EPO Fees to Increase from 1 April 2026
The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced an increase of its fees, effective from 1 April 2026.
The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced an increase of its fees, effective from 1 April 2026. Many of the most common fees paid by applicants at the EPO will increase by approximately 5 percent, as shown in the following table.
| Official Fee | Current Amount | New Amount | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee (Online) | 135 Euros | 135 Euros | no change |
| European / Supplementary European Search Fee | 1,520 Euros | 1,595 Euros | +5% |
| Designation Fee | 685 Euros | 720 Euros | +5% |
| Examination Fee | 1,915 Euros | 2,010 Euros | +5% |
| Fee for Grant | 1,080 Euros | 1,135 Euros | +5% |
| Opposition Fee | 880 Euros | 880 Euros | no change |
| Fee for Appeal | 2,925 Euros | 2,925 Euros | no change |
| Fee for Additional Pages (for 36th and subsequent pages) | 17 Euros/page | 17 Euros/page | no change |
| Fee for Excess Claims (for 16th to 50th claims) | 275 Euros/claim | 290 Euros/claim | +5% |
| Renewal Fee - Year 3 | 690 Euros | 725 Euros | +5% |
| Renewal Fee - Year 4 | 845 Euros | 885 Euros | +5% |
| Renewal Fee - Year 5 | 1,000 Euros | 1,050 Euros | +5% |
| Renewal Fee - Year 6 | 1,155 Euros | 1,215 Euros | +5% |
| Renewal Fee - Year 7 | 1,310 Euros | 1,375 Euros | +5% |
| Renewal Fee - Year 8 | 1,465 Euros | 1,540 Euros | +5% |
| Renewal Fee - Year 9 | 1,620 Euros | 1,700 Euros | +5% |
| Renewal Fee - Years 10-20 (each) | 1,775 Euros | 1,865 Euros | +5% |
For some applications, the increased fee amounts may be avoided by paying any fees that are due before 1 April 2026. If you would like any advice on how this fee increase may affect your patent portfolio and how it may be mitigated, please contact us.
Revision of the PACE Programme
The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced changes to the programme for accelerated prosecution of European patent applications (PACE) that will take effect from 1 February 2026.
The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced changes to the programme for accelerated prosecution of European patent applications (PACE) that will take effect from 1 February 2026.
Under the existing PACE programme, an applicant is permitted to file a request for participation in the PACE programme once during each stage of the procedure (i.e., search proceedings and examination proceedings). In contrast, under the revised PACE programme, it will only be possible to file a PACE request during examination proceedings, and the PACE programme will no longer apply to search proceedings.
This change to the PACE programme has been made in response to the EPO’s successful commitment to reducing the time to issue the extended/partial European search report for European patent applications (including PCT applications entering the European phase where the EPO did not act as (S)ISA) to within six months of the filing date or of expiry of the period under Rule 161(2) EPC. In 2024, the mean time to issue the extended/partial European search report was reduced to five and a half months.