4. Accelerated prosecution of European patent applications 

Applicants requiring faster search or examination can ask to have their applications processed under the programme for accelerated prosecution of European patent applications (PACE) (see the notice from the EPO dated 30 October 2025, OJ EPO 2025, A69 30 November 2015, OJ EPO 2015, A93; for PACE requests filed before 1 January 2016, see also OJ EPO 2010, 352). For information on other ways to expedite the European grant procedure see OJ EPO 2015, A94).

Requests to participate in the PACE programme (PACE requests) must be filed online using the dedicated request form (EPO Form 1005). The EPO will issue an acknowledgement of receipt promptly. Requests filed informally, i.e. without using the dedicated form, and/or on paper will not be processed by the EPO.

A PACE request may be filed only once during each stage of the procedure, i.e. search and examination, and for one application at a time. A PACE request filed during search will not trigger accelerated examination. If the applicant wants accelerated examination too, a PACE request may be filed once the application has entered the examination phase.

The EPO does not publish requests for accelerated search and/or examination and, by decision of the President dated 12 July 2007 (Special edition No. 3, OJ EPO 2007, J.3), they are excluded from file inspection.

An application will be taken out of the PACE programme if:

– the PACE request has been withdrawn 

– the applicant has requested an extension of time limits 

– the application has been refused 

– the application has been withdrawn 

– the application is deemed to be withdrawn. 

This applies regardless of the legal remedies available under the EPC. In such cases it will not be possible to restore the application to the PACE programme, i.e. a second request for that application during the same stage of the procedureexamination will not be processed.

Accelerated prosecution will also be suspended if renewal fees are not paid by the due date stipulated in Rule 51(1).

Accelerated prosecution under the PACE programme can be provided only where practically feasible and subject to the workload of the search and examining divisions. In certain technical fields there may be constraints due to the numbers of incoming PACE requests. Applicants requesting accelerated prosecution for all or most of their applications will, as a rule, be required by the EPO to limit the number of their PACE requests by making a selection.

4.1Accelerated search

For European patent applications filed on or after 1 July 2014 (including PCT applications entering the European phase where the EPO did not act as (S)ISA) the EPO aims to issue the extended/partial European search report within six months from the date of filing or from expiry of the period under Rule 161(2) and so no PACE request is needed.

For European patent applications (including PCT applications entering the European phase where the EPO did not act as (S)ISA) which were filed before 1 July 2014 and which do claim priority (second filings), on receipt of a PACE request the EPO makes every effort to issue the extended/partial European search report within six months from receipt of the request.

Without prejudice to the above, an accelerated search can only start:

(i)after receipt of the applicant's response to a communication under Rule 62a or Rule 63, or expiry of the respective time limit.

(ii)in all cases: when the application documents on filing are complete enough for the extended search report to be drawn up. That means, in particular, that the accelerated search can only start once the claims, the description, the required translations and, where applicable, the drawings and a sequence listing conforming to the rules for the standardised representation of nucleotide or amino acid sequences have been filed.

(iii)for PCT applications entering the European phase where the EPO did not act as (S)ISA: after expiry of the six-month period under Rule 161(2), even if acceleration has been requested under the PACE programme. In order for the supplementary European search to start immediately, on entry into the European phase the applicant must explicitly waive the right to communications pursuant to Rules 161(2) and 162(2) and pay any claims fees due (see the notice from the EPO dated 30 November 2015, OJ EPO 2015, A93).

If the EPO has invited the applicant to pay a further search fee under Rule 64(1), second sentence, or Rule 164(1)(b), the final search report under Rule 64(1), last sentence, or Rule 164(1)(c) cannot be drawn up until the applicant's response to the invitation to pay the further search fee has been received or until the applicable time limit has expired.