EPO renewal fees: amounts, due dates and what changes at grant

Who you pay, and when

Patent years always count from the filing date of the European application, or the international filing date for a Euro-PCT application, never from the priority date.

EPO renewal fees for a pending application, 2026

Amounts from Article 2(1), item 4 of the Rules relating to Fees in force from 1 April 2026. The micro-entity column applies the 30% reduction under Rule 7a(3) EPC, which covers renewal fees for the application and is open to microenterprises, natural persons, non-profits, universities and public research bodies; see our EPO fees guide for who qualifies.

An application granted in its 4th year pays €1,610 in renewal fees to the EPO; one granted in its 6th year pays €3,875. Slow examination therefore costs real money: each extra year pending adds a fee of €1,215 or more. The PACE programme is one way to shorten it.

Due dates and early payment

Under Article 86(1) EPC, renewal fees are due for the 3rd and each later year, counted from the filing date. Rule 51(1) makes each fee due on the last day of the month containing the anniversary of the filing date. The fee for the 3rd year is due at the end of the month of the 2nd anniversary, because that is when the 3rd year begins.

Example: an application filed on 10 March 2025 pays its 3rd-year fee by 31 March 2027, its 4th-year fee by 31 March 2028, and so on. The 3rd-year fee cannot validly be paid more than 6 months before it is due; every other fee not more than 3 months before.

Paying late, and what if you miss the 6 months

A fee not paid on the due date can still be paid within 6 months of it, together with an additional fee of 50% of the renewal fee (Rule 51(2), RFees Art. 2(1) item 5). If the 6 months pass, the application is deemed withdrawn (Article 86(1), Rule 51(2)).

Rule 135(2) rules out further processing for the Rule 51 periods, so the usual cheap remedy is not available. What remains is re-establishment of rights under Article 122: you must show that the deadline was missed in spite of all due care required by the circumstances, file the request within 2 months of the removal of the cause and at the latest one year after the missed time limit expired, pay the missed fees and the re-establishment fee of €790 ( Rule 136(1)). Re-establishment is hard to obtain; a reliable docketing system is the real protection.

Divisionals and Euro-PCT applications

• Divisional applications keep the parent's filing date, so they owe every renewal fee already due for the parent when they are filed. Those fees, and any falling due in the next 4 months, can be paid within 4 months of filing without the additional fee (Rule 51(3)). A divisional filed after the parent's 6th-year fee fell due therefore starts with €3,875 of back renewal fees. See our EPO divisional application guide .
• Euro-PCT applications count years from the international filing date. If the 3rd-year fee fell due before the 31-month deadline for entering the European phase, it must be paid by that deadline ( Rule 159(1)(g) ). See the Euro-PCT regional phase guide .

Around grant: the last EPO renewal fee

The obligation to pay the EPO ends with the renewal fee for the year in which the mention of grant is published in the European Patent Bulletin (Article 86(2)). If a renewal fee falls due after the Rule 71(3) communication (the "intention to grant") and before the next possible publication date, the EPO will not publish the mention of grant until that fee is paid ( Rule 71a(4)). Our page on Rule 71(3) EPC covers the rest of the grant stage.

National renewal fees for the following years are then due to each country where the patent is validated. A national fee that falls due within 2 months of the mention of grant is treated as paid in time if it is paid within those 2 months, without any national surcharge ( Article 141(2)). Amounts, grace periods and payment routes after that follow each country's own law; our guide to European patent validation lists the steps country by country. A European patent (UK), for example, pays UK renewal fees to the IPO; see UK patent fees and forms .

Unitary Patent renewal fees

A Unitary Patent pays one renewal fee a year to the EPO, for the years after the mention of grant ( Rule 13 UPR). Amounts are from Article 2(1) of the Rules relating to Fees for Unitary Patent Protection , counted from the filing date:

The due date follows the same month-end rule as Rule 51, fees may be paid up to 3 months early, and a late fee can be paid within 6 months with a 50% additional fee. A fee falling due within 3 months of the EPO's communication registering unitary effect can be paid within those 3 months without surcharge (Rule 13(2) to (5) UPR). If it is not paid, the Unitary Patent lapses as of the due date ( Rule 14 UPR). Our Unitary Patent guide compares the total against classic validation.

More EPO guides

• How to file a European patent application

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• The Unitary Patent and the UPC, explained

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• EPO fees 2026: the full fee schedule

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• The European search report and EESR, explained

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• Entering the European phase from a PCT application

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• European divisional applications under Rule 36 EPC

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• Freedom-to-operate search in the US and Europe

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