Renewal fees for a European patent application in respect of the coming year are due on the last day of the month containing the anniversary of the European patent application's filing date.
According to Rule 51(1) as amended with effect from 1 April 2018 (OJ EPO 2018, A2), the renewal fee in respect of the third year may be paid up to six months before it falls due. All other renewal fees may not be validly paid more than three months before they fall due.
Earliest date for valid payment of third-year renewal fee under Rule 51(1)
Due date for third-year renewal fee under Rule 51(1)
Earliest date for valid payment of fourth-year renewal fee under Rule 51(1)
Due date for fourth-year renewal fee under Rule 51(1)
Earliest date for valid payment of third-year renewal fee under Rule 51(1)
Expiry of 31-month period for the performance of all acts required under Rule 159(1)
Due date for third-year renewal fee under Rule 51(1)
Earliest date for valid payment of fourth-year renewal fee under Rule 51(1)
Due date for fourth year renewal fee under Rule 51(1)
Renewal fee payments made before the permissible prepayment periods are not valid. If a debit order for a renewal fee is received via Central Fee Payment before the earliest valid payment dates under Rule 51(1), it will be rejected at source by the validation functionality (see A‑X, 4.2.3). If a payment is made too early either by filing a valid debit order via OLF and Online Filing 2.0 or by using any other payment method (i.e. bank transfer or credit card), the renewal fee will be refunded by the EPO according to the procedures laid down in A‑X, 10.
If the renewal fee has not been validly paid on or before the due date, it may still be validly paid within six months of the said date, provided that the additional fee is paid within this period. The additional fee can be paid until the last day of the sixth month following the month containing the anniversary of the date of filing (see J 4/91, reasons 2.7). This six-month period begins on the last day of the month referred to in Rule 51(1), first sentence, even if the circumstances described in Rule 134(1), (2) and (5) apply. Rule 134 is applicable to the calculation of the expiry of the six-month time limit for payment of the additional fee (see J 4/91, reasons 3.2). Whilst a notice draws the applicant's attention to the possibility under Rule 51(2) and Art. 2(1), item 5, RFees, the omission of such notification may not be invoked (see J 12/84 and J 1/89). For renewal fees for European divisional applications, see A‑IV, 1.4.3.
For Euro-PCT applications, if the renewal fee in respect of the third year would have fallen due earlier under Rule 51(1), it does not fall due until expiry of the 31st month, i.e. on the due date is deferred to the last day of the 31-month period under Rule 159(1). This deferred due date, and hence the expiry of another period (the 31-month period), forms the basis for calculating the additional period for payment of the renewal fee with an additional fee (see J 1/89, the principles of which apply). For example: