File with us

First read our Get access page and then complete this registration form.

You can access Online Filing 2.0 using either two-factor authentication or an EPO smart card.

Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 3 March 2021 concerning the electronic filing of documents

User guides and technical documentation​

Online Filing 2.0 user guide
DOCX filing at the EPO: A guide for pilot participants
XML rules & structure for imports in OLF2.0

Online Filing 2.0 videos

These short videos show you what Online Filing 2.0 has to offer, teach the basics of how to use the forms and provide some practical tips and instructions.

EP Procedure

EP 1001
EP 1200
EP 1038

PCT Procedure

RO 101
IPEA 401
PCT-SFD

Opposition/ Appeal 

OPPO EP 2300 (tutorial not yet available)
EP 1038-Appeal

Other topics and instructions

Creating a new filing from a template
EP1038 - missing fees/greyed out options
How to sign/remove a signature/return to draft status
Adding/deleting users from an organisation
Access to forms
Importing the Online filing adress book into Online Filing 2.0

Recordings of online seminars

Below you will find recordings of our recent online seminars. 

Online Filing 2.0 – new users

Watch the recording of the EPO User Day of 11 June 2024 

Online Filing 2.0 –advanced users 

Watch the recording of the EPO User Day of 11 June 2024 

Online Filing 2.0 is now available for filing:

• Request for grant - EP1001 (including application documents as PDF, DOCX, sequence listings according to WIPO Standard ST.25 and other files in PDF)
• Request for entry into the European phase - EP1200 with attachments (PDF)
• PCT request - PCT/RO/101 with attachments (PDF, XML, including conversions from DOCX)
• Request for unitary effect – UP 7000
• Subsequent documents under the EPC up to grant, including amendments, corrections and rectifications (attached to EP 1038)
• Documents in opposition, limitation and revocation proceedings under the EPC (attached to EP 1038
• European patent with unitary effect – Letter accompanying subsequently filed items – UP 7038
• The demand for international preliminary examination in the international phase (PCT Demand PCT/IPEA/401)
• Subsequently filed documents under the PCT, including amendments, corrections and rectifications of documents (PCT-SFD)
• Notice of appeal - EP3002E
• Letter accompanying subsequently filed items in appeal proceedings - EP 1038 Appeal

Benefits

Online filing 2.0 is a web-based application that you can access from most browsers.

Because the application is web-based, there is no software to install - and consequently no software updates. Data and documents are stored on a secure network hosted by EPO.

Features:

Access rights management

An authorised person within your organisation must be appointed to manage access rights for all the members of the organisation, i.e.

• limit the procedures accessible to individual users
• limit the tasks accessible to individual users
• limit rights to administer the address book
• assign user administration rights
• revoke individual access rights with immediate effect
• it is possible to assign rights for more than one user at a time

Multi-user feature

This feature allows you to share access to all applications/subsequently filed documents so that different people in the organisation can perform different actions on them (draft, pay fees, sign, submit). At the same time, the system prevents simultaneous updating of an application/‌document.

Your individual access rights determine which applications/documents you can view and which tasks you can perform.

Portfolio management

Portfolio management (in the Submission tab) allows you to manage applications within your organisation. You can now assign applications to folders and remove draft applications.

Templates

You can create templates for all form types, either from an existing application or from scratch. Templates are available to all members of an organisation provided they have been granted access rights for the relevant procedure.

Import/export

You can import all types of applications in XML, e.g. from patent management systems, provided that the format is compliant (EPO Online Filing specification).

You can also import/export an address book (in .csv format) if you have appropriate access rights.

Address book

In addition to being able to import an address book (e.g. from the EPO Online Filing client), the address book is shared throughout the organisation. In order to maintain the integrity of address data, editing is restricted based on access rights. You can now also organise the address book using folders.

Fee payments

As you are working online, the fee amounts displayed will always be correct. You can also pay any fee using the Form EP1038 option.

Evidence filed via EP1038

For opposition procedure, you can now attach more than one set of evidence.

EPO online filing options comparison table

You can check out the FAQ section on Online Filing 2.0 here

Our legacy Online Filing software and Webform Filing service are still available for download and installation. But we encourage users to use Online Filing 2.0 instead.

We also provide the EPO Contingency Upload Service to use as a fallback in case our main online filing services are not available.

We continuously strive to improve our online services and incorporate feedback from our user community. For this, we regularly collect feedback from our users through focus groups and pilot trials.

You can find more information here about the current Online Filing 2.0 pilot project for DOCX Filing.

If you are interested in participating in pilot trials, please volunteer here.

Please note: When gathering input, we try to ensure a fair balance of users in terms of profile, company size, location and level of expertise. If we do not contact you immediately, we will save your details and get back to you if we need your support.