Fees and Payments – PCT System

The fees payable in connection with an international patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) System vary according to the receiving office, international preliminary examining authority and international searching authority chosen when filing an application.

Warning – Requests for payment of fees

Find out about types and amounts of fees on the PCT website.

Payment methods

There are five ways to submit your fees to WIPO. Note: WIPO does not accept payment by cash or check. Any checks received will be returned to the sender.

Current Account at WIPO

To pay via direct debit from your Current Account at WIPO, use the Payment platform or the online payment function in ePCT. (Note: sign-in, with strong authentication, is required).

If you are filing with the RO/IB on paper, select "Authorization to charge Current account" and quote your Current Account at WIPO number on the PCT fee calculation sheet of the Request Form .

For special and supplementary fees, indicate your Current Account at WIPO number and the PCT application number in your ePCT action or correspondence. Include holder or applicant name, file reference or PCT international application number (if known).

Learn more about the Current Account at WIPO, including how to open one.

Debit and Credit card

Credit card payments are available only for the payment of:

fees to the RO/IB; and
supplementary search fees to the International Bureau.

Warning – WIPO will confirm credit card payments by e-mail only. WIPO does not issue any other payment receipt or invoice for online credit card payments. If you do not receive an email acknowledgement, please contact us.

New security requirements for online payments came into effect in the European Economic Area in January 2021 as consequence of the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2).

In line with this directive, from January 2021, all online payments by credit card to WIPO will have an additional layer of security involving strong customer authentication (SCA). Customers may be asked to confirm payments by entering a secret number received by SMS or a code generated by a smartphone app or with a biometric identifier like a fingerprint or facial recognition. These customers will be informed about the elements needed to confirm the payment by their financial institution (personal telephone number, smartphone app, etc.).

WIPO welcomes this new layer of security in online payments, which aims to protect the rights of consumers and to limit liability in the event of fraudulent use of cards.

If you experience problems with your new security layer, please contact your bank or card issuer for assistance.

PayPal

PayPal is available only for the payment of:

fees to the RO/IB; and
supplementary search fees to the International Bureau.

Warning – WIPO will confirm PayPal payments by email only. WIPO does not issue any other payment receipt or invoice for online PayPal payments. If you do not receive an email acknowledgment, please contact us.

Sofort

Bank Transfer Secured by SOFORT

Bank or postal transfer

Transfer method	Currency
Transfer method	Fees to the RO/IB	Special fees / supplementary search fees to the IB
Bank transfer	Swiss francs, US dollars or euro	Swiss francs
Postal transfer	Swiss francs	Swiss francs

You must provide the following information when you submit your payment (failure to do so will delay the processing of your application and/or result in additional fees):

purpose of payment;
name of applicant;
file reference or, if known, PCT international application number.

You will be responsible for any additional fees charged by your bank or any intermediary bank.

WIPO Bank transfer details

Account name: WIPO / OMPI
Credit Suisse, CH-1211 Geneva 70
CHF account number (IBAN): CH51 0483 5048 7080 8100 0
USD account number (IBAN): CH17 0483 5048 7080 8200 0 (RO/IB payments only)
EUR account number (IBAN): CH33 0483 5048 7080 8200 3 (RO/IB payments only)
Swift: CRESCHZZ80A

WIPO Postal transfer details (within Europe only)

Account name: WIPO / OMPI
SWISS POST/Postfinance, Engelhaldenstrasse 37, CH-3030 Bern
IBAN: CH03 0900 0000 1200 5000 8
Swift: POFICHBE

Payment follow-up

All payments are acknowledged and include the contact details of the authorized officer processing the application. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within 10 days, please contact the authorized officer.

Refund requests

All refund requests should be addressed to the authorized officer processing your application. For further details of which fees may be refunded, refer to the PCT Applicant’s Guide.