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Admittance and enrolment
Candidates are admitted to the EQE if, on the date of the examination, they meet the following requirements:
Qualifications
Candidates have to possess a scientific or technical qualification - for example, in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, electronics, engineering, pharmacology or physics.
Any decisions regarding the admission to the examination are based on the conditions laid down in Article 10(1) of the Regulation on the European qualifying examination and Articles 2 and 3 of the Instructions concerning the qualifications required for enrolment for the European qualifying examination.
Professional activity
Candidates must have trained under the supervision of a professional representative or as an employee or an assistant of an employee dealing with patent matters in an industrial company established in one of the contracting states.
The mandatory practical training is very important, since a great deal of the knowledge required by a European patent attorney is gained during this period. During this period the candidates must take part in a wide range of activities pertaining to patent applications or patents.
Only periods of professional activity completed after the required qualifications were obtained are taken into account. The training period must be completed at the date of the examination.
EPO examiners may enrol for the EQE if they have performed the duties of examiner for at least four years.
Dates
The EQE is held once a year, usually in March. A notice indicating the examination dates and the closing date for enrolment is published in the preceding year in the Official Journal of the EPO.
Examination fee
The fee payable depends on the number of papers for which the candidate enrols and the number of times he has already taken the EQE. The basic fee is EUR 450 for the EQE 2009.
Papers for which candidates may enrol
- all papers at the first sitting, or
- papers A and B as the first module at the first sitting and papers C and D as the second module at a subsequent sitting within the next three examinations;
- in the event of a resit, either all papers not passed or only some of them, at the choice of the candidate. A candidate who fails one or more papers may resit them as many times as necessary.