3. Procedure on filing
3.2 Filing via a competent national authority
If the applicant has chosen the EPO as receiving Office, the international application should be sent directly to one of the EPO filing offices and not to a national patent office.
The national law of an EPC contracting state may stipulate that, for national security reasons, an international application must be filed with the EPO as receiving Office via a competent authority of that state.
In such cases, the national authority will act as the "filing office" for the EPO acting as receiving Office. The date of receipt of the application by the national authority will be accorded as the international filing date by the EPO as receiving Office, provided that the application meets the PCT requirements for a filing date to be accorded (see GL/PCT‑EPO A‑II, 4.1).
The national authority must ensure that the application reaches the EPO not later than two weeks before the end of the 13th month from filing or, if priority is claimed, from the earliest date of priority. For further details, see GL/RO Chapter III.
The addresses of the national patent authorities of the EPC contracting states and information on national legislation are provided in the publication "National law relating to the EPC", available on the EPO website (epo.org).
Art. 75(2), 151 EPC
Rule 157(1), (3) EPC
Rule 19.1(b)
GL/RO Chapter III
GL/RO 43