documents are filed, the applicant will be invited to pay a further search fee (Rule 56a(8)) (see A‑II, 6.7).

In addition, when the search division expects the application to be redated by the examining division later on in the proceedings (see C‑III, 1), it checks whether the Receiving Section's assessment of the "completely contained" criterion was correct (see H‑IV, 2.2.2). If the Receiving Section wrongly considered that the missing parts and/or elements or the correct parts and/or elements were completely contained in the priority document, the search will be widened to include documents which would be relevant if the application were to be redated (such documents can be cited as "L" documents in the European search report (see also B‑XI, 2.1)) to cover prior art which will be relevant for assessing the novelty and inventive step of the claimed subject-matter as at the possible new filing date (see also B‑XI, 2.1). The same applies to Euro-PCT applications which contain missing parts of the description, drawings or claims and/or missing elements filed under Rule 20.6 PCT.