Article 5

Notice from the European Patent Office dated 2 December 2025 concerning the updating of the Guidelines for Search and Examination at the European Patent Office as PCT Authority (PCT-EPO Guidelines)

By decision of the President of the EPO dated 2 December 2025 and pursuant to Article 10(2) EPC, the Guidelines for Search and Examination at the European Patent Office as PCT Authority (PCT-EPO Guidelines) have been amended in line with the EPO's policy to provide an annual update. The amended PCT-EPO Guidelines, which will enter into force on 1 April 2026, will be published as a complete April 2026 edition that will supersede the April 2025 edition.

The April 2026 edition of the PCT-EPO Guidelines will be published only in electronic form and will be available in all three official languages on the EPO website at epo.org.

The PCT-EPO Guidelines will be available in PDF format – as a clean copy and a version showing all modifications – and in HTML format. Within each section of the HTML version, the latest amendments can be viewed by selecting the Show modifications box in the upper right corner. A full list of the sections which have been amended, together with corresponding hyperlinks, will also be available.

As a courtesy service, a preview of the English version will be made available on the EPO website at the beginning of February 2026 for advance information.

The major changes to the PCT-EPO Guidelines relate to clarifications regarding the assessment of unity of invention and the reduction of international search fees, as well as the signature requirement for proceedings at the EPO as the elected Office. The new Rules 33 and 64 PCT concerning non-written disclosures are reflected, as are further changes to MyEPO resulting from the digital transformation. Further changes relate to information previously contained in the Euro-PCT Guide, which has been discontinued along with the European Patent Guide and the Unitary Patent Guide.

Once the preview version of the 2026 edition is published in February 2026, an online user consultation on the newly published Guidelines will be launched. Detailed information about the online user consultation, which will run until mid-April 2026, will be published on the EPO website at the beginning of February 2026.