4.2.3 Debiting the deposit account 

Debiting occurs on the basis of an electronic debit order which has been duly signed or authenticated by the account holder, the authorised representative or a person authorised by the account holder using means accepted for the online service in question. The debit order may be for individual fees for one or more patent applications, i.e. a single or batch debit order, or an automatic debit order for one or more patent applications. Batch debit orders are only possible in Central Fee Payment (see A‑X, 4.3).

The debit order for European patent applications must be filed in an electronically processable format (XML) via:

– EPO Online Filing using EPO Forms 1001E, 1200E, 2300E or 1038E 

– Online Filing 2.0 using EPO Forms 1001E, 1200E or 1038E 

– Central Fee Payment or

– MyEPO Portfolio. 

See also the decision of the President of the EPO dated 19 July 2022 15 February 2024 concerning the revision of the Arrangements for deposit accounts and their annexes, Supplementary publication 3, OJ EPO 2022, Supplementary publication 2, OJ EPO 2024, and the notice from the EPO dated 19 July 2022, OJ EPO 2022, A81. For debit orders filed during proceedings related to European patents with unitary effect, see the Unitary Patent Guidelines, the decision of the President of the EPO dated 24 April 2023 concerning the revision of the Arrangements for deposit accounts and their annexes in view of the entry into force of the Unitary Patent system, Supplementary publication 3, OJ EPO 2023, 10, the notice from the EPO dated 24 April 2023, Supplementary publication 3, OJ EPO 2023, 20, and the decision of the President of the EPO dated 13 June 2023, OJ EPO 2023, A58.

Debit orders submitted in any other way, e.g. on paper, by fax, via the EPO web-form filing service or via the EPO Contingency Upload Service or using a different format such as a PDF attachment, are invalid and thus will not be executed (for an exception two exceptions, see paragraph below and A‑II, 1.5). This may result in the time limit for paying a fee being missed. In that case applicants may make use of any of the legal remedies available.

If any of the accepted means of filing debit orders is unavailable at the EPO on the last day for paying a particular fee, the payment period will be extended until the next day on which all such means as are available for the type of application concerned can be accessed again. Payment periods are also extended in the event of a general unavailability of electronic communication services, or other like reasons within the meaning of Rule 134(5) (see the notice from the EPO dated 22 October 2020, OJ EPO 2020, A120). The EPO Contingency Upload Service may be used in exceptional cases to file debit orders, on condition that the payment period expires on the day of the debit order's submission, the deposit account contains sufficient funds for the debit to be carried out and evidence is provided (e.g. in the form of screenshots) that the payee is affected by such unavailability, outage or system malfunction, irrespective of its cause. If any of these conditions are not met, the debit order filed via the EPO Contingency Upload Service is invalid and thus will not be carried out.

When using the EPO's online filing services, "deposit account" must be selected as the payment method to pay any selected fees.

In general, debit orders will be processed immediately upon their receipt, provided there are sufficient funds in the deposit account and provided a deferred execution date (see next paragraph) has not been specified. Automatic debit orders are processed at the end of the day on the decisive payment date.

A debit order may specify that payment is to be executed at a date later than the submission date. In that case, the payment date is deemed to be the execution date specified. Payment orders with a deferred execution date may be executed up to 40 days after the submission date.

A debit order must be carried out notwithstanding incorrect information given in it if the intention of the person giving the order is clear (see T 152/82). The EPO corrects a debit order on its own initiative, for example, if there is a discrepancy between the type of fee intended to be paid and the corresponding amount due on the date of receipt of the debit order (see also A‑X, 7.1.2). The party is informed of any such correction by means of a communication from the EPO providing a two-month period for objection in the event of disagreement by the party. In that case, the fee will be debited as indicated in the (erroneous) debit order or, if applicable, any corrective booking executed will be reverted. The principles outlined above, however, do not allow the correction of a debit order by adding any fee that is not indicated in it, even if, according to the status of proceedings, that fee is due on the date of receipt of the debit order.

A debit order may be revoked in whole or in part by the person making the payment by sending a signed written notice as an email attachment to support@epo.org by email or by completing the online contact form available on the EPO website (epo.org) and submitting it together with the signed written notice. For a debit order revocation notice to be effective, it must be received by the EPO no later than on the date on which the debit order is received. A debit order with deferred payment date may be revoked in Central Fee Payment until one day before the intended execution date or at the latest on the intended execution date by signed written notice sent to the EPO as indicated above.

Payments via deposit account effected in Central Fee Payment are validated, meaning that the debit order for a fee is automatically rejected if the fee falls within one of the following categories:

– renewal fees and additional fees under Rule 51(2) that are not due and

– fees for the transfer of rights made in respect of patent applications for which the loss of rights or the refusal has become final for definitively closed European patent applications

–renewal fees for granted European patents

–renewal fees received before the earliest valid payment dates under Rule 51(1)

– double-payments for fees that can be paid only once in the proceedings before the EPO. 

The above categories of fees are considered not due and will be rejected if they are paid for definitively closed European patent applications and granted patents, if they are made before the earliest valid payment date, if they have already been paid (double-payment) or if they differ in the amount due at the time of payment.

If the above categories of fees are paid by bank transfer or credit card in Central Fee Payment, they are similarly validated and rejected.

Undue renewal fees and additional fees under Rule 51(2) which are paid by bank transfer or from a deposit account without using Central Fee Payment are automatically flagged and will be repaid by the EPO to the payment source. In the case of overpayments, only the overpaid amount will be repaid (see the notice from the EPO dated 25 September 2024 concerning the repayment of renewal fees not due and additional fees not due for European patent applications, OJ EPO 2024, A82).