EPO offices closed from 24 December 2022 to 1 January 2023
Please note that our offices will be closed over the holiday period from 24 December 2022 to 1 January 2023 inclusive. They will open again on 2 January 2023.
This means that, in accordance with Rule 134(1) EPC, all time limits for filing documents and making payments that expire between 24 December 2022 and 1 January 2023 will be extended until 2 January 2023. For PCT procedures this applies mutatis mutandis in accordance with Rule 80.5 PCT.
Users can nevertheless continue to submit documents to the EPO during this period via our online filing services (Online Filing, Online Filing 2.0, Web-Form Filing and MyEPO Portfolio) or by fax. The automated mailboxes (located at Munich's PschorrHöfe building and in Berlin) will also be unaffected by this closure and can be used at any time. Outside office hours, documents may be handed to the porter at any of the EPO filing offices. Our user services will continue to provide basic user support during business hours throughout the closure period.
Further information
- Contact us
- Notice from the President of the European Patent Office dated 11 November 2021 concerning the days on which EPO filing offices are closed in 2022 (OJ EPO 2021, A85)
- Notice from the European Patent Office dated 14 November 2022 concerning the days on which EPO filing offices are closed in 2023 (OJ EPO 2022, A107)
- EPO - Office holidays
- Rule 134(1) EPC - Extension of periods
- Online services at the EPO, including Online Filing
- Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 14 May 2021 concerning the electronic filing of documents (OJ EPO 2021, A42)
- Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 11 May 2022 concerning the web-based online service MyEPO Portfolio (OJ EPO 2022, A51)