7. Request for examination

Pursuant to Rule 159(1)(f), if the time limit specified in Rule 70(1) has expired before expiry of the 31-month period, the written request for examination must be filed and the examination fee must be paid within the 31-month period. In accordance with Art. 153(6), the ISR – or the declaration under Art. 17(2)(a) PCT replacing it – and its international publication take the place of the European search report and the mention of its publication in the European Patent Bulletin. The time limit under Rule 159(1)(f) in combination with Rule 70(1) for filing the request for examination therefore starts from the date of the publication of the ISR under Art. 21 PCT (A‑VI, 2).

However, owing to the deferring effect of the processing ban (A‑XII, 3.1), the time limit under Rule 70(1) in respect of any Euro-PCT application will not expire before the 31-month period under Rule 159(1)(f) expires. Consequently, as a rule, and unless the ISR was published more than 25 months after the date of filing or the earliest priority date, the request for examination must be filed and the examination fee paid within the 31-month period. This means that, where a supplementary European search must be performed, applicants will have to file the request for examination before the supplementary European search report is transmitted to them (A‑XIV, 5).

The request for examination may have to be filed earlier if there is an effective request for early processing (A‑XII, 7.1).

The required written request for examination is automatically made if EPO Form 1200 for entry into the European phase is filed in due time because the appropriate checkbox is preselected in the form (A‑XII, 4.1). The request for examination is effective only if the examination fee has been paid (C‑II, 1.2).

Even if a request for examination is effective, examination under Art. 94 will only start once any required supplementary European search report is available to the examining division (A‑XIV, 5; B‑II, 4.3.2; A‑XIV, 5.2).

For further information on the request for examination, see A‑VI, 2.

In respect of the examination fee payable under Rule 159(1)(f), the following fee reductions may apply:

Under the language arrangements, applicants fulfilling certain criteria are eligible for a 30% reduction of the examination fee (OJ EPO 2024, A8). For the categories of eligible applicants, see A‑X, 9.3.1. For this reduction to apply, the request for examination must be filed in an admissible non‑EPO language and its translation must not be filed earlier than the request in an admissible non‑EPO language (G 6/91). EPO Form 1200 provides for the possibility to submit the request for examination in an admissible non‑EPO language and to provide the declaration under Rule 7b(1). If the applicant has done so, the filing of a translation of the written request for examination is not necessary, because the request for examination in the three EPO official languages is preselected in EPO Form 1200.

Where the written request for examination in an admissible non‑EPO language is filed after EPO Form 1200, a translation of the request for examination into one of the official languages must be refiled (G 6/91). Wordings for the request for examination in the admissible non‑EPO languages are available from a dropdown menu in EPO Forms 1200 and 1038 in Online Filing 2.0 and are also listed on the EPO website (epo.org).

The request for examination in the admissible non‑EPO language and its translation must be filed no later than the date of payment of the examination fee for the reduction to apply.

Furthermore, applicants fulfilling certain criteria are eligible for fee reductions under the fee reduction scheme specifically for micro-entities (A‑X, 9.4). These reductions apply to fee payments made on or after 1 April 2024 for Euro-PCT applications irrespective of their date of filing (OJ EPO 2024, A3, and OJ EPO 2024, A8).

If a Euro-PCT application was searched by the EPO in its capacity as (S)ISA, the examination fee may be reduced twice under the micro-entity scheme: first by a reduction of the examination fee and then, additionally, by a reduction of the amount previously paid for the international search but taking account of any refund or reduction already applied to that fee (A‑X, 9.4).

Moreover, where the EPO in its capacity as IPEA has drawn up an IPER for the application, the examination fee to be paid under Rule 159(1)(f) is reduced by 75% (Art. 14(2) RFees; A‑X, 9.5.2). This reduction does not apply to divisional applications for whose parent application the EPO has drawn up the IPER, nor does it apply if the applicant requests examination of parts of the international application that are exceptionally not covered in the IPER.

If the conditions for a reduction under either the language arrangements or the scheme for micro-entities are also fulfilled, the examination fee is first reduced by 75%, then by a further 30%, i.e. the total reduction is 82.5%, and the amount payable is 17.5%, of the full fee (OJ EPO 2024, A3, and OJ EPO 2024, A8).

If the applicant is eligible for a reduction under Art. 14.2 RFees, the language arrangements and the scheme for micro-entities, the three reductions are applied sequentially, i.e. the examination fee is first reduced by 75%, then by 30% under the language arrangements and then again by 30% under the scheme for micro-entities (OJ EPO 2024, A8, which includes examples). Under certain circumstances, this calculation can result in a negative amount, meaning no fee is payable. A negative amount is not offset against other fees paid.

For general guidance on payment of the examination fee, see A‑X.