It is widely known that the European Patent Office’s (EPO) patent examination pace has slowed significantly since the pandemic, causing considerable frustration for applicants and their patent attorneys. Even more discouraging is that inquiries about case processing timelines often yield only relatively optimistic estimates, while the EPO’s “PACE” accelerated examination program rarely delivers results that truly meet applicants’ expectations. The EPO’s stated goal of responding to applicant submissions within three months has, in practice, become difficult to achieve on schedule and is now almost the norm.
However, according to the EPO’s latest Strategic Plan 2028, the EPO plans to accelerate the examination process by adjusting the handling procedures for status inquiries and their integration with the PACE program. These changes will take effect on February 1, 2026. Below, we provide a detailed explanation of these modifications.
- European Patent Office Notice on PACE Adjustments
PACE (Program for Accelerated Prosecution of European Patent Applications) is an accelerated examination procedure launched by the EPO in 2015¹. Applicants may request it free of charge.
On December 16, 2025, the EPO issued an updated notice regarding the PACE program, replacing the version implemented since 2015². This revision stems from the EPO’s sustained efficiency gains in the search phase in recent years: by 2024, the average time for issuing European search reports (or partial search reports) had been reduced to approximately 5.5 months. Building on this sustained efficiency gain, the EPO has adjusted the PACE program to allocate resources more effectively.
The most significant change is that, effective February 1, 2026, the PACE program will apply exclusively to the examination phase and no longer to the search phase. Accordingly, EPO Form 1005 will be used solely for requesting accelerated examination and will no longer include an option for accelerated search.
PACE remains an acceleration mechanism requiring an applicant’s active written request, which must be submitted via the official EPO online Form 1005. Informal or paper-based requests will not be accepted. Each application may submit only one PACE request during the examination phase. PACE requests are not made public and are not accessible to the public.
Applications will be removed from the PACE program and cannot be reinstated under the following circumstances:
– Withdrawal of the PACE request;
– Request by the applicant for an extension of time;
– Rejection, withdrawal, or deemed withdrawal of the application;
– Failure to pay annual fees on time (which will result in suspension of the accelerated procedure).
The EPO explicitly states that accelerated examination is provided only where practically feasible and is subject to the workload of the examining divisions. In other words, the EPO imposes no mandatory requirements on the examination process for PACE requests. The extent of acceleration depends on the examiner’s own workload. Even for identical PACE requests, the degree of acceleration may vary across different technical fields. For applicants who frequently or extensively submit PACE requests, the EPO reserves the right to require them to limit the number of requests.
There is no official fee for PACE requests. When PACE is effective, the EPO aims to issue examination opinions within the following timeframes:
– Issue the next examination opinion within 3 months from the date the Examining Division takes over the case, the applicant submits a response, or a PACE request is filed (whichever is later);
– Subsequent examination correspondence is generally completed within 3 months of receiving the applicant’s response.
For Euro-PCT applications:
If the EPO also acts as the International Searching Authority (ISA), accelerated examination may generally be requested upon entry into the European phase or upon submission of the Rule 161(1) EPC response;
Even when requesting early entry into the European phase under PCT Article 23(2) or 40(2), a separate PACE request must be filed for the EPO to conduct accelerated examination.
The revised PACE program takes effect on February 1, 2026, applying to PACE requests filed on or after that date. Concurrently, rules regarding “removal from PACE” and “suspension of accelerated processing” will apply to all pending applications from that date forward.
Overall, these amendments reflect the EPO’s policy orientation to concentrate accelerated resources on the examination phase, aiming to enhance the predictability and overall efficiency of accelerated examination while preventing abuse of accelerated requests.
- European Patent Office Notice on Case Status Inquiries³
Under specific circumstances during patent application examination, applicants may inquire about case processing progress through their European patent attorneys to understand when new examination reports will be issued, particularly when examination procedures remain stagnant for extended periods.
Unlike the PACE accelerated examination program, submitting a progress inquiry does not imply overall acceleration of the European patent application examination process.
In light of the following developments, the EPO has adjusted its practices for handling progress inquiries:
– Continued significant improvement in the timeliness of issuing European search reports (supplementary search reports) and opinions on patentability;
– Revision of the conditions for applying the PACE program²;
– Completion of the search phase for all European patent applications filed before July 1, 2014 (including PCT applications entering the European phase where the EPO was not acting as (S)ISA), as previously notified.
All applicants in EPO first-instance proceedings may submit progress inquiries.
Submission of Progress Inquiries
The EPO will process and respond to progress inquiries only if submitted online using EPO Form 1012. Each inquiry may concern only one application or one patent.
The EPO will issue a timely acknowledgment of receipt.
Inquiry documents and EPO responses form part of the case file and are therefore accessible to the public.
Processing of Status Inquiries
Generally, the EPO will indicate in its response the anticipated timeframe for the next action, taking into account the workload in the relevant technical field and internal deadlines for completing pending matters. The EPO will endeavor to complete the relevant action within the timeframe specified in its response.
Certain factors may affect the processing time for status inquiries. For example, failure to pay the annual fee by the due date specified in Article 51(1) of the European Patent Convention may result in delayed processing of the inquiry.
For status inquiries concerning:
- applications being processed under the PACE program, or
- applications for which an inquiry has already been submitted and no examination opinion has been issued within the set time limit,
the EPO will automatically issue the next official action within one month of receiving the inquiry.
The EPO will closely monitor whether the next action is issued by the set date.
If the applicant is dissatisfied with the timetable indicated in the response, they may accelerate the examination procedure by requesting application of the PACE program.
Effective Date
This new procedure applies to status inquiries submitted on or after February 1, 2026. This notice replaces the European Patent Office’s Notice concerning the processing of inquiries on the progress of cases (OJ EPO 2016, A66) published on August 2, 2016.
1) OJ EPO 2015, A93: https://www.epo.org/en/legal/official-journal/2025/12/a69
2) Notice from the European Patent Office dated December 16, 2025 concerning the program for accelerated prosecution of European patent applications (“PACE”): https://www.epo.org/en/legal/official-journal/2025/12/a69
3) Notice from the European Patent Office dated December 16, 2025 concerning the handling of inquiries regarding file processing: https://www.epo.org/en/legal/official-journal/2025/12/a70