To which Office should I pay the international search fee?

If you file your application with the CNIPA as receiving Office, you must,  

• for any application filed on or after 1.12.2024: pay the international search fee directly in Chinese Yuan (CNY) to CNIPA.  
• for any application filed before 1.12.2024: as before, pay the international search fee directly to the EPO in Euros (EUR).  

All information on how to pay fees before the EPO: Fee payment and refunds. You can pay the fee using the EPO’s Central Fee Payment service, which offers all payment methods available at the EPO: credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), deposit account and bank transfer. For more information on paying fees online using the EPO’s Central Fee Payment service, see the Central Fee Payment (CFP) – Quick reference guide and the dedicated FAQ on Central Fee Payment – for paying by credit card , bank transfer or deposit account.

You can also use the EPO's Online Filing (OLF) tool using PCT-SFD (Subsequently filed documents) or Online Filing 2.0 using PCT-SFD Form 1038 to pay the international search fee via deposit account.

If you are using Online Filing, please indicate in the PCT-SFD:

• Filing Office: EP (European Patent Office)
• Capacity: International Search Authority (ISA)
  
  

If you are using Online Filing 2.0, please indicate in the PCT-SFD:

Recipient: ISA

If you are using Online Filing, please proceed as follows in the Fees tab:

1. Tick the box for indicating that you wish to pay fees for lack of unity of invention.
2. Enter "1" (one) in the No. of independent inventions box. A fee amount of EUR 1 775 will then be displayed.
   
   

If you are using Online Filing 2.0, please proceed as follows:

1. Click FEES SELECTED FOR NOTIFICATION.
2. Under Select Payment, select “Fee for an international search”.
3. Under Quantity, select “1”.
   
   

4. Click the “Pencil” icon next to PAYMENT METHOD FOR FEES PAYABLE.
   
   

5. Under Payment method, select “Deposit Account”.
6. Enter your deposit account number and deposit account name.
7. Apply an alphanumerical Signature.
8. Any reimbursement is to be made to the deposit or current account with the ISA indicated above is selected as default. If you wish to indicate a different deposit account, select the associated radio button and fill in the information below.
9. Click the Update button.

Please note that, for the duration of the pilot, it is not possible to pay the international search fee by making a direct bank transfer to the EPO bank account. If you wish to pay via bank transfer, you should use the bank transfer functionality in the EPO’s Central Fee Payment service.

If you file your application with the International Bureau (IB) of WIPO as receiving Office, you can pay the search fee directly to the IB in euros (EUR), Swiss francs (CHF) or US dollars (USD). The equivalent amounts in each of those currencies are indicated in the PCT Fee Table, published monthly by the IB in the PCT Newsletter.