Getting started
Features and benefits
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With Central Fee Payment you can
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Paying with Central Fee Payment
You have several options for paying your patent fees online:
- by debit order from your deposit account
- by automatic debit order from your deposit account
- by credit card
- by using the bank transfer functionality
- Deposit account
About debit orders
The EPO makes available for any interested natural or legal person deposit accounts for paying fees to the EPO. Deposit accounts are kept in euro only.
Deposit accounts are debited on the basis of an electronic debit order signed by the account holder or authorised representative.
The debit order may be
- for individual fees for one or more applications, i.e. a single or a batch debit order, or
- an automatic debit order for a specific European or international patent application, authorising the EPO to debit fees automatically as the proceedings progress
Requirements
What you need to be able to use Central Fee Payment and pay fees via an EPO deposit account.
An EPO deposit account: to open, reopen, close or update an EPO deposit account, please use the online form.
- Further settings
- Linking your EPO deposit account to your EPO account: We have to link your EPO deposit account to your EPO account. For this, please contact us at [email protected], indicating both your EPO account details and your EPO deposit account number.
- Granting Central Fee Payment rights: Your company's administrator has to grant you the necessary Central Fee Payment rights in MyEPO Portfolio.
Secure access
You need to be registered for two-factor authentication to pay patent fees in Central Fee Payment via an EPO deposit account.
Sign in to pay fees or claim refunds in Central Fee Payment
Replenishment
Payments to replenish deposit accounts must be made into the EPO's bank account.
Nr. 3 338 800 00 (BLZ 700 800 00)
IBAN DE20 7008 0000 0333 8800 00
BIC* DRESDEFF700
Commerzbank AG
Landsberger Str. 344
80687 Munich, Germany.*Please use COBADEFFXXX if DRESDEFF700 is not recognised.
The payment must include the following information in the reference field of the bank transfer: "replenishment" (or "repl" for short) or "deposit", followed by the eight-digit number (starting with 28) of the EPO deposit account concerned.
Refunds via deposit account
Applicants/professional representatives can file refund instructions pertaining to a given application requesting that refunds be credited to a deposit account held with the EPO. Refund instructions should be filed using Online Filing, Online Filing 2.0 or ePCT-Filing.
- Automatic debit order
The EPO offers the option to choose between three different types of automatic debit order for paying fees during the European grant procedure:
- automatic debit order for all fees
- automatic debit order for all fees except renewal fees and
- automatic debit order for renewal fees only.
These three types of automatic debit order are only available for selection in European proceedings. In PCT proceedings and proceedings relating to Unitary Patents before the EPO, only one type of automatic debit order covering all fees will continue to be available.
1. Automatic debit order for all fees
The fee types covered by an automatic debit order for all fees are set out in the Arrangements for Deposit Accounts under point 3 AAD.
2. Automatic debit order for all fees except renewal fees
Where All fees except renewal fees is selected as the automatic debit order type, renewal fees and additional fees under Rule 51(2) EPC are excluded from automatic debiting, as well as the fees under point 3.3 AAD.
3. Automatic debit order for renewal fees only
Where Renewal fees only is selected this exclusively covers all renewal fees and additional fees under Rule 51(2) EPC. This type can only be selected in Central Fee Payment.
Only the automatic debit order types All fees except renewal fees and Renewal fees only can be active simultaneously for the same application.
To extend or change the scope of an active automatic debit order, the first automatic debit order may first need to be revoked in Central Fee Payment before a new automatic debit order is filed.
Whenever an automatic debit order is filed for an application for which there is already an automatic debit order active covering, at least partially, the same types of fees, the newly filed automatic debit order is deemed invalid and will not be carried out. This would apply, for example, where an automatic debit order for renewal fees only is already active and an additional automatic debit order for all fees is filed or vice versa.
When submitting an automatic debit order in Central Fee Payment you will be informed immediately if an overlapping automatic debit order is already active for the selected application. This information includes which type of automatic debit order is active and which type of automatic debit order can still be filed.
- Credit card
About credit card payment
You can pay patent fees by credit card in Central Fee Payment. This is a secure and flexible way of making instant fee payments.
Refunds of payment by credit card
Please note that refunds to credit card accounts are not possible.
Sign in to Central Fee Payment
- Bank transfer
About bank transfers
You can prepare your bank transfer by submitting an order online in Central Fee Payment. This allows you to pay fees for multiple applications with a single transfer. You will get a unique payment reference per order submitted.
Please then quote this reference when making the bank transfer.
Once we have received your bank transfer, payment confirmation will be available to download in Central Fee Payment.
Refunds to a bank account
If you have not filed any instructions indicating a deposit account to be credited in the event of a refund for your patent application, you can claim pending refunds in Central Fee Payment and request that they be credited to a bank account of your choice.
Sign in to Central Fee Payment