Article 41

Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 8 September 2026 concerning the filing of documents

The President of the European Patent Office (EPO), having regard to Article 10(2)(a) of the European Patent Convention (EPC), Rules 2, 49, 50 and 114 EPC, as amended by decision of the Administrative Council of 19 March 2026 (CA/D 2/26), Rule 89bis.1 and 2 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and Rules 3 and 20(2)(a) and (c) of the Rules relating to Unitary Patent Protection (UPR), has decided as follows:

Article 1

Electronic filing services

1. European patent applications, international (PCT) applications and other documents relating to such applications or to patents deriving from such applications may be filed with the EPO using Online Filing 2.0 or the EPO Contingency Upload Service in accordance with this decision. Subject to Article 2, other documents may also be filed using MyEPO.
2. Access to and use of the electronic filing services referred to in paragraph 1 requires an EPO account and a means of authentication allowed by the EPO or, where permitted, a temporary sign-in with an email address.
3. For international (PCT) applications and other documents relating to such applications, the relevant features of the ePCT service are integrated in Online Filing 2.0.

Article 2

Scope of MyEPO

1. MyEPO may be used for filing responses to a communication from the EPO, requests and notifications – together with any accompanying documents – on condition and to the extent that such response, request or notification is

1. provided for in MyEPO and
2. included in a list published on the EPO website or in any other suitable form.

2. Any submission made in accordance with paragraph 1 is reflected in an electronic document that is automatically generated during the submission session and added to the file.
3. Any submission made using MyEPO in contravention of paragraph 1 will be deemed not to have been received.

Article 3

Priority documents

1. Priority documents relating to European patent applications or international (PCT) applications in the European phase may be filed electronically only if they have been digitally signed by the issuing authority and the signature is accepted by the EPO.
2. Priority documents filed electronically in contravention of paragraph 1 will be deemed not to have been received. The sender, if identifiable, will be notified without delay.

Article 4

Sequence listings

Sequence listings may only be filed in accordance with the provisions governing the filing of sequence listings.¹

Article 5

Document formats

1. Without prejudice to the requirements for the filing of sequence listings in accordance with Article 4 and the possibility of providing technical documents in the original data format in accordance with Article 6, documents may be filed in the following formats:

1. PDF, when using Online Filing 2.0, MyEPO or the EPO Contingency Upload Service
2. TIFF, when using MyEPO
3. DOCX, when using Online Filing 2.0, MyEPO or the EPO Contingency Upload Service, with the exception of the filing of international (PCT) applications and other documents filed in the international phase
4. XML, when using Online Filing 2.0 for submissions in the international phase, including following conversion from a DOCX document prior to the filing of an international (PCT) application.

2. Documents in PDF, TIFF or, where allowed, XML format must comply with the Administrative Instructions under the PCT, Part 7 and Annex F;² this does not apply to electronically certified priority documents filed in accordance with Article 2(1), documents filed as evidence and digitally signed authorisations, provided they can be viewed without any loss of information. Documents filed in DOCX format other than those filed as evidence must comply with the specifications in the definition of "DOCX" for filing with the EPO.³
3. Subject to Article 10, where a filed document does not comply with the required document format, the EPO will invite the party concerned to refile it in accordance with the applicable requirements within a period to be specified; where the document is a European patent application document, this invitation will be issued in accordance with Rule 58 EPC.
4. If the party concerned fails to comply with the invitation under paragraph 3 for:

1. a European patent application document, the application will be refused (Article 90(5) EPC)
2. an international (PCT) application document, the provisions of the PCT will apply
3. a document other than a patent application document, the document will be deemed not to have been received.

Article 6

Original data formats

1. Where a European patent application or international (PCT) application is filed using Online Filing 2.0, technical documents relating to it (description, claims, abstract and, where applicable, drawings) may additionally be submitted in the data format in which they were created, provided the submitted files contain either plain ASCII text or were created using one of the following word processing programs:

1. Microsoft Word 2010 or later
2. Corel WordPerfect 2000 or later or
3. OpenOffice Writer version 4.0 or later (including the corresponding StarOffice products).

2. Objects created in other programs may be embedded in documents generated using the word processing programs specified in paragraph 1 above as long as they can be viewed without any loss of information.
3. Technical documents in a format other than those mentioned in paragraph 1 above may be attached in that format only if the applicant informs the EPO at the time of filing where it can reasonably acquire the relevant software.

Article 7

PDF back-up copies

Where a European patent application or subsequent documents are filed in DOCX format, technical documents relating to the application (description, claims, abstract and, where applicable, drawings) may additionally be submitted in PDF format for evidentiary purposes, provided that they are filed in the same submission.

Article 8

Signature

1. Without prejudice to the provisions concerning signatures on contracts and declarations under Rules 22 and 85 EPC, Rule 23 EPC and Rule 20(2)(b) UPR and on authorisations,⁴ where filed documents require a signature, this may take the form of a facsimile signature or a text-string signature, as defined in Annex F to the Administrative Instructions under the PCT. In MyEPO, the signature may only take the form of a text-string signature.
2. When a document is filed by postal services, the signature may also take the form of a handwritten signature.

Article 9

Acknowledgement of receipt

1. Without prejudice to paragraph 4, receipt of documents filed online in accordance with this decision is acknowledged electronically by the EPO following submission. The acknowledgment of receipt is digitally signed by the EPO and provided in the filing service.
2. If such acknowledgement is not successfully transmitted, the EPO will transmit it by other means without delay, provided it has sufficient information to do so.
3. The acknowledgement indicates the identity of the EPO, the date and time of receipt, a reference or application number assigned by the EPO, a list of the files submitted and a hash value (the message digest).
4. Receipt of documents filed using the EPO Contingency Upload Service in accordance with this decision is acknowledged electronically by the EPO following submission. For European patent applications, international (PCT) applications and requests for unitary effect, a separate acknowledgement indicating, in particular, the application number is also provided.
5. Acknowledgement of receipt does not imply the accordance of a date of filing to an application.

Article 10

Illegible, incomplete or infected files and data carriers

1. Where a filed document is illegible or incomplete, that part of it which is illegible or missing will be deemed not to have been received.
2. If a filed document is infected with a computer virus or contains other malicious software, it will be deemed to be illegible. The EPO is not obliged to receive, open or process any document with such a deficiency.
3. Where a filed document is found to be deficient within the meaning of paragraph 1 or 2, the sender, if identifiable, will be notified without delay.
4. Paragraphs 1 to 3 apply mutatis mutandis to electronic data carriers accepted in accordance with Article 11.

Article 11

Data carriers

1. Documents that cannot be filed using the electronic filing services under Article 1 due to their size may be filed on an accepted electronic data carrier by postal services.
2. Priority documents and other certified copies of previous applications may be filed on an accepted electronic data carrier, provided that:

1. the data carrier is prepared by the authority with which the previous application was filed and comes with the guarantee that its content cannot be altered subsequently without detection,
2. the content of the data carrier is certified by that authority as an exact copy of the previous application or any parts thereof, and
3. the date of filing of the previous application is also certified by that authority.

Article 12

Documents filed by postal services

Documents filed by postal services under Rule 2(2) EPC must be refiled electronically, except for:

1. documents filed by a witness, an expert, an inventor who is not an applicant or proprietor, a court-appointed trustee or administrator, a registered licensee or a pledgee,
2. documents filed by a national court or authority,
3. documents that cannot be filed using the electronic filing services under Article 1 due to their size,
4. priority documents and other certified copies of previous applications filed on paper or on an accepted electronic data carrier in accordance with Article 11(2),
5. documents that are received within a period of two months before the scheduled date of oral proceedings before the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office,
6. requests under Rule 33 EPC filed on paper, and
7. other documents where the EPO determines in an individual case that special circumstances apply.

Article 13

Previous decisions superseded

When this decision enters into force, the decision of the President of the EPO dated 25 March 2026 concerning the electronic filing of documents (OJ EPO 2026, A19) will cease to have effect.

Article 14

Entry into force

This decision enters into force on 1 April 2027.

Done at Munich, 8 September 2026

António CAMPINOS

President