Quality dashboard: quarterly update
Today the European Patent Office (EPO) updated its quality dashboard to reflect quality audit figures from the third quarter of 2025.
Search KPIs
The quality of audited search files remains consistently strong. In the third quarter of 2025, 94.7% of the audited searches showed no findings in novelty, inventive step, or added subject-matter — up from 94.3% in the previous quarter. Reaching such a high level allows us to slightly rebalance the audit focus between searches and grants. At the same time, the period for the rolling average of search KPIs is being extended from 12 to 24 months, providing a longer-term perspective without reducing statistical validity. The 24-month rolling average on which we now start to report stands at 93.1%.
Examination KPIs
While 81.0% of audited grants had no findings whatsoever, 88.4% had no findings potentially affecting their validity (that is, no findings related to novelty, inventive step or added subject-matter). This underlines the high quality of EPO products. The most frequent individual finding in grants continues to relate to added subject-matter, at 5.1% of all audited grants, closing in on the 5% target.
More on the quality dashboard
Launched in March 2024, the Quality dashboard fosters transparency by delivering regular updates on quality standards and user satisfaction. By presenting essential key performance indicators (KPIs), it provides stakeholders with a clear and comprehensive overview of quality in the EPO’s patent granting process. The dashboard builds on the annual Quality Action Plan, which defines targeted actions aimed at enhancing the quality of the EPO’s products and services.
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