4.1 Procedure on receipt of an indication that the applicant wishes to initiate the European phase – EPO Form 1200

Although entry into the European phase does not depend on the use of a specific form (Rule 49.5 PCT), but rather (only) on compliance with the minimum requirements, the EPO strongly recommends that applicants always submit EPO Form 1200 (A‑XII, 4).

The guidance provided in EPO Form 1200 helps applicants to avoid omissions and mistakes. For instance, the form includes a preselected box for the examination request. The requirement to submit a written request in order for the payment of the examination fee to take effect under Rule 159(1)(f) and Art. 94(2) (A‑XIII, 7) is thus fulfilled automatically.

EPO Form 1200 and any other document filed for purposes of the proceedings in the European phase must be filed with the EPO; they must not be sent to the IB or to an authority of an EPC contracting state.

EPO Form 1200 is available in Online Filing 2.0 or can be downloaded in PDF format free of charge from the EPO website (epo.org). For more details on the available filing methods, see A‑VIII, 2.5. The basic filing fee is lower where EPO Form 1200 is filed online (Art. 2(1), item 1, RFees) (A‑XIII, 4.1).

On expiry of the 31-month time limit, the EPO will verify whether the applicant has complied with the applicable minimum requirements for entry into the European phase (A‑XII, 4.3) and the applicable further requirements (A‑XII, 4.4) that must be fulfilled within the 31-month time limit.

If the applicable minimum requirements are fulfilled and entry into the European phase is thus effective, the EPO will as a rule inform the applicant of this only in the communication under Rules 161 and 162 (A‑XIV, 2.1). However, if the EPO establishes that a request for early processing is effective, the applicant is notified of the date of its effect by separate communication (A‑XII, 7.1).

The legal consequences of full or partial compliance with the minimum requirements for effective entry into the European phase are dealt with in A‑XIII, 9.