When entering the EPO regional phase, there are many variables that influence the official fees that are payable.

The official list of EPO official fees can be found on the EPO website here but it can be hard to interpret, so we have written this guide to help you understand the official fees that will be payable with a European regional phase filing as a PCT national phase.

If you do need a precise quote for filing in Europe, either as a Paris Convention filing or as an EPO regional phase of a PCT, please do contact us for a tailored quotation.

Filing Fee

For all applications, a filing fee of EUR 135 will be payable (assuming the application is filed electronically (that assumption applies throughout this article).

Supplementary Search

If the EPO did not already act as the International Searching Authority (ISA) during the PCT International Phase, then the EPO must carry out a “supplementary search“, which attracts a fee of EUR 1520.

On the other hand, if the EPO was the ISA, then no supplementary search is required and there is zero fee for the search.

The EPO is a competent ISA for many Receiving Offices, including the USA, Japan and China, so it is quite common for there to be no supplementary search required.

A reduction of EUR 1300 is also available if the PCT International Search Report (ISR) OR SISR was established by the IP offices of Austria, Finland, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, the Nordic Patent Institute or the Visegrad Patent Institute, so the total search fee payable would be EUR 220.

Examination

The examination fee must be paid at the time of EPO regional phase entry.  The amount payable will depend on whether a supplementary search is required, and then also if the EPO has also acted as the International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA).

If the EPO was the ISA, then no supplementary search is needed, and the examination fee is set at EUR 2135.

  • However, if a Chapter II Demand was previously filed and the EPO acted as the IPEA (as well as the ISA), then the examination fee is reduced by 75%, so the total payable examination fee will be EUR 533.75

If the EPO was not the ISA, then a supplementary search report will be established by the EPO and the examination fee will be EUR 1915. This is cheaper than the case where no supplementary search is required, because a search fee is also payable in this scenario.

  • However, this examination fee is reduced by 75%, i.e. to EUR 478.75, if if a Chapter II Demand was previously filed with the EPO acting as the IPEA, and the PCT International Search Report (ISR) OR SISR was established by the IP offices of Austria, Finland, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, the Nordic Patent Institute or the Visegrad Patent Institute..

Fees for extra pages and claims

There are also some variables which depend on the nature of the application.

First off, there are page fees of EUR 17 per page beyond the first 35 pages of the application, so for longer applications this can be significant. The pages of the description, claims and drawings are counted, plus one page in total for any pages with the bibliographic data and the abstract. The page fee can also be higher if there have been amendments filed during the PCT international phase.  Amendments will be counted as additional pages (i.e. the total payable will be based on the application as published plus the amendments), unless a specific request is made for the procedure in the European phase not to be based on the amendments.

The EPO also charges additional claims fees for claims past the first fifteen claims.  The fee per claim for claims 16 through 50 is EUR 275 per claim. If there are more than 50 claims, then the 51st and each subsequent claim incurs a claims fee of EUR 685.

The punitive nature of the claims fees means that the majority of applications are limited to fifteen claims.

Importantly, claims fees do not have to be paid straight away when filing the European regional phase.  After the filing, the EPO will issue an invitation to amend the application (on either a voluntary or mandatory basis), and that invitation sets a six month deadline for amending the application.  Claims fees will become payable based on the form of the application at the end of that six month window.  So, it is very common to use this procedure to reduce the number of claims at that point, to avoid claims fees and to take care of any other formal issues (such as reducing the number of independent claims for clarity and consistency).

Selection of States

One of the payable fees is a “designation fee”.  The European Patent covers 39 core states which are full members of the European Patent Convention (EPC) – and so are called “Contracting States”. Historically, one had to pay a separate fee for each territory in which protection was needed, in other words one had to “designate” specific countries.  However, the system is now simplified and so a single flat “designation fee” covers all EPC Contracting States.  This mandatory fee is EUR 685 and covers the following states:

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, United Kingdom.

Note that Montenegro is only available as a Contracting State for PCT applications with a filing date on or after 1 October 2022. For PCT applications with an earlier filing date, Montenegro is available as an extension state.

Extension States and Validation States

There are some other countries that have not signed up to the full version of the EPC, but have agreed to adopt various core concepts; effectively agreeing that the EPO decision to grant a patent will be treated as granting an equivalent national patent.  There are various types of contract which countries have signed up to, called “extension” or “validation” agreements.

Importantly, you need to take positive steps at the time of filing the European phase if you want to secure protection in any of these additional territories: if the extension or validation fees are not paid on time, then it will not be possible to change your mind and secure them at a later point in time.

So, the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina is available as so-called “extension state” for an additional fee of EUR 102, while various other countries are available as “validation states” for different fees, namely: Tunisia, Cambodia and Laos each cost EUR 180 each, Georgia and Moldova each cost EUR 200  and Morocco costs EUR 240.

Note that Georgia is only available for PCT filing dates of 15 January 2024 or later, and Laos is only available for PCT filing dates of 1 April 2025 or later.

Third Year Renewal

The EPO charges annual renewal fees during the life of the application (hence they are technically called “application maintenance fees”).  The first fee is due two years from the PCT filing date.

Normally, the “payment window” for a renewal fee only opens three months before the due date for a renewal.  However, when entering the European regional phase, the payment window for the third year renewal fee is opened earlier, at six months before the deadline, so that in the majority of cases it will be possible to make the renewal fee payment with the application.

While this is optional, we would normally recommend the renewal fee is paid for the sake of procedural efficiency.  The third year renewal fee (the first renewal fee payable) is EUR 690.

Micro Entity Status

As explained elsewhere on our site, if an applicant qualifies for micro entity status, there will be a  a 30% reduction in the EPO filing fees at this stage.  This applies to microenterprises or non-profits which have file fewer than five patent applications with the EPO over a preceding five year period. Given the level of EPO official fees, this discount can be significant.

Old Applications

There are also some legacy fees for very old applications that you will see on the EPO website, but we have ignored these as they are very unlikely to apply in real world scenarios.

If you have any questions on these topics or need a precise quote for filing in Europe, either as a Paris Convention filing or as an EPO regional phase of a PCT, please do contact us for a tailored quotation.

Page reviewed and updated: 5 November 2025